Another success story for IIT

The Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), in its 21 years of existence have consistently produced ambitious young minds who are geared to contribute significantly in the IT and Business industry, immediately following their degree at the IIT campus. This trend has been a long standing and a recognised one, enabling IIT student to gain an edge over others in terms of demand and career choices.

Creative Solution Director Sushena Ranatunga is one such example. An old boy of St Aloysius College Ratnapura, he graduated from IIT with a degree in Information Systems and Information Technology in 1995. Starting his career in 1989 as a Systems Operator at Informatics, Sushena worked at Informatics (Pvt) Ltd., for 10 years in various capacities until he founded Four Corners Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., in 1999.

In 2003 with couple of his friends, Ranatunga co-founded Creative Solutions. Since inception, Creative Solutions catered to the software maintenance, support and quality assurance needs of a diverse group of companies, most of which are an international clientele.

The company operates a state of the art Research and Development Centre in Sri Lanka that provides high quality and cost effective services in terms of all software related work.  This also includes the creation of software – both generic and company specific as well. To date these software creations have encompassed enterprise search engines, financial solutions, and e-healthcare solutions among others.

The company also engages in creating user-friendly websites that incorporate the latest in web design and other tools. Creative Technology Solutions arm specialises in mobile solutions and ecommerce applications.  There is also a Creative Software Engineering arm operating as a BPO and a Creative Search Technology arm specialising in Enterprise search solutions.

“IIT degree was a very practical one that consisted of two years study, followed by a year of industry placement, after which commenced a final year of study that included a project submission. This type of degree structure is very innovative, modern and relevant. The exposure and experience gained from the mid degree industry placement helps the degree study course to come alive in a practical environment. This enables the student to grasp exactly what they have been studying. The connections and contacts made through this year of placement too, gives the student an advantage and more often than not, we receive an offer for a job even before we finish our degree. This is because Industry giants both in Sri Lanka and the International arena have recognised that IIT students have an edge over others,” said Ranatunga, speaking glowingly of the help he received from IIT.

“By the time IIT students finish their degree they are confident of themselves, already have a year of experience and have most often than not completed a project of high acclaim, so much so that some of these projects need patent registration and are in demand from the industry. This is the high level of achievement that all students at IIT look to achieve,” added Sushena.

The groundwork laid by the institute gives students like Ranatunga a lifelong foundation upon which the student can build their entrepreneurial skills and set up Institutions and Companies that are internationally recognised. Ranatunga’s brilliant achievements in the field of software and software development, his entrepreneurial skills in broadening the horizons at Creative Solutions are based to a large extent on the foundation he received at IIT. He also serves as Director of Four Corners as well as Cambio Software Engineering – a Swedish software Company. Companies in which he enjoys Directorship have global connections with Corporations such as Microsoft and other global giants.