By Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs
AIT Vice President for Administration and Development, Prof. Siddharth K. Jabade, led a senior delegation to Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 9 – 10 April 2026, to strengthen and advance AIT’s growing portfolio of partnerships with key Sri Lankan institutions across the government, higher education, and private sectors. The delegation included Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Executive Director, Development and External Affairs – Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs (DEA-OAAA).
The two-day mission was marked by the signing of agreements, high-level institutional discussions, and the implementation of concrete collaboration, reinforcing AIT’s role as a regional “Knowledge Enterprise” that bridges academia, industry, government, and communities through practical, impact-oriented collaboration to advance skill development, research, and academic innovation across the South Asian region.
AITE and BIMT Campus Sign Letter of Agreement for Banking and Financial Sector Professional Development Training
On 9 April 2026, the Letter of Agreement (LoA) between AIT Extension and BIMT Campus was signed by Prof. Siddharth Jabade, AIT VPAD, Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Executive Director, DEA – OAAA, and with Mr. Hemakumara Gunasekera, Chairman of the Board of Governors, BIMT Campus, along with Mr. Farshath Jamal, CEO, and Dr. Chethana Dabare, Vice President. This LoA formalises a structured, professional development training partnership targeting commercial banks, development banks, and financial institutions across Sri Lanka.
The BIMT Campus was established to offer opportunities to acquire the right knowledge in the areas of management and technology with the collaboration of a prominent international organization. Their aim is to offer a high-standard education that is affordable for students who are eager to study, while being one of the tertiary education providers in Sri Lanka.
Under the agreement, AIT Extension will deliver a minimum of six training cohorts at AIT’s campus in Pathum Thani, Thailand, with a minimum of 20 participants per batch. Notably, the first cohort on the Women Leadership Program for the Banking Sector has already been confirmed for 22–28 June 2026, comprising 20 women managers from Sri Lanka’s banking sector. Her Excellency E.A.S. Wijayanthi Edirisinghe, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Thailand, has also been invited as Guest of Honor at the opening ceremony, marking a strong and symbolically significant launch to the partnership.
The discussions highlighted Sri Lanka’s significant market opportunity in this space, with over 300 banks and financial institutions operating in the country and a well-acknowledged skills gap in areas including cybersecurity, AI for banking, digital transformation, and green finance, underscoring strong demand for AIT’s industry-linked training.
AIT and ESOFT UNI Sign MoU and MoA for an International Unified Bachelor’s–Master’s Degree Program
On 9 April 2026, AIT and ESOFT UNI (ESU) signed both a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), formalizing a landmark International Unified Bachelor’s–Master’s Degree Program. The agreements were signed by Prof. Siddharth Jabade, AIT VPAD, Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Executive Director, DEA – OAAA, from the AIT side and Dr. Dayan Rajapakse, Chairman and Group Managing Director, and Mr. Deshabandu Ajitha Wanasinghe, Executive Director, ESU International, from ESOFT UNI.
The ESOFT UNI (ESU) is a private sector educational institute or college located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It offers academic and professional qualifications in Computing, Business & Management, Engineering, Hospitality and English. Established in the year 2000, the company today has 40 branches nationwide. Accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS), ESU is the world’s largest provider of BCS Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ), with over 50 prize winners showcasing academic excellence and dedication to student success.
These agreements formalise the International Unified Bachelor’s–Master’s Degree Program enabling bright students in Sri Lanka to pursue an accelerated, integrated pathway through Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science, Information Technology, and Business Administration. This is a forward-looking, outcome-oriented collaboration that AIT believes is essential for the future of higher education in our region. Designed with a sustainable growth model, the program will begin with five to eight students per batch at the August 2026 intake and scale progressively to approximately thirty or more students per batch by Year 3.
Beyond the immediate academic program, discussions explored a broader long-term strategic partnership. ESOFT’s growing engagement with fintech and edtech startups presents compelling opportunities for AIT to co-mentor these ventures by providing technical expertise, research linkages, and access to global innovation networks. Longer-term discussions explored synergies in leveraging AIT’s Science and Technology Park (STP) status granted by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) for cross-border collaboration and startup support.
AIT VPAD Meets with the Vice Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), Sri Lanka
On 10 April 2026, the AIT delegation met with Senior Professor K.L. Wasantha Kumara, Vice Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Sri Lanka. The meeting focused on the implementation of the signed MoU between AIT and the UGC, Sri Lanka. This MoU facilitates qualified UGC faculty members from the SL state universities, which are under the UGC’s purview, to enrol in AIT’s programs for the 2027 academic year and beyond.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is the apex body of the University System in Sri Lanka which was established on 22nd December 1978 under the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978. The functions of the UGC are; planning and coordination of university education, allocation of funds to Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), maintenance of academic standards, regulation of the administration of HEIs and regulation of admission of students to HEIs.
Prof. Siddharth Jabade, AIT VPAD and Senior Professor K.L. Wasantha Kumara, VC, UGC, acknowledged that the faculty act as ambassadors of change resonated, and it is also one of the convictions AIT holds about this kind of partnership. Wherein faculty members from Sri Lanka’s National/State universities spend time and engage with AIT’s teaching ecosystem, cutting-edge research facilities, and community of scholars from over forty countries, achieving not merely a degree but with a transformed perspective on what education, research, and institutional innovation can look like.
The VC, UGC, confirmed that they are in the process of nominating a highly qualified faculty member from Sri Lanka’s national and state universities for enrollment in AIT’s programs, aiming to start this August 2026 intake, depending on whether the necessary approvals are obtained from the Sri Lankan Government. The partnership is designed to grow progressively, with plans to expand to more candidates from the 2027 academic year onwards.
AIT VPAD Meets with the Vice-Chancellor, University of Kelaniya (UoK)
On 10 April 2026, the AIT delegation held a substantive meeting with Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kelaniya (UoK), Sri Lanka, as part of the ongoing implementation of the signed MoU between AIT and UoK.
The University of Kelaniya (UoK), Sri Lanka, stands as a leading institution in Sri Lanka, dedicated to academic excellence, research, and innovation. With faculties encompassing Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, Medicine, Computing & Technology, and Commerce and Management Studies, the university continues to play a key role in higher education, research, and national development. Through its rich legacy spanning over a century, the University of Kelaniya remains committed to fostering knowledge, cultural heritage, and academic excellence.
Prof. Siddharth Jabade, AIT VPAD and Snr. Prof. Nilanthi, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kelaniya, warmly acknowledged AIT and UoK’s long history of collaboration, dating back decades, and emphasised how a shared long-term vision goes well beyond capacity-building programs and strengthens ties for mutual benefit in higher education and research.
A significant milestone of the meeting was the interaction session between Prof. Jabade, Mr. Sanjeev, and the four well-qualified UoK faculty members who have been nominated by their respective Deans of the department at UoK to pursue their doctoral studies at AIT, starting this August 2026 intake.
The discussions also reflected on the advancement of the long-term mutually beneficial AIT & UoK collaboration. AIT VPAD expressed appreciation for UoK Vice-Chancellor’s candour and institutional commitment to ensuring this partnership endures beyond her own tenure. In that spirit, AIT looks forward to facilitating an introductory meeting with the incoming Vice-Chancellor of UoK in early to mid-September 2026, ensuring a seamless transition and the sustained momentum of this valued collaboration.
MoU Signing Ceremony between AIT and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka, for Capacity Building M.Phil. and Ph.D. Degree Partnership Program
On 10 April 2026, AIT and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Sri Lanka, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Prof. Chrishantha Abeysena, Minister of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka. For the signing ceremony, Prof. Siddharth Jabade, AIT VPAD, Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Executive Director, DEA – OAAA, were present from the AIT’s senior delegation side, along with Mr. Y.L. Mohamed Navavi, Secretary of the Ministry, and Ms. Geethani S. Kannangara, Director of International Relations from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka.
The Ministry of Science & Technology, Sri Lanka (MoST), plays a significant role in contribution of National Development goals, especially by being able to guide Public Research Institutes to engage in demand-driven research, research commercialization, promoting inventions and innovations, facilitating standards and certification, etc. In order to perform this task, the Ministry continued to accord the highest priority to creating a link between research, research funding, and development priorities.
The successful signing of the MoU between AIT and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka, marks a landmark moment not only for our two institutions but for Thailand and Sri Lanka’s scientific and research development more broadly. This MoU formalizes a strategic academic cooperation in co-sponsoring scholarships for Staff, Academic faculty members, Research Officers, and Scientists from MoST Sri Lanka to pursue M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees at AIT. The Ministry of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka, will be engaging with potential development partners in Sri Lanka, such as the UNDP, ABD, and the World Bank, to obtain funding for these capacity-building development programs at AIT.
AIT VPAD stated that at AIT, we see ourselves not only as a teaching and research university, but as a “Knowledge Enterprise” model embedded in the quadruple helix—industry, government, communities, and academia working together. Through meaningful partnerships with both the private and public sectors, we develop and deploy innovative, scalable solutions that expand access to essential services. Our mission is to connect AIT’s applied research and innovation capacity with the capital, reach, and execution strength of the private sector to deliver tangible, on-the-ground impact—advancing equal opportunity, inclusive economic growth, and resilience in the face of today’s social and environmental challenges.
Across all five engagements, AIT leadership reaffirmed a long-term vision of sustainable, scalable collaboration that extends beyond individual capacity-building programs across the South Asia and ASEAN regions.
