OTHER NEWS Siemens gets 2-bln-rupee order in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan British High Commission boasts eco-cooling technologies eCollege Honored as Finalist in 2008 CODiE Awards AN INTEGRATED APPROACH IS THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.    Advertisement Print Version | Email to friend Sri Lanka launches English Language Skills initiative 02-05-2008 The Government launches a major initiative this week on the teaching of English in the country aimed at improving the skills of English teachers both in the private and public sectors, training in English for Business Outsourcing, the of use new methods of English language teaching through the electronic media, and opening access to a large numbers of persons in the low income categories to obtain a working knowledge of English. This Job-Oriented English Language Programme titled “English as a Life Skill” is an initiative by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which in the short-term seeks to produce at least 50,000 persons with communicative skills in English to serve in any capacity, especially in the services sector such as IT related Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries. This fast-track development of skills in English in expected to attract more investment to Sri Lanka in areas where human resources with adequate Communicative English Language skills are at present largely lacking. A key exercise in this programme is the “English Teaching Business Mela” a Business Exchange being organised in Colombo from April 23rd - 25th by the Board of Investment (BOI) of the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat at Hotel Galadari, Colombo. This will bring together Indian and Sri Lankan investors who will explore the possibility of joint ventures in English Language Teaching in Sri Lanka. Investment in these venture swill attract a range of BOI concessions making them attractive investments. The Presidential Secretariat states the programme which targets youth above 18 years for intensive English language skills improvement will provide financial assistance to 50,000 persons between ages 18 and 24 over a period of three years to acquire Job Oriented Communicative English Skills through a special loan scheme subscribed by both the Government and Private Sector. Print Version | Email to friend

Siemens gets 2-bln-rupee order in Sri Lanka Tue, 15-07-2008 07:00:00 Siemens Ltd said on Monday its energy division has received an order from Sri Lanka's state-run power supply utility to upgrade the distribution network in the country's capital Colombo. The order is worth about 2 billion rupees and is the company's largest order in Sri Lanka, Siemens said in a statement. Ahead of the news, Siemens shares ended at 476.25 rupees, up 1.5 percent in a weak Mumbai market. ... |FULL STORY|

Sri Lankan British High Commission boasts eco-cooling technologies Mon, 14-07-2008 20:00:00 Colombo building uses natural ventilation provided by the construction of high level chimneys running the full length of each wing. British contractor Gibs has constructed a £10m British High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which features green cooling technologies. These include the use of natural ventilation provided by the construction of high level chimneys running the full length of each wing of the building. When external doors ... |FULL STORY|

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eCollege Honored as Finalist in 2008 CODiE Awards Mon, 14-07-2008 11:00:00 eCollege, the USA�s leading provider of comprehensive online learning technology to colleges, universities and schools, was recently named a finalist in the Software and Information Industry Association�s (SIIA) 23rd Annual CODiE Awards. The company�s software teams - located in Colorado, USA and Colombo, Sri Lanka - were honored in the Best Postsecondary Enterprise Solution category. Established in 1986 by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the CODiE Awards cel... |FULL STORY|

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH IS THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. Tue, 08-07-2008 20:00:00 By Dakshitha Thalgodapitiya The Construction Industry plays an indispensable role in the Sri Lankan Economy in providing the physical infrastructure which is fundamental to the Country�s Development. However this industry experiences instability and interconnected structural problems which are associated with the declining demand, volatile nature of the demand and the consequent shedding of labour with resources becoming idle. We have witnessed an uniquely project-specific and complex... |FULL STORY|

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