| Ruhuna gets state-of the-art technology in ICT due to a generous grant from SIDA / SAREC |
The SIDA/SAREC of the Swedish government provided a handsome grant amounting to over Rs.40 million establishing the state-of-the-art technology in Information and Communication Technology at University of Ruhuna. This involved establishing high speed fibre optic connectivity and providing most modern equipment in ICT, thereby putting in place the necessary infrastructure in ICT in keeping with the requirements of IT era.
With the advent of this project, over 400 wall sockets for internet access are provided to the administrative staff, academics, non-academic, undergraduate and post-graduate students to surf on the internet, which besides enabling them to access and retrieve necessary information swiftly, would keep them abreast of the latest developments , trends etc. in their respective fields.
The presence of a campus-wide infrastructure in ICT has prompted the NORAD to come in with a project to introduce MIS and computerization of student administration at Ruhuna, which is just one example of the ripple effect of the above ICT project. Not only the present staff and students, but also those who would be joining this University in many more years to come will greatly benefit from the ICT infrastructure base.
It has made a tremendous impact on the University redounding to its image and competitive edge. The University expresses its profound gratitude to the Swedish government, its people and the SIDA/SAREC for the above priceless gift.
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NORAD assists in introducing MIS and computerizing student registration at Ruhuna |
Universities hitherto maintain most of the records manually in paper-based form. As a result, the university administrators, planners, policy makers etc. find it difficult to access and retrieve necessary data for policy formulation, decision-making and such like.
Thanks to a NORAD-funded project on "Development of higher education in Sri Lanka utilizing IT", a customized educational management information system will be developed and implemented at three Universities, namely Ruhuna, Colombo and Moratuwa. In addition, student registration will be computerized. Under this project, necessary hardware, software and networks connecting the General Administration with the Faculties of Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences and Science will be installed and the relevant staff will be trained on how to operate and manage the MIS. While Prof. Lakshman Ratnayake is the Chairman of the Steering Committee of this Project, Mr. Paul Johansen from ErgoEnet, Norway serves as the Project Director. This project will bring about much needed transformation in the university administration to suit the IT era, improving its efficiency and effectiveness and facilitating the credit transfer and student mobility in keeping with university reforms.
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Asian Development Bank grant to Faculty of Science |
Under the Science and Technology Personnel Development Project funded by the ADB, the Faculty of Science received a grant to the value of US$ 536,721. It has resulted in establishing a local area network, strengthening undergraduate programmes in molecular biology and fisheries biology, improving curricula and the library and establishing a Computer Application Laboratory in the Faculty of Science. The Departments of Botany, Computer Science and Fisheries Biology, which are the direct beneficiaries of the project have received considerable amount of equipment under this project. A new lab equipped with forty computers has also been set up under this project, enabling the Faculty to provide the students with more computer time and admit a double batch of student in Computer Science.
Human Resource development is another important aspect of this project whereby a several staff members are being trained in the said fields at doctoral level in Japan, U.K and Sweden. Prof. Morley de Silva, Professor of Biology, coordinates this project that has contributed substantially to improving infrastructure facilities and capacity building of the faculty.