BMS and ITI sign MoU to advance biotechnology in Sri Lanka

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Business Management School (BMS) and the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) recently at the BMS premises for continued collaboration in student apprenticeship and training and research. 

The MoU was signed by BMS President W.A Wijewardena, on behalf of BMS and by ITI Chairman Niroshana Perera on behalf ITI.

BMS, a premier higher learning institution in Sri Lanka, is the regional centre of the UK-based Northumbria University for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It takes pride in launching the first-ever Higher National Diploma in Biomedical Science in October 2010 and Higher National Diploma in Biotechnology in October 2013. 

Both Diplomas, accredited by the UK’s Edexcel, are recognised by Northumbria University as equivalent to the first two-year study programmes in the BSc (Hons) Degree in Biomedical Science and the BSc (Hons) Degree in Biotechnology, respectively. 

Accordingly, the students completing the diploma programmes at BMS are allowed to proceed to the final year of the respective degree programme of the Northumbria University. So far, about 500 students from Sri Lanka and the Maldives have completed the diploma programmes and of them, about 100 students have completed the degree programme at the Northumbria University.

Having being satisfied with the quality standards maintained by BMS in the Higher National Diploma in Biomedical Science, Northumbria University agreed to allow BMS to conduct the final year of its BSc (Hons) Degree in Biomedical Science at BMS’ state-of-the-art School of Science in Sri Lanka as from October 2015. 

The degree programme was formally launched at an event held on June 16, 2015 in Colombo and attended by Health and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, British High Commissioner for Sri Lanka and the Maldives James Dauris and Northumbria University Associate Dean Julie Edgar.

ITI is the premier research institution in Sri Lanka functioning under the Higher Education and Research Ministry. It is credited with several path-breaking research outputs for the development of the country’s industry sector, the mandate assigned to it by the Science and Technology Development Act No 11 of 1994 under which ITI has been set up. It has been assigned with several key objectives and functions of which two important functions are to conduct research with the goal of accelerating industrial technology development and undertake training of persons in areas related to its experience.

The MoU is a pioneering public-private partnership (PPP) between BMS and ITI forming a strategic partnership between the two institutions to further biotechnology in Sri Lanka. It has two components. The first is that ITI will provide apprenticeship and training to BMS students reading for the BSc (Hons) Degree Biomedical Science/Biotechnology in its modern laboratory facilities in Colombo as well as in the new complex to be opened in Malabe. Second, there will be research collaboration between the faculty members of BMS and ITI researchers on the one hand and researchers of Northumbria University and ITI researchers on the other to further knowledge in the key areas.