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The grounding for any successful collaboration is the choice of a partner where core values align.
In Sri Lanka, where education is both a priority and a preoccupation amongst students and parents alike,Australian education is a popular topic and Deakin is a familiar entity. Deakin’s leadership in this market is underpinned by its longstanding, multi-faceted partnership arrangements, growing personal and professional networks, and a unique web of academic and industry connections.
Deakin has developed strong partnerships with some of Sri Lanka’s leading government and private institutions, and these partnerships have uplifted the Deakin brand and profile to garner significant recruitment momentum in Sri Lanka. Deakin has been fortunate to collaborate with key partners in the community development and mobility arena, enriching our shared student communities, as well as giving back to the wider community, by engaging in projects that make a lasting impact.
A notable Deakin partner collaboration in student mobility has been with the Sri Lanka Institute of InformationTechnology (SLIIT), a leading non-state degree awarding institute, attracting the largest share of private higher education students in Sri Lanka. The grounding for any successful collaboration is the choice of partner. Where Deakin’s vision statement includes the realisation of “the best future for our communities”, SLIIT’s includes a desire to “enrich lives and broaden horizons”;certainly, Deakin’s partnership with SLIIT sees the alignment of shared core values, to provide mutually enriching outcomes. Echoing the spirit of long-standing Australia-Sri Lanka friendship and goodwill, Deakin and SLIIT have jointly embodied these ethos with student mobility, together with providing a cultural immersion as well a san academic benefit for students.
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Deakin has run successful short-term, credit-based mobility programmes over the past 5 years in SriLanka, with Deakin’s Outbound Mobility students twice hosted by SLIIT, on the theme: “ICT for Rural Community Development in Sri Lanka”. The Deakin students were introduced to Sri Lanka’s IT sector, the technology used and the challenges to implementing in rural communities. The Deakin students, alongside their SLIIT peers, were tasked with developing a framework for ICT infrastructure for rural settings (achieved over the course of two weeks),through a series of field location visits, lectures, and workshops. Assistance was also provided by the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) and other government and non-governmental organisations, highlighting the value attributed to such transnational collaborations.
Prof. Lakshman Ratnayake, Chancellor of SLIIT, noted the benefit to students of both partners and the overarching spirit it serves to foster: “Overseas study is an academically beneficial investment because students are exposed to experiences which are valued for a lifetime. The skills gathered through an international learning programme give students a better chance at being employed. The OutboundMobility experiences are also exceptional for students’ soft skills, as they learn to communicate with people from a different nationality, work in unfamiliar surroundings, appreciate one another for their differences and yet work as a team”.
For Deakin, student mobility has been a rewarding component of partnership activities in Sri Lanka, providing momentum to strengthen ties and build deeper connections with partners and communities. Deakin students have been facilitated via the Australian Government’sNew Colombo Plan (NCP), which has supported numerous scholars to study and undertake internships in the In do-Pacific region. While Australia continues to be a popular destination for Sri Lankan students, seeing Sri Lanka becoming a popular choice as a mobility destination for Australian students is encouraging, especially in the light of the efforts of the Australian Government to support Australian universities and youth via programmes such as the NCP.
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