St. John's Institute of Technology

Current Project Status: Searching for funding & making preparations; project delayed due to NE situation; Construction to begin later in 2009

**Visions is serving a supportive role in this effort, working in collaboration with St. John’s, ITTPO (of San Jose, CA), and Manitha Neyam Trust.

Location: Jaffna & Colombo, Sri Lanka

Goal: Increasing access to education & employment opportunities is the key to prosperity and development in Sri Lanka. Unlike other poor developing nations, the higher rate of literacy provides an opportunity to establish a low cost outsourcing- based software economy to jumpstart decades of war-affected, neglected areas. Institutes offering rigorous academic and professional training will be established in both Colombo and Jaffna.

Concept: This project proposal calls for establishment of a higher technical education institute and an employment incubation center to leverage growing software outsourcing opportunities. The primary institute will be established in Jaffna at the premises of a well-known local high school, St. Johns College of Jaffna. A secondary campus and incubation center will be established in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Institution is conceived of as a degree-awarding institution and the course offerings/grading will be structured after US based system. However, there are two fundamental departures from a traditional University system:

        1. One year of study will be an internship – 6 months in each of         the 3rd & 4th year at the incubation center - enabling the         students to gain work experience. Appropriate credits can be         earned by developing field deployable projects. This approach         provides the linkage to local industry, as well as global         outsourcing opportunities, and aligns the academic education         with economic growth needs.

        2. The incubation center will also generate revenue for the         institution, making it feasible to subsidize the education for needy         students.

St. John's IT Center image.doc(download)

CALL FOR SPEAKERS & PARTICIPANTS

Upcoming Event: June 28, 2008
'Going Global in an IT World': Workshop for 2 proposed IT Institutes in Sri Lanka

Event: An opportunity to learn about and participate in the development of the idea behind 2 proposed IT Institutes in Sri Lanka that will benefit underprivileged young people.

Four main topics will be covered during this workshop: IT, Outsourcing, Accreditation, and Connecting Youth with Employment. Visions volunteers will be moderating the workshop and offering any insight into overall project design and implementation. At this critical juncture in Sri Lanka's history, there lies an incredible opportunity to develop an idea that could turn a future full of quality education and professional success into a reality for countless generations of young Sri Lankan youth to come.

*We are looking for speakers and participants who are knowledgeable in the realm of IT & computers, or persons who might be interested in supporting this major effort.

Saturday, June 28, 2008
9:00am-5:00pm
Moore Hall, Rm. 3140
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Westwood, CA

*For a map of the UCLA campus, please click here: [UCLA Campus Map]

*For directions to UCLA, please click here: [map.ais.ucla.edu]

Parking is $8 for an all-day pass and can be purchased at Westwood Plaza or Sunset & Westwood Plaza information booths. The attendant there will direct you to the most convenient, available parking structure. Moore Hall is located in the central-east side of campus, just off Bruin Walk. Please download and print the map provided above to locate information booths, parking structures, and the building location. If you have any questions, please call 714.315.0518.