Graduating in early twenties with an internationally recognised degree may sound like a farfetched dream for most Sri Lankan students; but this shouldn't be the case any longer with APIIT-Sri Lanka providing opportunities for enrolment in a British degree programme immediately after O/L or A/L. APIIT-Sri Lanka offers internationally accredited higher education programmes in Colombo with a view to producing globally competitive graduates who will meet the demands of the modern society and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

APIIT - Sri Lanka, incorporated in September 1999 in partnership with the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology - Malaysia and Staffordshire University - UK, offers tertiary education in Computing/IT, Business Management and Legal studies. These degree programmes are conducted over a period of three years enabling students to graduate in early twenties with a prestigious Internal British Degree awarded by Staffordshire University. APIIT-Sri Lanka also facilitates credit transfers to a number of reputable universities in UK and Australia and thus forms part of an international collaboration in cross border education.

Staffordshire University is an internationally accredited higher educational institute in UK with state-of-the-art facilities to support teaching/ learning. A comprehensive quality assurance framework ensures that APIIT -Sri Lanka offers similar facilities and learning experiences to students studying at its City Campus in Colombo. All programmes at APIIT are quality assured by Staffordshire University and students are awarded the same degree certificate offered to those studying in UK.

APIIT Business School offers several diploma and degree programmes in Business Management. The APIIT Business School is driven by a vision to be a leading Business School in the Asia Pacific Region with a global reputation for academic excellence; its mission is to produce business professionals who are effective in a competitive global environment.

Key features of the Degree programmes
BA (Hons) Business Administration degree programme is one of the best in the island with a holistic approach to Business Management. Students follow a comprehensive set of modules during the first year gathering basic knowledge on the fundamentals of Business Administration and progress to a more advanced stage in the second and third years. Equal emphasis on theory and practice in Business Studies and industry oriented project work towards the latter part of the programme is a distinctive feature of the Business degree. In addition, several degree programmes combining management and computing are also available; these are designed to meet the demands of the modern world where business takes place in an IT environment.

A diverse range of teaching strategies including case studies, video presentations and project work is employed to achieve the learning objectives. These are intended to develop students' knowledge, skills and ability to identify and solve real world problems. Students are also trained to work efficiently in a group or independently in a disciplined and structured environment. Continuous assessments carried out throughout the programme enhance student involvement and skills development. The examinations and assessments are moderated by Staffordshire University Examiners and University Examiners external to Staffordshire University.

At the end of the second year, students have the opportunity to opt for Industry Placements in leading organisations in the country; industry placements are facilitated by the Career Guidance and Job Placements Unit. This allows students to gain industry experience prior to commencing their final year. Students are exposed to in-depth knowledge in research methods and project work in their final year. Greater emphasis is placed on managerial subject areas such as Strategic Management, Integrated Marketing Communication and Entrepreneurship as well as on some up-to-date modules such as Interactive E-marketing and International HRM.

Moreover the students are guided by faculty members to take their project work further into entrepreneurial ventures thereby promoting graduates to reach their full potential and excel in the industry.

Career prospects and Graduate employability
The degree programmes offered at APIIT Business School aim to develop professional skills as well as provide good practical grounding in the chosen area of study. These programmes provide prospects of employment in a wide spectrum of careers in Business Management and cater to the growing demand for business professionals in the industry with comprehensive knowledge in all the essential areas in Management.

The Career Guidance & Job Placement Unit maintains a close relationship with the corporate sector and assists students on planning their careers and securing employment. APIIT alumni records indicate that business graduates are employed in a wide variety of industries both locally and internationally. These include Apparel, FMCG, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Tourism, Shipping and even IT and Computing. Thus APIIT students are groomed to become 'employable' in a highly competitive global environment.

This is one of the reasons why APIIT-Sri Lanka has been able to attract thousands of students from all parts of Sri Lanka and from overseas to follow the business degrees over the years. APIIT-Sri Lanka takes pride in having produced outstanding graduates who are acknowledged as dynamic professionals geared to taking on the challenges of the ever changing industry and commerce.