Informatics Inaugurates First Dual Honours British Degree in Sri lanka

The Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), Sri Lanka's oldest and largest private academy for higher education is proud to present a rare opportunity where Sri lankan students, for the very first time, can do a part of a dual honours degree of a top British University, while in Sri Lanka. This link with Keele University UK, also records the fact that, as of now, Keele University is the highest ranking British University to establish a collaboration in Sri Lanka.

IIT is pleased to introduce a dual honours BSc programme where students do first year in Sri Lanka and the next two years at Keele (UK) while scholarships are offered to good students.

This is custom made for Sri Lankan students who wish to specialize in two subject areas in a BSc programme from a top British University as well as parents who wish to provide their children the opportunity to get a quality British Degree in an affordable manner.

Keele, UK's largest integrated campus university, has also been named as one of the most successful universities in the UK, ranked second of all universities in England, for both maintaining high academic standards and widening access to higher education. The Times Higher education Supplement compiled a list of the country's 'access elite' of universities based on four criteria: access, dropout rates, teaching and research. Performing well by widening access, without sacrificing academic standards, is a wonderful achievement for Keele.

IIT is Sri Lanka's most respected private academy for higher education. Its pioneering contributions to Sri Lanka's higher education have changed the country's educational landscape forever. In the year 1990, IIT had the unique honour of bringing the first British Bachelor's degree in Computing and Business to Sri Lanka. In the year 2000, IIT again showed its pioneering spirit by collaborating in a historical partnership with Keele University to bring, for the very first time, a British MSc in IT to Sri Lanka. IIT's MSc programme with Keele has been a continuing success story for the last 3 years, with around 200 students having gone through the programme.

The uniqueness of the new undergraduate programme is the fact the fact the students can major in two subjects and can get a Honours Degree. A dual Honours Programme has a significant advantage over a single honours programme in the fact that the students get better career options. Another key aspect of doing a dual Honours is that the student is protected against variations in the job market. In other words, if the demand in the job market for one of the subject areas, suddenly hits a low point, the student will have his other specialist area, through which he can get a job. This is a timely benefit in a world with an extremely unpredictable job market.

Students select a dual honours combination in the following way. One of the subjects must be Computer Science or Information Systems. The other subject can be selected from Business Administration, Marketing, Management Science or Human Resource Management.

Another highlight of the programme is that the best students in the batch will be offered "Charter Scholarships" from Keele. These prestigious scholarships take off around 1/3 of the tuition fee in the second and third years.

Keele University is offering its prestigious Charter Scholarships to students from Sri Lanka who can demonstrate high academic performance and potential. The Scholarships are worth up to 5,000 Sterling Pounds towards the costs of study, as well as guaranteed self-catering accommodation on campus for the duration of the course. The Scholarships are available for both postgraduate or undergraduate study (but not research) at the University.

With the first year in Sri Lanka and armed with a charter scholarship for the second and third years, a student will make a very large saving of around 18,000 Sterling Pounds from the total cost of the UK programme, making this an ideal opportunity for students to obtain a dual honours degree from a top UK university in an economical way .