Royal Institute of Colombo (RIC) ceremonially launched the licensed pathway to Deakin University Software Engineering and Data Science degrees
View(s):Royal Institute of Colombo (RIC) ceremonially launched the licensed pathway to Deakin University Software Engineering and Data Science degrees on Monday the 14th of August at Cinnamon Grand with many special guests and dignitaries including the Chairman of Royal Institute of Colombo, Mr. G. T. Bandara, Deakin delegates from Australia, representatives from Deakin International Sri Lanka Country Office, delegates from international and national schools in Sri Lanka, academics from various universities, and delegates from corporate entities.
In her welcome address, Dr. Nirodha Bandara, the Academic Director of RIC, holder of MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick, UK and one of the youngest recipients of PhD in Sri Lanka said “Royal Institute of Colombo stands as a beacon of educational excellence with a legacy of 32 years conducting the prestigious University of London degree programmes. Our commitment to education is strengthened by the academic partnerships with world-class institutions such as the London School of Economics and Political Science, Kings College London, and University College London. Moreover, our institution holds the distinction for being the sole provider of the Deakin pathway programmes in Engineering, Science, and Environment in Sri Lanka over the last decade and this partnership is a testament to our dedication to offering diverse and progressive pathways for our students.” She also added, “Our students’ accomplishments including world prizes and scholarships bear testimony to the excellence fostered within our halls… Today we look ahead with anticipation and excitement as we launch two new pathway degree programmes from Deakin University, Australia, in the field of Information Technology which symbolize the intersection of knowledge and opportunity propelling our students towards a future of growth, innovation and impact.”
An experienced senior academic leader Pro-Vice Chancellor International Research Partnerships and Associate Dean of International and Partnerships Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built-Environment, for Deakin University, Australia, Chief Guest for the evening Prof. K. Baskaran, in his address said “Our partnership with RIC is built on mutual trust, openness, respect and shared goal of providing the best possible learning experience for students. Some of the key aspects in our pathway programme with RIC are students following the same curriculum as offered at Deakin University with the support of RIC staff, using a similar infrastructure in terms of laboratories and experience, and students in their initial one or two years depending on the area study at RIC and then continue the education at Deakin University to complete the degree.”
Ms. Bri Gunn, International Manager, currently based at Deakin’s Burwood Campus overseeing four key markets, country office, team operations and Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, taking the audience through real life experiences at Deakin showed what student life was really like at Deakin: “We really put the student at the front of our focus and this can be seen in some of the innovations that we have done with some of our degrees – our Bachelor of Engineering has just moved to having no traditional exams which probably sound quite foreign here, but the exciting thing is with the RIC partnership the new models of doing design based learning mean that students are highly employable and that skill sets are brought here to RIC.” She added, “to all students who are in the room tonight considering coming to Deakin, rest assured that you are really supported when you come, and you feel like you are part of the Deakin family from day one.”
Speaking on how the content is prepared for a student for Software Engineering and Data Science for their career pathways, an experienced senior academic and executive, Guest of Honour for the event Prof. Robin Doss, Director for Centre for Cyber Resilience and Trust at the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built-Environment of Deakin University, Australia “Bachelor of Software Engineering and Bachelor of Data Science are two courses developed by the School of Information Technology in response to the skill shortages that were observed in the industry –not only in Australia, but globally. As we live and move into a world that is technology driven, data enabled, and smart, Data Scientists and Software Engineers will play a critical role in the 21st century economy. In terms of the courses, these are designed to give skills that will lead to careers, and it is very important where we study and how we study.”
The key-note speaker Mr. Keith Modder, a global expert in the IT industry, and a global business leader and former COO of Virtusa in his address on ‘employability in a digital era’ said, “the single most important thing I want to share with you today is ‘relevance’; being relevant not only as individuals, but as companies and countries. The most debated question of our time is whether we will lose any jobs to AI. There will be a category of jobs that will go away, but the majority of humans will not lose their jobs to AI. The majority of humans will lose their jobs to other humans who are enabled by AI. Remember a very famous quote from the futurist Alvin Toffler – The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but will be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn what they might already know.”
Students who follow the Software Engineering pathway will have the opportunity to study two years at RIC and complete the remaining two years at Deakin University in Australia, while those who follow the Data Science pathway will study one year at RIC and the rest at Deakin University in Australia. This new addition will help Sri Lankan students to secure gainful employment locally and internationally due to the extensive demand for IT professionals.
Intakes for both Bachelor of Software Engineering (Honours) & Bachelor of Data Science degrees will commence in September this year, with two intakes planned for February and September every year for both new degrees. Interested parties can get in touch with RIC admissions office via 0772 355000 for more information.
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