I UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO SCHOOL OF COMPUTING ANNUAL REPORT 2016 I DIRECTOR’S REVIEW It is with great pleasure and a sense of pride that I present the Annual Report 2016 of the University of Colombo School of Computing after being appointed as the Director of UCSC on 1st June 2016. As a centre of excellence in teaching and learning in computing which is the main goal of UCSC, this report presents the accomplishments as well as challenges faced during both undergraduate and postgraduates programmes conducted in the year 2016. 761 students, who got the opportunity to be enrolled in undergraduate programmes through the UGC selection process, continued their education similar to the last few years and 236 students were able to complete and be graduated at the end of the year. This report describes the process of the undergraduate education with collected statistics of students for your information. Since there is a huge demand for computing education, UCSC continues its most important national service of conducting BIT external degree programme for which 1602 students got the opportunity to be registered. During the year, UCSC conducted all its BIT exams as scheduled but there were some delays in releasing final results due to administration issues faced at the latter part of the year. However, the convocation and diploma awarding ceremonies were held according to the schedule. Similar to previous years, the demand for the Masters Degree Programme for 2016 is very high. Out of 540 applicants only 184 students were selected for the programmes, and they started their Masters studies in the first quarter of 2016. Although we conducted the Masters programme on time, the academic staff found it very difficult to complete the paper marking due to the workload of their other programmes. The pass rate and the completion rate of the programme are not satisfactory compared to previous years. The quality assurance cell of UCSC was established since the main university decided to carry out the institutional review. Based on the UGC Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council, new guidelines for the institutional review, all academic, administrative and non-academic activities were analysed with respect to large number of standards and the best practices were categorized into 10 criteria. The University of Colombo received the A grade for the institutional review and the UCSC also obtained A grade as described in the self- evaluation report which is annexed to this report. Although the A Grade developed the confidence for our practices, there are many areas to be addressed in order to maintain the status. The Infrastructure development is the main focal point of the year of 2016. Both the government funds as well as the UCSC generated income were invested in building the multi-purpose auditorium and lecture halls. It was supposed to complete the construction before December 2016 but due to many construction issues, the contractors requested more than 6 months to complete the project. The phase II of the canteen building was also started in the year 2016. Simultaneously, many activities related to research and development were carried out during 2016 in order to maintain the prominent status of UCSC in the field of Computing. Research Symposium 2016 and ICTer2016 were the two main events and the showcases for gathering and sharing the knowledge in the domain. Many new projects were started in 2016 and the details about the aforesaid projects have been given in the report. The power of UCSC depends on its human-resources. Therefore, many activities were designed to develop as well as to motivate the staff with the aim of enhancing their productivity. The UCSC continued to provide its service to people, government and private section through its partnership with other parties as mentioned in this report. Finally, I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Council, Senate, the Vice Chancellor, the Board of Management, Academic Syndicate, and Management Committee and all other staff of UCSC for making 2016 – a land mark year of a new era. Director Professor K. P. Hewagamage University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) II OUR VISION Be a Global Leader in Computing Education, Advancing the Frontiers of Knowledge through Teaching, Learning and Research III OUR MISSION To advance and enhance computing studies, Fostering global strategic alliances, Promoting interdisciplinary research, Producing socially responsible professionals with entrepreneurial skills, leadership qualities and integrity Contributing to position the country as a knowledge hub in the region. IV GOALS 1. To be a centre of excellence in teaching and learning in Computing [Education] 2. To promote research and development in Computing while emphasizing interdisciplinary research [Research] 3. To create socially responsible professionals with entrepreneurial skills, leadership qualities and integrity [Student Development] 4. To establish and maintain conducive environment for productive work and career enhancement [Staff Development] 5. To enhance the institutional image[Governance] 6. To empower society through ICT [Social Responsibility] 7. To make significant contributions and to provide professional services to position the country as a knowledge hub[Consultancy] V Table of Contents Overview of the UCSC ................................................................................................................................ ixx Organization Structure of UCSC – 2016 .................................................................................................... x At a Glance – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of UCSC (2013-2016) ..................................................... xi GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1. GOVERNANCE ...................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Officers of the UCSC ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Authorities ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Board of Management (BOM)............................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Finance and Management Committee (FMC) ........................................................................ 4 1.2.3 Audit Committee .................................................................................................................. 4 1.2.4 Academic Syndicate .............................................................................................................. 5 1.2.5 Boards of Study .................................................................................................................... 6 EDUCATION .............................................................................................................................................. 10 2. Education .......................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Undergraduate Education .......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Internal Undergraduate Degree Programmes ..................................................................... 11 2.1.2 Academic Year – 2016 and Student Enrolment ................................................................... 12 2.1.3 Student Performances at Examination ................................................................................ 14 2.1.4 Industrial Placement and Employability .............................................................................. 15 2.1.5 Undergraduate Student Welfare ......................................................................................... 16 2.1.6 UCSC Student Union ........................................................................................................... 20 2.1.7 Student Activities ............................................................................................................... 21 2.1.8 Student Achievements – Extra Curricular ............................................................................ 23 2.1.9 Student Achievements - Sports ........................................................................................... 24 2.1.10 Graduation 2016 ................................................................................................................ 25 2.1.11 Undergraduate Awards ...................................................................................................... 26 2.1.12 Employability ...................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Postgraduate Studies ................................................................................................................. 29 2.2.1 Masters Degree Programme ............................................................................................... 29 2.2.2 Research Degrees – MPhil and PhD Programmes ................................................................ 32 2.3 External Degree & Extension Courses ......................................................................................... 34 2.3.1 Bachelor of Information