UCL Talks with Sandra De Zoysa – Chairperson SLASSCOM
“There is never a dull moment in the exciting world of ICT” - Sandra De Zoysa
UCL students encouraged to join the tech industry as the opportunities are endless in the digital era and the current ‘ gig- economy is ideal for those looking to work while studying, in order to gain some experience and enjoy the perks of one of the highest paying careers here and globally.’
UCL Talks was proud to present the first female Chairperson of SLASSCOM, Sandra De Zoysa who has a wealth of expertise spanning three decades in the ICT Industry. Sandra is the Group Chief Customer Officer at Dialog Axiata PLC, Director - Dialog Business Services, and Chairperson of the Digital Customer Experience Expert Working Group- Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia.
After a warm welcome was accorded by the CEO of UCL Mr. Gihan Silva, Ms. Sandra De Zoysa commenced the UCL session with a warm sentiment, “Spending time with our future generation and talking to them about the opportunities and endless possibilities within the IT/ BPM Industry brings me great joy and is always a pleasure”.
It was indeed an enlightening session for the young minds. Her ethos of embracing a digital lifestyle and the opportunities for young digital natives such as the UCL students in the world of ICT was extremely thought provoking.
Creating Intelligent and Smart Places
“This is indeed an exciting and interesting time. Technology is at the forefront of innovation. Hence, for youth who are looking for a leg up in the future, UCL can help their undergraduates develop relevant tech skills and futureproof their education.”, she enthused.
The array of opportunities entail working on digital platforms, 5G, cloud technology, AI and machine learning, IoT, 3D Printing, futuristic technologies such as genomics, quantum computing and biometrics, advanced robots and cobots and a host of other technologies and applications that will benefit both society and humanity Therefore the strong demand for ICT professionals will prevail into the foreseeable future, making it a career of the future.
New Age jobs
After re- iterating the scope and plethora of opportunities in the IT/ BPM Industry at large, Sandra, dived into the exciting realm of Artificial Intelligence where gesture and speech technology is becoming an interesting phenomenon and paramount in many industries across the globe.
She also opined that ‘ security’ jobs in the realm of cyber security would become an important feature, as vast amounts of data have to be secured and managed.
UCL Talks in summary: The great news for those who love Tech
Career Progression is faster The growth in the IT and BPM Industry is exponential as industries continue to push for widespread adoption of digital technologies.
Growing demand for Tech Professionals
The global demand for ICT professionals grew from 53 million in 2019, to 55 million in 2022 and is expected to shoot up to 62 million by 2023. There is a dearth of approximately 5000 IT professionals each year which can be grabbed which continues to grow.
Remote work
In the tech field, you can have complete flexibility and opt for full time or part time work, or focus on assignments or projects fueling the gig economy and the current trend of hybrid work options are available across the world, giving you the opportunity to experience different countries and cultures.
Foreign travel
You can gain global competence and start exploring all that the world has to offer. Dollar-Pegged salaries
Some of the Sri Lankan IT/ BPM companies are pegging their employees’ salaries to the dollar or other foreign currencies in a bid to retain qualified and experienced talent within the country thus hedging against currency fluctuations.
For Sri Lanka to maximize on the great universe of opportunities in ICT, Students will have excellent opportunities and will benefit from obtaining globally recognised high quality IT degree programmes such as those conducted at UCL in collaboration with Monash University Australia, University of Central Lancashire UK and Dalhousie University Canada. Students have the opportunity to gain experience and knowledge, become competent and highly skilled in a relatively short time span by having industry exposure by enrolling in the many internship programmes, in top IT/ BPM companies whilst pursuing their IT degree.
Sandra encouraged the young students in the forum to take the initiative and start work in this exciting industry as Interns, management trainees or even become entrepreneurs by starting their own company.
“Currently the trend is that employers are becoming more flexible, giving their employees the freedom of choice since the “great resignation” is impacting originations across the world”, she stated.
The Buzz Word: Digitisation Sri Lanka too can look at these opportunities and amass the wealth of opportunities available in the ICT Sector.
Sandra’s invaluable opinion and advice after reaching the toprung and becoming a catalyst in the ICT sphere is to, “be environmentally conscious using tech for good.
Be a critical thinker, keep an open mind and more importantly, find your purpose in life. Purpose is why we exist, it’s what motivates and helps us kick- start our day and gives meaning to what we do. Once you find your purpose, approach everything with that in mind – it will fulfill you and make you happy. You are part of the generation that can drive positive change. All of you I am sure will go on to being great leaders in our community and our society, therefore live your purpose with passion.”
For information on the exciting opportunities in the IT / BPM industry and further details of the choice of globally recognised IT Deg ree Programmes at UCL, please contact Ms. Amali Wi c k r a m a r a c h c h i on 0773110000 or info@ucl.lk.