Sunday Observer

Sri Lanka Railways and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the national mobile services provider entered the next phase of the hallmark partnership.

The duo unveiled Sri Lanka's first mobile railway ticket reservation system in 2009, to offer railway commuters the convenience of reserving tickets for intercity travel over a mobile phone call.

By Uditha KUMARASINGHE

The Higher Education Ministry is to introduce a Human Capital Development Finance Act (HCDFC) with the intention of providing a helping hand to the thousands of undergraduates who possess skills in various fields to enhance their skills and become professional graduates.

Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake called upon the private sector to join hands with the government to strengthen the country's education system.

The Minister was speaking at a media conference on Friday at the Open University of Sri Lanka when the university signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hemas Hospitals to launch a nursing training program.

Sri Lanka has been identified as an emerging and most cost effective educational hub in Asia at an international seminar on “Going Global 2011” held in Hongkong.

Two Science parks will be established in the Southern and North Western provinces to facilitate high-tech industries to operate in a dynamic environment that enables them to nurture, innovate and develop ideas.

Red Herring announced hSenid Mobile as a winner of its ‘Red Herring Global award’ among 100 other leading private ICT companies from North America, Europe, and Asia, celebrating their innovations and technologies across their respective industries.

Oma Emirates LLC, a leading provider of software solutions to the global payment card industry tied up with Sri Lanka’s premier software solutions provider Epic Lanka under an exclusive agreement. This partnership will enable the two companies to share expertise, co-develop solutions and also benefit from marketing opportunities in the new territories.

The threat landscape of cyber security has changed drastically and software companies the world over are devising strategies to mitigate this threat, Managing Director for India and SAARC region of Symantec Ajay Goel told the Sunday Observer. Symantec is the fourth largest software company in the world.

Sri Lanka Telecom Manpower Solutions (Pvt) Ltd (SLTMS) achieved a landmark when it was given the certification of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2008 by DNV.

“Software solutions of Microsoft have created a revolutionary change on the lifestyles of the Sri Lankan people making businesses and interaction easier and convenient”, said EPG Director of Microsoft Sri Lanka Imran Vilcassim.

By Lalin Fernandopulle

Providing more higher educational opportunities for Sri Lankan students will help save the drain of valuable foreign exchange and enhance professionalism in the country, said Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education, Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne.

Microsoft Sri Lanka will donate software worth Rs 5 billion over the next three years to improve Information Communications Technology (ICT) and continue to work with the Ministry of Education to ensure that schoolchildren are given access to new software, Country Manager for Microsoft Sriyan De Silva Wijeyeratne told a media briefing at the Cinnamon Lakeside on Thursday to mark the seventh year anniversary celebrations of Microsoft Sri Lanka, aptly titled ‘Significant Seven’.

A three-week training program on leadership and a three-month training program in English and Information Technology will be given to university students from next year, said Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratna. The aim of this scheme is to facilitate them for the university eduction, he said.

The Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) introduced a hot line yesterday for mobile phone users to verify the bona fide of a new phone before buying it.

Universities from India, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia have shown a keen interest in setting up branches in Sri Lanka, said Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education, Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne.

To showcase best practices in the industry - especially in knowledge sharing from a strategic perspective - and effectively portray Human Resource Management as a tool to gain competitive advantage for local companies to win globally, hSenid Business Solutions (HBS) will host the hSenid International Human Resource Management Conference 2011 on the 10th and 11th of February at the Hilton Colombo.

The global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from US$ 1370 billion at present to US$ 2740 billion by 2020. Half of this market is in energy efficiency while the balance is in sustainable transport, water, sanitation and waste management.

The Bank of Ceylon (BoC) has signed a contract with OpenArc for the implementation of leasing software solution integrating all branches practising leasing business.

Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said that Sri Lanka welcomes private investments in infrastructure development and the Colombo South Port is an ideal example that blue chip companies are investing in Sri Lanka.

ICTA will offer grants to IT companies which are planning to open branches in the North and East, provide inhouse training and carry out train the trainer programs said an ICTA spokesman.

The companies who already have branches or are planning to have branches in the Northern and Eastern provinces and the companies who have already received the above grants and carried out regular training of staff also can apply.

Two e-schools were opened in Hambantota for the first time to provide Information Communication Technology (ICT) to rural schoolchildren.

Hambantota Suchi National School and Lunugamvehera Central College were each provided with a computer, projector and a Mobitel 3G connection so that the schools would have access to the Internet. The events were successfully completed with an online presentation by Moratuwa University Lecturer of Communication, Christy Alwis.

Zone24x7 and SRI International have received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to determine the technical feasibility of incorporating SRI's electroactive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) technology into a low-cost, mobile device that improves access to text documents, graphs, maps, and the Internet by producing high definition tactile images for the visually impaired. EPAM, a smart material technology developed at SRI, has unique vibrotactile properties.

Information Technology (IT) will make a salient contribution to make Sri Lanka the "Wonder of Asia" under the government's five-year development plan, said Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

Former member of Parliament and member of the Central Provincial Council, S. Sathasivam said at a time when the plantation children were far behind in their educational achievements, the role played by the Nuwara Eliya British Business College is commendable.

Microsoft Sri Lanka taking ICT to rural communities under its Gamata IT program is active in Beliatta, Hambantota. The Beliatta chapter is a collaboration between Microsoft Sri Lanka, the Tharunayata Hetak movement, ICTA, the Ministry of Education and Singer Sri Lanka. In joining hands with Tharunayata Hetak, Microsoft aims to reach and impact the lives of as many young people as possible in the Hambantota district.