Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), the pioneer in British higher education in Sri Lanka, launched their annual InfoSchol programme by awarding scholarships to local and international school students to follow industry renowned IT and Business degrees from the University of Westminster, UK. The scholarships were offered at a special event organised at the IIT campus premises recently which was graced by principals from leading local and international schools, academics and representatives from the IT industry.

The InfoSchol programme, a brainchild of Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe – Founder and Chairman of the Informatics Group, has been providing talented students from across Sri Lanka the opportunity to obtain a 100% sponsored degree from the University of Westminster, UK, while following a full-time internship at leading organisations which includes multinational and local blue-chip companies. The Infoschol programme provides students an opportunity to follow BEng (Hons) Software Engineering, BSc (Hons) Computer Science, BSc (Hons) Business Information Systems and BA (Hons) Business Management degree programmes.

The degree programmes are part-time and will be 5 years in duration. IIT will assist the students to obtain industrial placement in one of several reputed organisations in Sri Lanka, that have partnered with IIT to offer job opportunities. InfoSchol students will also receive a substantial allowance from the company while gaining valuable experience that is in line with the degree they are pursuing. These students who complete their 5-year degree will make a saving of over Rs.1.8 million due to the zero costs in Registration Fees, Tuition Fees, University Fees and Exam Fees related to the degree.

Once they graduate with 5 years of work experience, they will be wellpositioned to obtain employment at a managerial level in any local or multinational company of their choosing. Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe– Founder and Chairman of the Informatics Group stated, “The InfoSchol programme was initiated several years ago to provide opportunities for highly-talented students from all walks of life to pursue their dream of following a top-class international degree while also simultaneously entering the job market and putting what they learn into practice in the real world.

With all financial aspects taken care of, these InfoSchol students can fully focus on both their studies and work, without any distractions. I am proud to state that over the years thousands of students have got a head start in their lives and careers through this programme.” Addressing the audience, Prof. Jayantha Wijeyaratne – Director of IIT stated, “The most talented and deserving InfoSchol students will now have the opportunity to pursue their higher education without worrying about the finances. We have partnered with some of the top companies in the country and they are very excited about receiving IIT’s InfoSchol graduates into their organisations.

We plan to expand this programme to schools from across the island in the future.” Speaking at the event, InfoSchol Alumni Asanka Marasinghe – IFS, Country Director -Bangladesh stated that his farther encouraged him to apply for the InfoSchol scholarship programme after his A/Ls. “I am proud to say that IIT’s InfoSchol programme has made me what I am today. I’m one of the hundreds of InfoSchol students created by IIT over the years. As a part-time student doing a full-time job, we used to work four days, from Monday to Thursday,while Friday and Saturday was allocated for studies.

It was a very interesting time as we learnt a lot and also had a lot of fun. Now, as part of IFS recruitment, I see how beneficial this programme is for companies. As the InfoSchol students stay a minimum of five years in the company,it helps them to stay focused on studies and work.” Mrs. Thamara Dunusinghe, mother of InfoSchol Alumni Dr. Sashakthi Dunusinghe- Area Tech Lead atGoogle, stated thather son was fortunate to get a chance to pursue his degree without any financial cost and gain valuable industry exposure which has helped him grow in his career. “Since IIT is very close to the best companies in Sri Lanka, they found my son a good job.

I always tell teachers and parents to encourage children to take advantage of this amazing scholarship programme from IIT. They can save their hard-earned money and let their children study and work right after A/Ls, giving them a head start in life.” For more information about InfoSchol, students can log on to www.iit.ac.lk / Admission / InfoSchol Scholarship or call 0112 360212 or 0722727272. Interested students can apply for the scholarship programme by filling the Online Application Form or by downloading the Application Form and emailing to [email protected] or by mailing IIT under the title, “InfoSchol 2020”, to Informatics Institute of Technology, No. 57, Ramakrishna Road, Colombo 06.