ESOFT and Ubiquity University announced a partnership that will bring soft skills and competencybased education to high-school, undergraduate and post-graduate students across Sri Lanka. By leveraging ESOFT’s expansive network of over 40 centers island wide, and combining its experience in technical skills with Ubiquity’s expertise in holistic education and soft skills development, this partnership will enable Sri Lankan students to develop critical competencies in leadership, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, emotional intelligence, cross boundary team building, resilience and global thinking. These competencies will give them the complete package of skills they need to succeed in the competitive, everchanging job market of the day.

Soft competencies are now globally recognized as the leading indicators for successful professional performance and career advancement and are in high demand by leading companies such as Google, IBM, Facebook and more. By offering these learning opportunities to students around Sri Lanka, ESOFT and Ubiquity will imbue young learners with the technical, inter-personal and intra-personal skills they need to align themselves with the needs of the job market and maintain a competitive advantage that will allow them to excel in their professional lives. Through this partnership, all ESOFT students will have access to Ubiquity’s full range of nano-courses, micro-courses and trimester courses. These courses, built around Ubiquity’s pioneering Integral Learning System, will allow students to experience whole-system education for the first time in Sri Lanka.

It will also allow these students to earn globally-accepted credentials for the development of critical soft-skills as they earn competency badges, certificates and degrees. Ubiquity will also allow transfer of credits for coursework already completed at ESOFT, including vocational schools, thereby allowing students to “top-up” their academic progress with Ubiquity courses and move closer towards BA, MA, MBA and PhD qualifications. ESOFT and Ubiquity have also pledged to collaborate in the development of leadership training programs for O-level students, A-level students and corporate partners. Jim Garrison, Founder and CEO of Ubiquity University, observes that “In the United States, Europe and around the world it is increasingly clear to both employers and employees that soft skills matter. Who you are is more important than what you know. How you interact with others is more critical than knowing data. One recent study shows that 93% of US employees consider soft skills as, if not more, important than hard skills.

This mandates an educational design that brings High Tech and High Touch together into an interactive holistic approach to learning. This is what ESOFT and Ubiquity have partnered to do in Sri Lanka. It is ground breaking and will reshape learning as we know it.” Dr. Dayan Rajapakse, Chairman of the ESOFT Group of Companies, states that “ESOFT’s partnership with Ubiquity is a timely need as many large corporations around the world are now putting a lot of emphasis on soft skills of the workforce that they attract. Being in the strategic management of ESOFT Group I have really felt this need. Studies have shown how well these skills complement other skills and contribute to enhance worker productivity. I’m happy to partner with an expert in this field and I’m sure this will give us a competitive advantage as we will continue to train people with cutting edge technology while building their competencies in soft skills that will be unmatched by others. I’m certain this initiative will not only benefit ESOFT and Ubiquity as business entities, but the youth of the country as well.” All ESOFT students who engage in Ubiquity courses will also be eligible for a $25,000 award should they choose to participate in Ubiquity’s Global Sustainability Challenge–a unique opportunity to work with peers around the world in pursuit of creative, innovative ways to solve global challenges that center around the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information about Ubiquity University and ESOFT programs please visit www.ubiquityuniversity.org and www.esoft.lk