Southern Institute of Technology partners ICBT

Thursday, 22 October 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

SIT International Marketing Manager Vinay Sood (3rd from right) and SIT Deputy Chief Executive, Corporate Bharat Guha (2nd from right) join members from Sri Lanka’s ICBT after signing the Memorandum of Understanding

The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) has signed a major partnership with a school in Sri Lanka – with student numbers from the country expected to jump next year.

SIT signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sri Lanka’s International College of Business and Technology (ICBT) on 16 October.

As part of the new agreement, students who study for two years for a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Commerce, Applied Management or Hotel Management at ICBT will be able to study for a year at SIT to complete a bachelor’s in the subject they are studying.

SIT Marketing Manager Chami Abeysinghe said the MoU was similar to partnerships the school had entered into with China’s Suqian College at the start of this year and Indonesia’s LP3I College in 2014 in that it encouraged overseas students to choose Southland as a place to study and possibly begin a career.

“We’re increasing the cultural diversity of Invercargill,” she said.

“When we bring internationals students, they don’t come as isolated individuals. They bring their culture and their heritage.”

Abeysinghe said there were about 47 Sri Lankan students at SIT, with the number expected to increase to about 55 by the end of the year.

She said the community could begin to see the results of the MoU in the form of more international students around the start of the February or July 2016 terms.

Bringing in more international students not only benefited the Southland economy, Abeysinghe said, but also exposed Southlanders to other cultures.

“It also gives them an opportunity to see what the world has to offer,” she said.

“A good number of students are coming at the postgraduate level and are entrepreneurs and innovators; so some of them want to set up shop here, which is great for the region.” In a statement, Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie noted international students contributed about $ 43.4 million to the Invercargill economy in 2014.

“I am really looking forward to supporting this Sri Lankan partnership and further relationships with other institutions around the world,” she said. In 2011, SIT signed the Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange Agreement, allowing students from 29 Chinese universities to study in Southland.Abeysinghe said there were about 1,200 international students at SIT. She said the number had grown by about 20% from 2014.