Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology is a private degree awarding institute,established under Companies Act No. 07 of 2007 in Sri Lanka specializing in technology and management. It has two campuses and four regional centres, the main campus being based in Malabe and a Metropolitan Campus in Colombo.
SLIIT is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and International Association of Universities, and has several partnerships with international universities.
History
Founding
originally acquired the 25 acre land where SLIIT stands today in the 1980s in the expectation of building a Technological University and the headquarters of the Mahapola Trust Fund. Minister of Commerce Kingsley Wickramaratne and Richard Pathirana would eventually use the land for establishing SLIIT.The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology was established in 1999 by incorporation under the Companies Act of 2007 as a nonprofit company by guarantee with the ability to award Bachelor of Science degrees following amendments to the Universities Act the same year, thus gaining recognition from the Minister of Higher Education. SLIIT was established primarily to educate and train information technology professionals.
Expansions
Initially limited to the fields of information technology and computing, in 2007 SLIIT expanding into new fields of study. These include electronic engineering and business management in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University. SLIIT also expanded its presence from Colombo and its suburbs to other parts of the country, by establishing centres in Kandy and Matara, making SLIIT accessible in six locations. Presently, SLIIT operates two campuses - the Colombo Metropolitan Campus at Kollupitiya, and the Malabe Campus, with centres in Matara, Kandy, Jaffna and Kurunegala with an undergraduate student population of over 7,000. A further 1,000 students follow master's degree Programmes, Postgraduate Diploma and other Professional Development Programmes.In 2011, SLIIT established its faculty of business after it was accredited by the UGC to award Bachelor of Business Administration degrees in Human Capital Management, Accounting and Finance, Marketing Management, Quality management and Management Information Systems.
This was following in 2012, with the establishment of the Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management ; the first internationally recognised school for tourism and hospitality management in Sri Lanka. The project is a joint venture of SLIIT, Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management, and William Angliss Institute of Australia. It has been developed in line with international standards, housing a multi-use training kitchen, a full-scale banqueting facility, training restaurant, model bedrooms, an IT training centre and team rooms for students' practical training to prepare students for the degree of Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
The faculty of engineering was formed in 2013, with it awarding its own Bachelor of Science in Engineering degrees and master's degrees from partner universities such as Curtin University and Sheffield Hallam University. The SLIIT Computing was established as a privately managed subsidiary of SLIIT in Kollupitiya to further expand undergraduate studies. In 2015, SLIIT established its School of Architecture, offering a three-year degree in architecture. In 2016, introducing 16 new research based degrees including PhD and MPhil degrees approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation of Sri Lanka.
Campuses
SLIIT has two main campuses in the Western Province- a Metropolitan campus in central Colombo, and a flagship suburban campus at Malabe. The Malabe campus covers an area of about, making it the larger of the two campuses, and houses the faculties of Computing, Business and Engineering, as well as the main library. Located between Kaduwela and Malabe along the New Kandy Road, it is the only SLIIT campus with sporting facilities. The smaller Metropolitan campus is located within the Bank of Ceylon Merchant Tower at Kollupitiya, hosting mostly postgraduate facilities.The institute also has regional centres in Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and Kurunegala.
Governance
The company is governed by a board of directors headed by a chairman; the current chairmen is Professor L. Rathnayake, who succeeded founding chairman Professor Sam Karunaratne. Due to government ownership of the institute, many of the Board's seats are held by government officials on an ex-officio basis.The Board delegates power over academic and administrative affairs of the institute to the President, who also acts as CEO of the institute. Professor Lalith Gamage is the current President.
Faculties and schools
Faculty of Computing
The origins of the Faculty of Computing goes back to the formation of SLIIT in 1999, when it introduced degrees in information technology. It has since expanded to cover several more areas of computing such as computer systems, networks, information systems, software engineering, interactive media and cyber security with most programs accredited by The Institution of Engineering and Technology.; Departments
- Information Technology
- Software Engineering
- Information Systems Engineering
- English Language Teaching Unit
Business School
; Departments
- Business Management
- Information Management
Faculty of Engineering
; Departments
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Graduate Studies
Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management
The Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management was started in 2012 as a joint venture with SLIIT and William Angliss Institute of TAFE, offering degrees in tourism and hospitality management.SLIIT Computing
SLIIT Computing is a subsidiary of SLIIT offering degrees in information technology.School of Architecture
The School of Architecture was established in 2015 offering BSc degrees programs in architecture and quantity surveying from the Liverpool John Moores University.Faculty of Science and Education
The Faculty of Science and Education was established in 2018, with the introduction of a degree programs in natural sciences, education, psychology and nursing.- School of Education
- School of Natural sciences
- School of Nursing
- School of Psychology
- English Language Training Unit
- Mathematics Unit
Academics
Affiliations
Partnerships with foreign universities allow students to finish their degree at these universities following an initial study period in Sri Lanka.| Country | University/Institution | Country | University/Institution |
 Australia | Curtin University of Technology |  Canada | Algoma University |
| Australia | Deakin University | Canada | Memorial University of Newfoundland |
| Australia | Griffith University |  United Kingdom | Aston University |
| Australia | La Trobe University | United Kingdom | Liverpool John Moores University |
| Australia | Macquarie University | United Kingdom | University of Nottingham |
| Australia | Queensland University of Technology | United Kingdom | University of Hertfordshire |
| Australia | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |  United States | Southeast Missouri State University |
| Australia | Swinburne University | - | - |
| Australia | The University of Adelaide | - | - |
| Australia | University of Newcastle | - | - |
| Australia | University of South Australia | - | - |
| Australia | University of Tasmania | - | - |
| Australia | William Angliss Institute | - | - |
Research
SLIIT conducts IT and computer-related research and is a partner of ConceptNursery.com, Sri Lanka's technology incubator. The SLIIT Research Symposium is held annually.Professional courses
SLIIT conducts the Cisco Network Academy courses under the regional Cisco Network Academy in Sri Lanka. SLIIT is also one of the Microsoft Academies in Sri Lanka offering Certification Courses.Controversies
Takeover of SAITM
SLIIT has signed an MoU with South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine on 30 December 2017 which would allow SLIIT to take over ownership and management of SAITM's assets, liabilities, staff and students, Director General of Government Information Sudarshana Gunawardana said issuing a press release. All medical students, who studied at the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine absorbed into a new Medical Faculty established at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information and Technology effective from 1 January 2018.Rankings
| Publications | Category | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2020 |
| Higher Education | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Webometrics Ranking of World Universities | Sri Lankan Universities | 11 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Webometrics Ranking of World Universities | Higher Education Institutes in Sri Lanka | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |