Jump start Sri Lanka: Rotary’s 500 ICT Scholarships worth Rs. 2 billion
In a unique partnership facilitated by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Philippines, H.E. Shobini Gunasekera, 500 ICT scholarships worth Rupees 2 billion for the youth of Sri Lanka has been conceptualized by two Rotary Clubs from Sri Lanka and the Philippines to Jump start the Sri Lankan economy with a leading education Campus in Cebu, Philippines . The reason we branded this ‘ Jump Start Sri Lanka by Rotary’ is because we want support the countries target to make the ICT/BPO sector a $5 billion export generating business said the Rotary District Governor for Sri Lanka and Maldives Pubudu De Soyza. We must focus and build the youth skill set of Sri Lanka. This is my key focus duting
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Philippines H.E. Shobini Gunasekera and Prof. Nelia Cruz Sarcol-Charter President Rotary Club of Makati- Circle,Philippines
The collaboration was formally inked through the virtual signing ceremony of a sister club agreement and an MoU on the scholarships program between the Rotary Club of Makati-Circle of Friends (RCM-CoF), Rotary Club of Colombo Reconnections (RCCR), and the Center for International Education Global Colleges Inc (CIE) from the Philippines.
In her remarks, Ambassador Gunasekera elaborated that, “The ICT sector is a major economic growth driver for Sri Lanka and is seen to develop into a $5 billion industry. This worthwhile program will contribute in upskilling our youth and professionals with the current developments in the highly-innovative and constantly evolving industry.”
“I would like to thank Prof. Nelia Cruz Sarcol, the Charter President of the RCM-CoF and the President and CEO of CIE, for this kind initiative.’’ Ambassador Gunasekera added.
The Rotary Project Chairman for Jump Start Sri Lanka Dr Rohantha Athukorala commented “that there are around 24,000 jobs that are on offer by ICT/ BPO companies like HCT, Virtusa, John Keells IT, Orel, 99X among others, but Sri Lanka produces only around 13,000 graduates resulting to a gap that this project will target.”
Project Chairman for Rotary Jump Start Sri Lanka –
Dr Rohantha Athukorala
Speaking about the way forward, Dr Athukorala mentioned that “We will also have a partnership with the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) who will organize the “ Boot Camps” across the country in partnership with the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology( APIIT) for the necessary technical requirements to support the online education provided from Philippines.”
The District Governor for Rotary – Sri Lanka and Maldives Pubudu De Zoysa thanked the Ambassador and the Embassy for the support extended. She committed that the best talent will be selected and will benefit in the program. More details will be on the Rotary 3220 website and Rotary FB and Instagrams sites or contact your Rotary Club voiced Governor De Soyza.