Dialog Enterprise Partners Gateway College as its Digital Education Partner

Photographed from left to right – Uvindu Illeperuma, Enterprise Product Marketing Manager, Dialog Axiata PLC, Sameera Wijeratne, Senior Manager – Digital Education, Dialog Axiata PLC, Venura Mendis, Vice President – Head of ICT BU, Dialog Axiata PLC, Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC, Dr. Harsha Alles, Chairman, Gateway Group, Ramantha Alles, Director, Gateway Group, Nirmali Wickremesinghe, Consultant, Gateway Group, Vinita Shenoy, Principal, Gateway College, Colombo, Thusitha Illukpitiya, Chief Operating Officer, Gateway Group

With the vision of becoming the preferred Digital Education partner for the academic institutions in Sri Lanka, Dialog Enterprise the corporate solutions arm of Dialog Axiata PLC, recently partnered with Gateway College to further facilitate the school’s digital transformation journey.

On the threshold of building a digital education business vertical, Dialog Enterprise is changing the narrative of brick-and-mortar academic institutes by empowering them with fully-fledged e-learning products and services along with technical expertise and on-hand assistance to create a seamless digital transformation. Dialog Enterprise is planning to extend its expansive service portfolio to seven schools by upgrading each institute within the Gateway Group to a ‘Dialog DigiEdu Model School’.

Speaking on this occasion Dr. Harsha Alles, Chairman, Gateway Group stated “As a school, our responsibility is and always will be to build curiosity, facilitate learning and thus support students from the time they walk through our gates until the time they take their place in society as responsible and multi-skilled citizens. The recent upgrading of all student licenses to Microsoft M365 A3 through H One (Private) Limited – a subsidiary of Dialog, strengthened our position further as the only Microsoft Showcase School in Sri Lanka and one among 325 in the world. It is in this background that we wish to collaborate with Dialog further, as a ‘DigiEdu Model School’ by incorporating the array of technologies and tools offered by them. We are aware that our choices, decisions and actions of today will be instrumental in shaping the ‘tomorrow’ of every pupil of ours.”

Speaking on this occasion Group Chief Executive Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Supun Weerasinghe stated “We are pleased to invest our expertise and solutions in esteemed academic bodies in Sri Lanka such as Gateway College. This partnership will be a cornerstone in providing the school with the necessary solutions to support the academic staff and students in efficiently navigating the evolving online learning environment and will not only help them continue their lessons without facing interruptions but will also better prepare and equip them to face the Digital Future. Today”.

Through this partnership, a series of initiatives will be conducted, including an inter-Gateway App challenge, where winners will be eligible to participate at the National App Challenge organized by Dialog. Additionally, the possibility to fund and provide support to TechEntrepreneurs who come up with monetizable products will be explored, the alignment of the school’s existing innovation and robotics programme with Digital Education Model School initiatives will be facilitated and Gateway students will be provided with access to Dialog’s Innovation foundry to pitch their ideas, where completed initiatives will be publicised via Dialog’s social media channels. Furthermore, the possibility of using the Hologo platform for teaching and learning will be explored and Dialog’s “Thuru” application and leader board will be introduced to the student body to motivate its students via gamification of the same, in-line with Gateway’s celebrations of its 25th anniversary in 2021. Dialog will also offer internships to students who are over the age of eighteen, based on merit and organisational policy.