Welcomes the University of Western Australia to its 20 years of quality Education
The Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE) is entering into its 21st years of offering high quality tertiary education in Sri Lanka. IIHE was established in 1996 with the objective of providing undergraduate and post graduate education at an affordable price, to cater to the thousands of aspiring local students who may not get an opportunity to enter local or overseas universities for their higher studies. IIHE is a private sector tertiary education institution recognized by the University Grants Commission. The campus is located at a very central, convenient, safe and secure location at No 25 ½ Station Road, Bambalapitiya.
To celebrate this monumental milestone IIHE is collaborating with a world renowned University from Australia to initiate their undergraduate degrees at a very affordable price. The University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth is ranked amongst the top 100 universities in the world and in the top 10 universities in Australia itself. UWA also is one of the elite group of 8 universities in Australia renowned for research. The tuition fees in Australia for business management degrees is about AUD 36000 per annum and the living costs are around AUD 20000, which is about about Rs. 6 Million per annum when combined. Students will be able to save about Rs. 5 million by undertaking the first year of study at IIHE in Sri Lanka.
Students will proceed to UWA in Perth, after successfully completing the first year at IIHE. The second and the third year of studies will be at UWA to complete their degree. A highly qualified faculty and a large international student fraternity will contribute to a rich learning environment at the UWA. As a bonus, the two years of study in Australia entitles students to receive a 2 year work permit after they successfully complete their degrees. The two year work permit in fact is an opportunity to earn the money you have spent for your education in Australia.
The 8 majors of the UWA Bachelor of Commerce which IIHE students will be able to pursue are :
Accounting Finance Business Law Human Resource Management Management Marketing Economics Economics ( Double Major) The common first year for all of the above Majors provides a unique opportunity for prospective students. The first year modules are essential prerequisites for all the majors to function effectively in their respective specializations. This common year also provides students who are not very sure of their specialization some time to make a more informed selection after a year of exposure to business related learning.
Why should potential students enroll on the UWA programme pathway at IIHE ? Since inception IIHE has maintained a pass-rate of 98% for the undergraduate programmes of study conducted. Of these about 25% have been awarded 1st Class Honours, another 30% 2nd Class upper and the other 45% Second Class Lower. The external examiners and the Moderators of the British programmes at IIHE have commended the faculty, the administration and the students in their reports for the very high quality of pedagogy demonstrated at IIHE. They have commented that the performances are even better than in some of the universities in the UK that they oversee in their capacities. These factors and the 20 years of continuous collaboration with the University of Wales is testimony to the abilities of IIHE’s teaching faculty and the administration to satisfy the stringent quality assurance processes of the UK QAA. This is further evidenced by its recent addition of the University of Salford, ranked within the first 50 in UK and awarded the Times Business School of 2014 to IIHE’s growing portfolio of world renowned institutions. A highly qualified faculty and a large international student fraternity contributes to a rich learning environment.
It is the above experience of IIHE and third party recommendations that assured the UWA to collaborate with IIHE to offer the pathway programme for their Bachelor of Commerce degree with 8 different majors. The learning methods practiced at IIHE ensure that transfer of knowledge and skills are through critical evaluation and comprehension for application in the real world and not just to pass tests. Our undergraduates have been able to secure employment within one month of graduation in prestigious private sector as well as public sector establishments.
Dr. Thilaka S. Weerakoon is the Director of Education at IIHE and leads a team of exceptional academics with relevant senior management experience in industry to ensure delivery of education at the highest international standards. Unlike in faculties of other educational disciplines, the faculty in a Business School must necessarily have managerial experience in industry to complement the academic qualifications. The Faculty at IIHE satisfies this requirement. Dr. Weerakoon himself has local as well international experience in reputed universities and has functioned as Chairman, Managing Director and Director of Sri Lankan public Sector Institutions such as the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau ( CECB) and the Ceylon State Hardware Corporation.
IIHE has organized an Open day on the 18th of February 2017 for those students wishing to enroll on the UWA programmes. Senior representatives from the UWA and illustrious alumni of UWA the Deputy High Commissioner of Australia in Sri Lanka will be present to share their experiences of the UWA. The open day is the BMICH committee room “TULIP”.