The 13th Convocation Ceremony of Royal Institute of Colombo was held at the BMICH on February 25 jointly with the University of London where 212 graduates and diplomates received their respective awards. The University of London was represented by Professor Jenny Hamilton, Director Undergraduate Laws Programme of the University of London and Mrs. Rosemary Gosling, Director, International Programmes, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Royal Institute of Colombo (RIC), a market leader in tertiary education, is the Affiliated Centre of the University of London in Sri Lanka. It currently offers 15 degrees in the areas of Finance, Economics, Accounting, Banking, Business, Information Systems, International Relations, Law, Management, Mathematics and Sociology under the International programmes of the University of London. It also offers diploma courses in Economics, Law and Social Sciences which are access routes to the degrees. Today there are over 1200 students following the degree and diploma courses at the RIC.

These degrees which are of undisputed international standing are conferred by the University of London and are accepted anywhere in the world for postgraduate studies or for employment. Successful students will receive the identical degree they would get if they pursued studies in any of the constituent colleges of the University of London in the UK. As the university of London has only one degree, students who study at Royal Institute of Colombo under the International programmes of the University of London would therefore receive the same award as the University of London, is bound by statutes to ensure that all attain the some academic standard. Students who graduate in Sri Lanka are entitled to receive their awards in UK at the annual convocation of the University of London.

Under the International programmes of the University of London, Royal Institute of Colombo offers a wonderful opportunity to students to study from the comfort of their homes with family and friends around and yet obtain a world-class degree at a fraction of the cost of studying for the same degree in UK.
A unique feature of the programmes is that development of the syllabuses, course material, guidelines and evaluation of answer scripts are all done by the academics of the University of London. All examinations are also held by the University of London itself. The University closely and regularly supervises the delivery of our programmes to ensure that we maintain the same high standard. Students of the International Programmes are examined on the same standard as that required of students enrolled at the University's constituent colleges.

The degree programme of the RIC has become very popular on account of the above advantages and has brought relief to quite a number of students who failed to enter national Universities for higher education, not because they were not capable but due to severe competition to secure a place in the limited annual intake of students.

The demand for University of London degrees has shown a remarkable growth in Sri Lanka despite the competition. The growth, we believe, is because students choose to enrol for a University of London degree primarily as they wish to gain a quality degree that is internationally recognized and also in consideration of the high quality delivery of the programmes by Royal Institute of Colombo. Other reasons for choosing the International programmes are the international reputation of the University of London, to gain a qualification valued by employers and the flexibility to study and be examined in one's own country.

The Diplomas have been introduced as a part of the commitment by the London School of Economics and the University of London to extending and widening opportunities for access to higher education. They are intended to provide opportunities to reach first year undergraduate level particularly for students who may not have had the chance to continue formal full-time education and would now like to enhance their intellectual opportunities and career prospects. The Diplomas also offer opportunities to those who do not possess the normal A/L university entrance requirements, but can demonstrate that they have the ability, motivation and maturity to study at this level. On completion of the Diploma in one year, a student can proceed to read for most of the degrees offered by Royal Institute of Colombo under the International Programme.

A remarkable fact is that RIC has consistently produced world-class results in the degrees as well as in the diplomas maintaining extremely high pass rates in the region of 97% and 100% in certain academic years. RIC recorded a massive pass rate of 97.4% in the 2009/2010 academic year. It has already produced around 1500 University of London graduates. Every year, quite a number of students have achieved "Top marks in the World" in the subjects they have offered for their degrees or diplomas and received University of London awards. Among them were 2 students who obtained "Distinction" passes in their Diploma examinations.

Royal Institute is proud to state the brilliant performance of one of its students who read for the LL.B Honours degree at RIC. It was Mr. Milhan Ikram Mohamed who, through his superb performance, obtained a First Class Honours in the LL.B degree during the 2009/2010 academic year which is an extremely rare feat. The University of London has confirmed that 14,000 students from all over the world consisting of students from its International Programmes and those of the constituent colleges of the University of London sat the LL.B degree examination but only 6 students including Mr. Milhan Ikram Mohamed of Royal Institute of Colombo obtained LL.B First Class Honours. RIC congratulates all our high achievers.

It may be pertinent to mention that the LLB degree of the University of London exempts its holder from sitting the highly competitive Sri Lanka Law College entrance examination, yet sit the Law College examinations and qualify as an Attorney -at -Law within just one and a half years, Our former LL.B students are very successful practising lawyers or are occupying high profile careers according to the feedback we have received.

RIC provides state-of-the-art facilities and other resources for its students to go through a rich educational experience highlighting the fact that in education, at whatever level the journey is as important as the final destination. The automated library, which is one of the best available in Sri Lanka, has an extensive collection of text books and other reading material recommended by the University of London for various programmes that are offered. Additionally, students are provided on-line access to the University of London library as well as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) of the University's portal to enable them to access many resources and external sites. The appropriately qualified and experienced lecturers at RIC not only deliver the programmes effectively but also are very enthusiastic about students' progress. They provide help, care and proper guidance relating to problems the young students encounter in their lives as well as in studies.

The vision of Royal Institute of Colombo is to be a centre of excellence in tertiary education. It aims to produce graduates and other higher education holders in the fields of Social Sciences with international competence in academic knowledge, soft skills and positive attitudes. RIC is therefore confident of contributing its share towards the Socio-economic development of Sri Lanka in the years ahead.