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‘While protecting free education in the country, it is equally important to promote private sector education said Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake when he declared open a partnership venture between Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and Nawaloka College of Higher Studies (NCHS).
Speaking at the ceremonial launch in Colombo yesterday the minister said he believes that global education is of paramount importance and institution like Swinburne University would bring quality education to Sri Lanka.
Dissanayake said such education would suit the needs of the 21st century which the Mahinda Chintana policy document clearly specifies.
Dissanayake also said that despite increasing the student intake into state universities, some 100,000 seek further studies annually through the private sector education system, saying partnerships of this nature would further boost Sri Lanka to become a knowledge hub.
The minister said the collaboration between NCHS and Swinburne University of Technology has paved the way for world class Swinburne degree pathways in business, engineering and IT streams to be offered for the first time here.
Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology is ranked among the top three per cent of universities in the world by the prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and is internationally renowned for its focus on science, technology and innovation.
Speaking on the occasion, Australian High Commissioner Robyn Mudie said: "The establishment of a joint campus between the Swinburne University of Technology and the Nawaloka College of Higher Studies marks a significant step forward for the education relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka."
Mudie said this joint campus is the first to be established by Swinburne University in the South Asian region. "While it will initially target students from Sri Lanka, its longer term goal is to attract students from elsewhere in the region, in line with the Government of Sri Lanka’s vision of Sri Lanka as an education hub," she added.
Swinburne University, Australia, Chief Executive Officer, Peter Krikstolaitis said that Swinburne University is very pleased to be able to offer its programmes in Colombo in conjunction with a quality partner in Nawaloka College of Higher Studies.
"We will be providing a programme which follows the same timetable we have in Australia, providing support to students from both, having Swinburne teachers at NCHS, as well as added support from Australian based staff," he added.
Further elaborating on the partnership with NCHS, he said: "We are fortunate to be working with NCHS who have shown to us a strong commitment to provide quality programmes to the students who enroll which gives us great confidence that the venture will be successful. This partnership will be very important as we look towards expanding our range of programmes in the future."
The modern seven-storey campus was unveiled by Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake and Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Robyn Mudie who attended the ceremony as Guest of Honour.
Located in the heart of Colombo, the NCHS campus houses technologically advanced teaching and learning facilities, including a purpose built engineering laboratory, a modern computer laboratory and a resource-oriented library.
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