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Natasha
Natasha
Jan 11 2026
34The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), together with a consortium of leading Sri Lankan and international partners, officially launched the Empowering Net Zero Skills for Sri Lanka’s Sustainable and Resilient Future (ENSURE) project at a national stakeholder event held at Waters Edge Hotel, Battaramulla.
The Sri Lankan consortium partners include the University of Jaffna, University of Peradeniya, University of Ruhuna, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association (SLEMA), and the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC). The project is further strengthened by five European university partners including Politecnico di Torino (Italy), University of Galway (Ireland), Universitatea Valahia Târgoviște (Romania), Hochschule Trier (Germany), and Politechnika Warszawska (Poland)., bringing international expertise, benchmarking, and knowledge exchange to support Sri Lanka’s sustainability goals.
Positioned as a strategic education and skills development response to Sri Lanka’s accelerating sustainability priorities, ENSURE focuses on strengthening the national talent pipeline required for a credible and inclusive transition to a low-carbon economy. By combining local delivery capacity with international best practices, the ENSURE consortium is structured to support sustained institutional capability-building and long-term impact across higher education and vocational training systems.
Coordinated by Dr. Kumara Jayawickrama of SLIIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, the project has been approved with a total budget of EUR 761,300 by the European Union under Erasmus+ action, and has commenced December 2025 and for two years period. Building on progress achieved through the THREE-LANKA project (2021–2024), ENSURE is structured to deepen outcomes by strengthening curricula, training environments and partner collaboration under a coordinated programme framework aligned with Sri Lanka’s ambition of achieving NetZero emissions by 2050.
ENSURE is designed to strengthen Sri Lanka’s higher education and vocational training systems by expanding access to industry-relevant learning pathways and modernising how sustainability-linked skills are developed and delivered. A key focus includes the development of modular and stackable Master’s degree programmes that support flexible learning and progression, enabling learners to build advanced competencies in a more inclusive and adaptable format. In parallel, the project will further enhance five training hubs established under THREE-LANKA, strengthening their capacity to support applied learning in priority areas such as Carbon Capture, Hydrogen Energy, Smart Grids, and Circular Economy practices.
To ensure global relevance and quality, ENSURE will align curricula and training approaches with evolving international priorities and standards, including the European Green Deal and outcomes of COP29. The initiative also places strong emphasis on strengthening industry–academia–government collaboration, connecting skills development with applied research, innovation, and employability, and creating clearer pathways from learning to real-world application.
Over its implementation period, ENSURE aims to train 1,000 individuals and enrol 300 students in Master’s programmes, while supporting long-term institutional sustainability through curriculum innovation and capacity building.
Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Kumara Jayawickrama, Project Coordinator, stated:
“Sri Lanka’s Net Zero ambition requires an equally strong investment in skills and capability. ENSURE is structured to strengthen both higher education and vocational pathways, ensuring learners gain practical, future-facing expertise that supports national priorities and industry needs.”
He added that the project is designed to strengthen long-term institutional capacity, enabling continuity and sustained outcomes beyond the project period.
By embedding Net Zero technologies into formal education and vocational training pathways, ENSURE is expected to contribute to the development of a future-ready workforce, enhance employability in sustainability-linked sectors, and support solution-driven innovation aligned with national priorities. With strengthened training infrastructure and modernised learning pathways, the initiative is well positioned to support Sri Lanka’s response to both national and global environmental challenges, while enabling institutions and learners to contribute meaningfully to a resilient, low-carbon future.
