Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology

In the early 1990s with the rise of IT sector Prof. Lalith Gamage, who would eventually be the first president of SLIIT recognized the necessity of generating a substantial number of IT professionals in Sri Lanka to fulfill the increasing demand for such expertise. At the time, Prof. Gamage held the position of Senior Lecturer and was also the Director of the Computing Services Centre at the University of Moratuwa (UoM). He drafted a proposal for creating an institute of information technology within UoM and forwarded it to Hon. Kingsley T. Wickramaratne, who was the Minister of Internal and International Commerce and Food at that time. In June 1998, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Internal and International Commerce and Food jointly brought a proposal to the Cabinet to have the Malabe institute funded by the Mahapola Trust Fund (MTF) and provided with land. The Chairman of the MTF, who was always the Chief Justice, was consulted on this matter. Although the Cabinet agreed to the project in principle, the Ministry of Finance expressed concerns about the lack of qualified academics to teach at the new institute and the financial burden it would place on the Consolidated Fund. [8] [9]

In 1999, Prof. Gamage requested a meeting with Mr. Wickramarathne, the Minister of Internal and International Commerce and Food, to discuss the creation of an institute. The meeting involved Ministry officials, professionals, and academics, and it was proposed to form a company limited by guarantee as an interim measure. This would allow for the project to move forward until cabinet approval was obtained, at which point the Government could take over the Institute and attach it to the University of Moratuwa.

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology was established in 1999 at BOC Merchant tower, Colombo 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.[10][11][12] SLIIT was established primarily to educate and train information technology professionals. SLIIT was established as an independent institution, as the initial guarantors did not represent any organization and the government or MTF did not have any ownership in it.[13][14]

In September 1999, SLIIT commenced its operations by offering a two-year Diploma Programme at a leased space situated in it's Colombo campus. The institute received a staggering 3,150 applications, out of which only 400 were granted admission.

SLIIT approached the Mahapola Trust Fund (MTF) to develop the Malabe Campus due to increasing demand for their programmes. Unlike before, this time SLIIT approached MTF as an independent entity rather than a part of UoM. In September 2000, MTF agreed to provide LKR 500 million for construction work and allocated the land in Malabe. Construction started the following year in 2001.

After a change in government in 2001, promised funding from the MTF for the construction of the Malabe Campus stopped abruptly, leaving the MD/CEO to finance the completion of the first phase with his own personal resources. Negotiations with the MTF eventually led to an agreement in 2005 for SLIIT to lease the land and operate independently as a separate legal entity. In exchange, SLIIT would provide board seats for MTF nominees and pay 20% of financial surpluses generated only from the Malabe Campus to the MTF. This agreement remained in effect until another change of government in 2015. [15]

In 2015, the Mahapola Trust Fund (MTF) requested to review and amend their agreement with the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), asking for the return of all funds originally contributed, including interest. SLIIT had invested over LKR 2 billion into the Malabe Campus between 2005 and 2015. A new agreement was signed in which SLIIT paid LKR 408.5 million to the MTF, which included the initial funding plus interest. The MTF renewed the lease of the land to SLIIT for 60 years, with a lease rental of LKR 20 million per annum, and increasing every five years up to LKR 45 million. The MTF withdrew its members from the board of SLIIT after receiving full payment. The ownership of the land remained with the MTF, and they earn lease rental income from it.

In 2007, SLIIT started expanding into new fields of study. These include electronic engineering and business management in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University.[16] 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.

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 followed in 2012, with the establishment of the Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management (CAHM). The project is a joint venture of SLIIT, Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management (CAHM),[17] and William Angliss Institute of Australia. It has been developed in line with international standards, housing a training kitchen, 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.[18][19]

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.[5] 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.[20]

In 2017, the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences was establish as the newest division that provides the most extensive assortment of programs offered by any faculty on the campus. This faculty offers programs in diverse areas, including Biotechnology, Education, Law, Mathematics, Nursing, and Psychology.

The origins of the Faculty of Computing goes back to the formation of SLIIT in 1999, when it introduced degrees in Information technology.[24] SLIIT offers a 4-year Honours degree in Information technology. Students can choose to specialise on 7 different fields. They are Information Technology, Computer Systems and Network Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Systems Engineering, Cyber Security, Interactive Media and Data Science. Students choose the specialise from the 2nd year onwards and some specialisations are restricted by a particular CGPA threshold.

SLIIT Business School, which was formally known as the Faculty of Business was established in 2011, offering BBA degree programs.[25]

Established in 2013, the Faculty of Engineering offers BScs in engineering degree programs.[26]

The Faculty of Science and Education was established in 2017, with the introduction of a degree programs in Biotechnology, natural sciences, law, education, psychology and nursing.[27]

The Faculty of Graduate Studies is a graduate school that conducts taught and research postgraduate degree programs in the fields of engineering and computing.[20]

The William Angliss Institute was started as Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management (CAHM) 2012 as a joint venture with SLIIT and William Angliss Institute of TAFE, offering degrees in tourism and hospitality management.[17]

The School of Architecture was established in 2015 offering BSc and MSc degree programs in architecture from the Liverpool John Moores University.[28]

Partnerships with foreign universities allow students to finish their degree at these universities following an initial study period in Sri Lanka.[31]

Country	University/Institution	Country	University/Institution
Australia	Curtin University of Technology[32][33]	Canada	Algoma University[34][35]
	Deakin University[33][36]		Memorial University of Newfoundland[35][37]
	Griffith University[33]	United Kingdom	Aston University[38][39]
	La Trobe University[31][33]		Liverpool John Moores University[39][40]
	Macquarie University[33]		University of Nottingham[39]
	Queensland University of Technology[33][41]		University of Hertfordshire[39]
	Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology[33][42]	United States	Southeast Missouri State University[43]
	Swinburne University[33]
	The University of Adelaide[33]
	University of Newcastle[33][41][44]
	University of South Australia[33]
	University of Tasmania[33][41]
	William Angliss Institute[33]

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.[45][46]

SLIIT conducts the Cisco Network Academy courses (CCNA, CCNP and CCSP) under the regional Cisco Network Academy in Sri Lanka. SLIIT is also one of the Microsoft Academies in Sri Lanka offering Certification Courses.[47]

The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) was established as a government owned but privately managed institute and was built on a property that belonged to the Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund. In 2015 SLIIT Board of Directors had transferred the assets of SLIIT to a company limited by guarantee, which was set up to manage SLIIT. The government auditor department said such a transfer was in contravention of the law and resulted in Mahapola not getting the correct amount of funds from SLIIT. In September 2018, Dr. Rajapakshe submitted a Cabinet paper, attempting to establish SLIIT as a fee-levying institution under the Government, but this has so far been unsuccessful.[48][49][50]

In 2021, SLIIT has been asked to appear before the Committee On Public Enterprises (Sri Lanka) for the investigations but SLIIT refused to appear before the Committee citing it was not state-owned and COPE expressed its displeasure.[51][52][53] In 2020, the Sri Lankan parliament appointed a committee to investigate the misuse of public funds by the SLIIT; this committee included 22 members of the Sri Lankan parliament, and its final report was released in April 2021. According to this report, the top management of the SLIIT has taken a series of informal steps to vest state resources in private ownership. Hence, this committee recommends that legal action be taken under the Public Property Act against parties who alienated state ownership and management of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology without proper authority.[54]