Business ICT

Lanka hosts South Asia Intel Teach Programme Forum

Intel recently concluded the ‘South Asia Intel Teach Programme Forum’ on pre-service teacher training held at Colombo and organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Government of Sri Lanka.

The objective of this forum was to bring together practitioners and policymakers from the three South Asian countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to share best practices, exchange ideas and opinions provide insights into possible ICT integration models and set a vision for the future.

This was a regional cross country collaborative event related to Intel Teach Pre-service training in South Asia.

Extending a warm welcome to all delegates Mohamed Thamby, Chief Commissioner of Teacher Education, Ministry of Education said, “We are very happy to have been involved at this forum; Intel is well ahead in promoting the use of ICT for the quality improvement of education in Sri Lanka. We look forward to working in this direction in the interest of our 3.8m future masters in schools today”.

Addressing the Sri Lanka keynote Dr. Shironica Karunanayaka, Head, Department of Teacher Education from the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) emphasised the need for meaningful learning with technology.

Dr. Karunanayake further discussed best practices in ICT enhanced teacher education and explained scenario based training for education technologists without final exams and competency based continuous assessments.

According to Indika De Zoysa, Regional Manager, Intel Sri Lanka, involvement in this programme is one facet of the company’s long term plan to support education in Sri Lanka “Intel is fast gaining a reputation for excellent work in the arena of Education in Sri Lanka.

Bringing ICT to all regions of Sri Lanka, especially the underserved areas, is a corporate mission for us. This Forum is a very important step in that direction and we are proud to have been a part of it.

The forum also served to meet various country-specific objectives. Sri Lanka wanted to invite participants from Ministry of Education, National Colleges of Education (NCOE), National Institute of Education, and Universities to build awareness of Intel Teach pre-service training in other countries and discuss the value of integrating Intel Teach training into curriculum.

India sought to strengthen the relationship with the pre-service advisory body and Pakistan wanted to build stronger relationships with existing partners and look for ideas for synergy between in-service and pre-service professional development initiatives as well as share best practices.

The Forum provided an opportunity to interact with key educators, policy-makers, people and institutions and provide insights into ICT integration models in their respective countries.

It also brought together pre-service partners from South Asian countries together to build a community, leverage this platform for awareness building of program and introduce the Sri Lankan pre-service stakeholders to Intel Teach program. Participants from Sri Lanka included Mohamed Thamby, Chief Commissioner, Teacher Education from the Ministry of Education, Wilfred Perera, Assistant Director General, Education Leadership Development and Teacher Education of the National Institute of Education (NIE),Nihal Herath, Education Specialist, Secondary Education Modernization Project (SEMP) from the Ministry of Education, Dr. Shironica Karunanayaka, Head, Department of Teacher Education from the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), Dr. Ajith Pasqual, Senior Lecturer, Department of Electronic and Communication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, H. Jayasinghe, Director, Department of IT from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Kumari Senevirathne, Deputy Director ICT from the Ministry of Education.

Intel believes teachers are the most effective leverage point for improving education. The effective and judicious use of technology improves teaching and enhances student learning and further - students learn best when engaged in meaningful, authentic projects.

However none of this is possible without government support and governments and ministries of education are critical partners for effective and systemic education improvement. Intel also understands the need to localize efforts using the talents of local experts in order to achieve best results while respecting different cultures and traditions.

Rapid expansion takes Lanka Bell network to 60

CDMA market leader Lanka Bell has added seven new business offices to its islandwide network in the months of November and December extending its services to some of the most remote areas of the country.

The new business offices are located in rural towns such as Padaviya, Horowpatana, Kantale, Siyabalanduwa and Melsiripura as well as in two provincial towns, Gampaha and Bandarawela.

The Business office at Melsiripura between Kurunegala and Dambulla is the company’s 60th outlet.

Commenting on the opening of these new business offices, Lanka Bell Managing Director Suren Goonewardene said: “The opening of these new outlets demonstrates our commitment to extend our services to all parts of the island as the country’s only 100 per cent Sri Lankan owned telephone company”.

These business offices will provide customers in these areas easy access to Lanka Bell’s services, technical assistance and convenient locations for bill settlement.

Lanka Bell was established in 1997 with an initial investment of US$ 150 million and was the pioneer of CDMA technology in Sri Lanka. The company is now the second largest fixed line telecommunications company in the country, with more than 750,000 lines.

In partnership with FLAG Telecom, a subsidiary of India’s Reliance Communications Lanka Bell has initiated US$ 27 million in an undersea cable project that will result in high speed data and internet access and far superior quality IDD facilities to thousands of customers all over the country.