IFS partners Moratuwa University to boost entrepreneurship
An agreement was signed recently between IFS, a software development
company, and the University of Moratuwa to set up an IFS Endowed Chair
for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University.
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Moratuwa University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ananda Jayawardane
and CEO, IFS Group, Alastair Sorbie exchange the MoU. |
The partnership marks a milestone in industry-academia cooperation
and will strengthen research across all faculties and foster a culture
of creative thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship among its teaching
faculty and students.
Under the partnership, IFS will grant Rs. 18 million over three years
to set up a position of an IFS Endowed Professor-Senior Fellow for
innovation and entrepreneurship.
IFS recognises that a strong collaboration between industry and
academia is necessary to enhance innovation entrepreneurship culture.
Creative thinking and an innovative mind-set is imperative for
propelling economic growth and technological advancement in emerging
economies such as Sri Lanka.
Nurturing and building human capital and thereby creating an enabling
environment, is a key driver in achieving this.The university's vision
is to be 'the most globally recognised knowledge enterprise in Asia'.
"We are a knowledge-based company and we recognise the importance of
developing intellectual infrastructure and giving it the freedom to
thrive," said Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, IFS World
Operations in Sri Lanka, Ranil Rajapakse.
"We're excited about partnering with the University of Moratuwa - one
of the premier universities in the country - and to be a part of
establishing the next generation of Sri Lanka's creative thinkers,
game-changers, entrepreneurial minds, and the workforce of the future,"
he said.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa, Prof. Ananda
Jayawardane said, "The University of Moratuwa, an internationally
recognised seat of learning and research, recognises that nurturing
activities related to research and innovation, knowledge creation,
technology transfer and invention have positive ripple effects which
extends beyond the parameters of academia."
"The concept of an Endowed Professor-Senior Fellow at the university
has been proposed to foster a culture of innovation while reinforcing
its position as the premier technological university in Sri Lanka," he
said.
President and CEO, IFS Group, Alastair Sorbie said, "Technology is
never static and innovation cannot exist in isolation." |
