Huawei, Moratuwa University to enhance ICT Knowledge Transformation

Huawei Sri Lanka and University of Moratuwa ( UOM) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the educated and talented youth in Sri Lanka to further enhance their skills in the ICT domain and to be competitive in the ever growing ICT industry.

This is part of Huawei’s long- term digital inclusion initiative - TECH4ALL to support Sri Lanka to fulfil the “Smart Nation” vision of the country, the company said in a media release.

Dr. Bandula Gunawardena Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Higher Education, Technology and Innovation; Anu r a D i s s a n aya ke , Secretary to the Ministry of

Higher Education, Technology and Innovations; Prof. K. K. C. K Perera, Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa and Liang Yi, Huawei Technologies Lanka Chief Executive Office were present at the MOU signing ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Gunawardena said that their “priority will be to produce ‘smart technocrats’ who are globally recognised and who possess internationally acclaimed qualifications required by the local and international employment markets. They will be the leaders of the future world”.

He said: “I hope such initiative from Huawei could support us to achieve this target by maximising the use of information and communication technologies.”

Secretary to Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovations, Mr. Dissanayake said that the 21st Century is known as the knowledge- centric century and it is important to remain competitive globally. “I believe this step taken by Huawei and University of Moratuwa is a bold step taken towards a massive social transformation and to create a Culture of Technological Innovation,” he said, adding that in future all universities will be converted to Smart Learning Universities. The necessary technical support will be provided by the government which will take steps to commence technological faculties affiliated to universities to produce more technocrats to meet the demands of the 21st Century.

Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa Prof. Perera said: “As the leading technological university in Sri Lanka, we firmly believe that advanced knowledge will create new opportunities and we are indeed delighted to have signed this MOU for the future development of our students to be future and industry ready and to fulfil the future demands of ICT industry of Sri Lanka. Education is the key to supporting national digital transformation and sustainable development.”

Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies Lanka Mr. Yi said: “We are strongly committed and are proud to be part of ICT transformation, to provide the best experience of Internet broadband access, build infrastructure in order to support digital economy, and enhance ICT knowledge of future generations of this beautiful country.”

According to the MOU, Huawei will soon open up a joint Innovation Lab with the University of Moratuwa that will facilitate undergraduate and post graduate research work, provide a platform to develop solutions and products for industrial needs and to conduct certification courses on cutting edge ICT technologies. In addition this will further strengthen ongoing involvements such as industrial training offered to students and ‘ Seeds for the Future’ programme that Huawei launched in 2016.