Topic: Youth APT Program
Participants: A/L Students
Objectives: We conducted a career guidance session for Advanced Level (A/L) students, providing them with valuable insights into potential career paths and higher education opportunities. Additionally, we delivered an awareness session about KIU University, highlighting its academic programs, and the advantages of pursuing higher studies there.
About the Programme
The Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at KIU University participated in the Youth APT Career Guidance Programme — a community outreach initiative coordinated through KIU Care, the Faculty of Management’s initiative to empower Advanced Level students across the Western Province. As part of this programme, faculty representatives from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering visited three schools across the Minuwangoda area, delivering career guidance and university awareness sessions to A/L students exploring their options for higher education.
The programme took place across two separate dates — 28th February 2025 and 2nd April 2025 — with sessions held at C.W.W. Kannangara National School Hunupitiya, President College Minuwangoda, and Nalanda Boys School Minuwangoda. Each session was led by a KIU faculty member, bringing the university’s academic programmes directly to students in their own school environment.
What the Sessions Covered
The sessions were designed with a dual purpose: first, to provide students with practical career guidance relevant to the fields of Computer Science and Engineering; and second, to raise awareness of KIU University and the academic pathways it offers to students after completing their Advanced Level examinations.
For many A/L students, the period immediately following their exams is one of significant uncertainty — particularly regarding which degree programmes to pursue and which institutions offer genuine quality and long-term career value. The sessions addressed this directly, helping students understand what a career in Computing or Engineering looks like in practice, which industries are hiring, and what skills employers are looking for from graduates.
Students were introduced to KIU’s degree programmes in Computer Science and Engineering — including Software Engineering, Computer Networks, and Cybersecurity — and given an honest overview of the student experience at KIU, covering facilities, academic support, and the pathways that graduates typically follow into employment or further study.
Why School Outreach Matters
Taking the university to the students — rather than waiting for students to come to the university — reflects a commitment that goes beyond recruitment. For students in schools outside of Colombo, access to informed, face-to-face career guidance from university academics is genuinely rare. Many A/L students make decisions about their higher education future with limited exposure to what different degrees actually involve or what different institutions actually offer.
KIU’s Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering is geared to deliver skills and knowledge to prepare students for professional careers in the IT industry, and that mission extends to ensuring students in communities across Sri Lanka know that those pathways are available to them. The YOUTH-APT sessions in Minuwangoda are a direct expression of that ethos — meeting students where they are and equipping them to make informed decisions about their futures.
Part of a Broader KIU Care Initiative
The APT programme sits within KIU’s broader commitment to community engagement and social responsibility. By investing faculty time in schools beyond the immediate university catchment, KIU is working to ensure that quality higher education in Computer Science and Engineering is not seen as something distant or inaccessible — but as a real, achievable option for motivated students from all backgrounds across the Western Province and beyond.
Sample Evidence: (Photos/Videos/Links)
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