SLIIT ‘Sip Saviya’ school program moves to virtual setting ensuring academic and personal growth

As Sri Lanka’s leading non-state university, SLIIT has showcased its ability to overcome significant challenges during COVID-19, conducting classes online, leveraging technology to help students continue their education uninterrupted. The SLIIT School Reach program – ‘Sip Saviya’ has been structured to help students face issues encountered due to the new normal environment and skills which are necessary towards successful future endeavours. 

Among its objectives, the Sip Saviya program, part of SLIIT’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, supports students inculcating knowledge and skills necessary for their education and future professional careers.

The program is presented to students in two segments; A/L students receive assistance in subjects which are perceived as difficult and in order to improve their skills through interesting workshops covering topics such as Soft Skills Development, Study Management, Internet of Things – IOT, Organisation Networking, Time Management Skills, English Language Skills, Cyber Security, etc. are organised. 

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these workshops took place during school hours with over 150 students attending each session. These workshops have been conducted in over 100 schools island-wide successfully reaching over 3,000 students.

Continuing its agenda to support young students across the island and helping them fulfil their potential, the SLIIT School Reach Program ‘Sip Saviya’ successfully engaged them through a virtual setting.

Development and Engineering Services Director Uditha Gamage said, “Due to COVID-19 we realised the importance of continuing to provide students access to sessions conducted through the SLIIT Sip Saviya program. Technology has served as a catalyst to make all of this possible via a virtual platform, where students benefit by enhancing their skill levels and gain clarity in their educational and career goals.”

Despite the necessity to maintain social distancing due to COVID-19 and the inability to continue with sessions at schools, SLIIT maximised the use of technology to ensure that students had access and were able to benefit from the virtual workshops. Using modern technology online sessions were organised. Benchmarking the popular Ted-talks, short powerful talks were also delivered to students online ensuring they were engaged and interested despite the challenging conditions.

Head of Marketing Roshani Madarasinghe added, “SLIIT’s School Reach programs seeks to encourage young people to get interested in a range of different areas. Confronted with the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 our exceptional team at SLIIT with deep commitment has engaged young learners online helping them gain valuable experience outside the classroom.”

Helping these students were a panel of SLIIT’s eminent resource personnel including 300 lecturers backed by many years of collective teaching experience. They also covered the wide range of topics supporting students broaden their horizons in preparation for their future success.

SLIIT invites students or schools seeking further information on the ‘Sip Saviya’ virtual sessions to contact via telephone +94 11 754 4801 or email [email protected].