APIIT - Sri Lanka, the pioneer and leader in quality higher education in the private sector has announced the awarding of 10 Merit Scholarships worth LKR. 13.5 Million in 2011 for the 5th consecutive year to academically promising and financially needy students. Each scholarship will be worth LKR.1,350,000 (1.35 million) and will cover the full course (tuition) fees of Staffordshire University UK Degree programmes in Computing, Applied IT, Business Management or Law conducted at the APIIT City Campus in Colombo. The scholarships will help realize the aspirations of needy students for whom access to quality higher education would otherwise be only a dream.

The 1st batch of Scholarship winners who received their Degree at the Annual Convocation 2010

Dr Gayan Jayakody, Programme Leader APIIT and Head of the Scholarship Scheme explained that through this annual APIIT Merit Scholarship Scheme a large number of deserving students from rural backgrounds have already gained access to internationally recognized British Degree programmes. Elaborating further, Dr Gayan stated that the APIIT Management is committed to continuing this noble task of supporting deserving students in spite of the economic situation in the country.

The APIIT Merit Scholarship Scheme was launched in 2007 after APIIT-Sri Lanka secured a grant under the World Bank Project for 'Improving Relevance and Quality of Undergraduate Education' (IRQUE) in Sri Lanka. By launching a novel scholarship scheme for the first time in the private higher education sector, APIIT- Sri Lanka has demonstrated its commitment not only to promoting quality but also establishing equality of access to higher education in Sri Lanka. It is noteworthy that this scholarship scheme in the private sector supports full-time study leading to a foreign degree in Sri Lanka.

The overarching objective of the APIIT Merit Scholarship Scheme is to enable academically deserving students with financial limitations to pursue higher education at APIIT. Ten Merit Scholarships have been awarded annually during the past four years to students from diverse backgrounds in the country. This year too, 10 full scholarships will be awarded and the selection will be based on Z- scores at the GCE A/L examination and parental income level. These ten Merit scholarships include four scholarships for Computing leading to the BSc (Hons)/ BEng (Hons) Computing Science, BSc (Hons)/ BEng (Hons) Software Engineering or BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology Degree and four scholarships for Management leading to the BA (Hons) Business Management Degree and two scholarships for Law leading to the LL.B (Hons) Law Degree awarded by Staffordshire University U.K. Most of the past scholars hail from districts such as Galle, Kandy, Matara, Ratnapura, Batticaloa and Kalutara, and this year too preference will be given to applicants from outside the Colombo and Gampaha districts.

APIIT - Sri Lanka has been established with the Board of Investment approval to offer tertiary education in Computing, Applied IT, Management and Law in partnership with the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology in Malaysia and Staffordshire University in Britain. These international partners take pride in promoting APIIT - Sri Lanka as a socially responsible higher education institute and extend their fullest support to the success of this CSR project. APIIT - Sri Lanka's Scholarships Programme is yet another venture that underpins the APIIT mission of producing internationally recognized computing and business professionals who will meet the demands of industry and commerce and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

Details of the scholarship scheme and the application forms could be obtained from APIIT City Campus at 388, Union Place, Colombo 2. Please contact Senani, Erandi, Ruzlie or Yoga on 011 2675060 or info@apiit.lk for further details and to receive applications. The application forms may also be downloaded from the APIIT web site: www.apiit.edu.lk.