Department of Computing and Information Systems

The Department of Computing and Information Systems offers a B.Sc. Honours Degree in Computing and Information Systems was established on 01^st March 2011, though the Degree programme was initiated back in 2008. The curriculum is specifically designed to produce skilled graduates both in Computing and Information Systems. The degree program has been designed to produce graduates who are able to cater to the growing demands in the government and private sectors. The degree also paves an excellent path for postgraduate studies in related disciplines of Computer Science and Information Systems. At present, the department has five well-established laboratories and the student capacity of the department is 320.

The demand for the above degree programme has greatly increased throughout the years and annual intake reached the maximum capacity of 100 students per batch in 2017. The department has close collaborations with software industries to obtain technical support in conducting lectures and practicals as well as to provide opportunities for the undergraduates to carry out their mini projects, third-year industrial projects, and final year research projects. At present, the Department comprises six senior lecturers and five probationary lecturers. There are several eminent senior academics and industrialists who contribute as visiting Professionals by conducting lectures and practical sessions in their specialized fields.

Curriculum

Facilities

There are five computer laboratories equipped, and facilitated with modern Windows and Linux systems, and a wide variety of up- to-date software including expensive educational tools. High-speed Internet resources are shared among computer laboratories and other buildings via a fiber backbone.

Ongoing  research grants

Academic Staff

ComSpective

With the aim of exploring today’s world-changing sciences and technologies in the domain of computing, we have taken a step forward to unite with scholars, industry professional, logical thinkers, and problem-solvers through ComSpective the ICT Technical Magazine presented by the Department of Computing and Information Systems at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. The first issue of the bi-annual Magazine which will be published in print and electronic form, will be launched in February 2021 in parallel to the 25^th Anniversary Celebrations of the SUSL. ComSpective provides a brilliant opportunity for individuals who wish to contribute to the knowledge-base through articles on their research investigations, insights, and experiences in the domain of computing. Moreover, the Magazine will certainly encourage students and undergraduates to improve their writing and multimedia-related skills.

For countries to stand out in a technological world where computing expertise is specifically required to thrive with innovations, it is indeed required to have individuals with a coherent education and awareness about novel and updated knowledge. This platform would undoubtedly provide an excellent foundation in inspiring such learning and increasing wisdom.

Editorial Board

Call for Articles

Scope

The scope of the Magazine will cover the following major areas of computing but will not be limited to:

1. Information Systems
2. Software Engineering
3. Business/IS Alignment
4. Knowledge and Data Engineering
5. Intelligent Systems
6. Multimedia
7. Big Data
8. Computational Biology
9. Human Informatics
10. Affective Computing
11. Devices and Circuits
12. Pervasive Computing
13. Networking
14. Parallel and Distributed Systems
15. Cloud Computing
16. Mobile Computing
17. Services Computing
18. Secure Computing

Beyond the above-mentioned areas within the own discipline of computing, the Magazine encourages articles and contributions on interdisciplinary research, education, and practices in computing. In addition to the articles on technical topics, articles focusing on ethical, sustainable, and responsible approaches, issues, and challenges in computing are also welcomed. 

Article Categories

1. Technical Articles
2. Features
   1. Profile/ Personality - Based on an interview
   2. Profile/ Personality - “Tribute” - On a renowned scholar who has made a significant contribution e.g., to the field of computing education in Sri Lanka
   3. Historical - History/ evolution of a computing theory/ concept/ technology etc.
   4. News/ Achievements (non-paid in-house + paid promotional)
   5. Photo Feature
3. Editor’s Choice (The best student article)
4. Alumni Views
5. Industry – Current/ emerging technologies and trends
6. Industry - On professional/ personal development
7. Entrepreneurship/ Startup
8. Software development projects (Student articles)

Author Guidelines

Title

• Include relevant keywords in the title.
• Think about the problem you are solving when writing your title.

Structure and Content

• The structure and content of the article may vary depending on the article category.
• ·         Please refer to the table below for detailed descriptions and guidelines on each of the article categories.

Writing style

• Write your articles in conversational English.
• Define all acronyms on first use.
• Identify all persons quoted including their name, title, and company affiliation.
• Hyperlink to your sources and related relevant content whenever possible.
• Include relevant captions and descriptions to all figures and tables.
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided.
• Include a two-line biography of the author that includes the author’s name, title, affiliation, and field of expertise.
• Provide graphics in GIF, JPEG, or TIFF format; 6.25’’ W at 300 dpi (Minimum) and 8.5’’ W at 300 dpi (Maximum).

Submission

• The submission file should be in Microsoft Word format.
• Each article should be submitted to the editorial board via e-mail (editorial@comspective.sab.ac.lk).
• Attach the graphics to your submission email. Include a caption of 15-25 words in complete sentences, cite the source of the graphics, and ensure that we have permission to reproduce the graphics online.
• Articles should be submitted with the Copyright and Consent Form.

Review Process

Preliminary screening - Articles submitted by the authors are subject to a preliminary screening by the respective coordinating editor, based on the appropriateness of the theme and quality of the content of the article. Articles that are not according to the author guidelines will be returned to the author without processing further.

Initial screening - The articles that pass the preliminary screening undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Three reviewers who are in the same or related fields are assigned by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the Deputy Editor to carry out the review based on the evaluation criteria.

Final screening - Based on the evaluation report of the reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board then make the final decision of acceptance or rejection of the article.

Publication Ethics

ComSpective is a double-blind peer-reviewed magazine dedicated to ensuring the highest values of publication ethics. All stakeholders of the Magazine such as the editors, authors, reviewers, and publishers have to agree upon the total ethical behavior in this context.

Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief and the Deputy Editor

• Making an initial evaluation of the articles exclusively based on their academic and intellectual merit, without considering the author’s race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation, or social class.
• Deciding which of the articles submitted to the Magazine should be sent for reviewers’ evaluation following the preliminary screening based upon the policies and author guidelines of the Magazine and legal requirements concerning vilification, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
• Ensuring appropriate peer reviewers are selected to evaluate the articles.
• Guaranteeing a fair and unbiased double-blind peer review of the articles and ensure all information related to the authors and reviewers are kept confidential and to ensure both authors’ and peer reviewers’ identities are secured.
• Provision of direction and guidance to members of the Editorial Board, authors, and reviewers on their responsibilities and ethical expectations and also on the description of peer review processes.
• Developing and maintaining a database of appropriate reviewers and updating the same based on reviewer competence, punctuality, and responsiveness.

Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

• Ensuring the maintenance of the overall quality of the Magazine.
• Assuring the international standards of both online and print publications of the Magazine by providing opinions.
• Making a set of clear guidelines available for authors with regard to the subject area of the Magazine and the overall design of the issues.
• Establishing the Magazine policy and ensuring the implementation of it.
• Assisting to ensure the international recognition and acceptance of the Magazine.
• Ensuring the implementation of publication ethics of the Magazine by all the stakeholders.

Responsibilities of the Authors

• Authors should not submit the same article simultaneously to more than one publication at a time. This is found to be an unethical publishing behavior and is obnoxious.
• Authors must ensure and declare that their work is original, represent their own contributions and they have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or part from others’ work, and that any work or statement from other authors or sources has been appropriately acknowledged and referenced.
• Authors should provide citations and references relevant to the submitted work.
• Should understand and act towards the fact that plagiarism in all its forms that exhibits unethical publishing behavior is unacceptable.
• Authors need to submit a written statement that clearly states the article has not been published elsewhere in any form of publishing.
• Authors must take all the responsibilities in ensuring all the ethical considerations of the Magazine.
• All the sources of financial support of the work submitted to the Magazine should be disclosed and acknowledged.
• The Magazine is freely available online. Authors should agree with the open access policy which enables unrestricted access and reuse of all published articles.

Responsibilities of the Reviewers

• Peer reviewers should assist especially the Editor-in-Chief and the Coordinating Editors, and the Editorial Board whenever necessary, in making editorial decisions by submitting their recommendations on eligibility and relevance of the articles for publication.
• Articles received for review must be treated as confidential documents and should not be discussed on their content with outside parties and should not be multiplied in any form.
• If a selected particular reviewer is not competent to review a given article or knows that the timely review of the same will be impossible, should immediately inform the Editor-in-Chief and the Coordinating Editors without delay, enabling the Editors towards calling an alternative reviewer.
• Reviewers are requested to report to the Editors if they are aware of copyright breach and plagiarism on the author’s side.
• Reviewers must strictly evaluate the articles, only based on content, without imagining the author’s race, age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation, or social class.
• Peer review must be done very objectively, with clear logic, so that authors can use it for improving the article.
• Reviewers should not consider any article for reviewing in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, establishments, or institutions connected to the articles.

Contact Us

If you require any further information, please feel free to contact us.

Department of Computing and Information Systems,

Faculty of Applied Sciences,

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka,

P.O. Box 02,

Belihuloya,

70140,

Sri Lanka.

Tel: +94 (0) 71 1106393 (Dr. L.S. Lekamge)

        +94 (0) 71 1140585 (Mr. G.A.C. Anuradha Herath)

Email: editorial@comspective.sab.ac.lk (Articles)

           advertising@comspective.sab.ac.lk (Advertising/ Sponsorships)

Achievements

IEEE Student Branch of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka wins the Bronze Award at Darrel Chong Student Activity Awards 2020 for "Let Me Hack Eco 2.0"

"Let Me Hack Eco 2.0" organized by the IEEE Student Branch of SUSL together with the Society of Computer Sciences and the Department of Computing and Information Systems was the first-ever eco-friendly product-oriented inter-university hackathon which was held on 01^st - 02^nd February 2020 at the university premises.

For successfully organizing "Let Me Hack Eco 2.0”, the IEEE Student Branch of SUSL won the Bronze Award at Darrel Chong Student Activity Awards 2020. Participants for this award were IEEE Student groups from universities around the world. The purpose of this recognition system serves to change the mindset of the student groups, from being number-driven to becoming value-driven and to acknowledge exemplary student activities around the world. The goal is to improve the quality of activities and to foster knowledge sharing among students.

Our heartiest congratulations to all the winners of the Darrel Chong Student Activity Award 2020.

Industrial and Academic Collaborations

Industrial Training 

Students need to have an Industrial Training related to Information Systems at a relevant Industry.  The duration of the project period should be minimum15 weeks. A project report should be submitted at the end of the semester and should be presented and defended by the respective student in front of an Examination Committee appointed by the Department. Throughout the degree program, the students get the opportunity to have industrial visits as well.

Academic Collaborations with SLASSCOM

The academic staff members of the Department of Computing and Information Systems led by the Head of the Department Professor S. Vasanthapriyan had a collaboration meeting with SLASSCOM - the national chamber for the IT/BPM industry in Sri Lanka. The meeting was held online on the 06th of November 2020. Potential collaborations in the areas including research, internships, as well as curriculum design and development were discussed during the meeting. The Department gratefully acknowledges the participation of Ms. Chaminda de Silva, Mr. Shevan Goonatilleke, Mr. Nuwan Perera, Mr. Dileesha Rajapakse, and Mr. Andrew Davy from SLASSCOM who shared their valuable insights. In the future expansions and developments, the Department eagerly looks forward to networking with SLASSCOM in realizing its aim to produce industry-ready graduates through the BSc Honours Degree Programme in Computing and Information Systems and the newly introduced BSc Honours Degree Programme in Software Engineering.

Academic Collaborations with Nagaoka University of Technology

The Department of Computing and Information Systems organized a Guest Lecture by Professor Yuta Nishiyama, an Associate Professor from the Department of Information and Management Systems Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT), Japan. The event which took place at the Faculty of Applied Sciences on 7th March 2019 aimed at further strengthening the collaborations between NUT and SUSL.

You can find the lecture slides here:

Lecture Slides.pdf

Opportunities at NUT for SUSL students:

• Nagaoka Summer School for Young Engineers (NASSYE)
  • http://www.nagaokaut.ac.jp/e/kokusai/nassye.html
• JASSO Scholarship for a student to visit NUT for a period of 03 months
  • Information for Scholarship of JASSO.pdf
  • Documents Submission.zip
• NUT Admission Schedule
  • http://www.nagaokaut.ac.jp/e/nyuushi/nittei.html

Applications need to be processed through the University and therefore please contact the Department of Computing and Information Systems for further information.

Career Prospects

Industrial and Academic Collaborations

Graduates of the Department of Computing and Information Systems mainly target Information Technology related professions in private sector, such as: 

• Software Engineer
• Software Quality Asurance Engineer
• Database Administrator
• Network Engineer
• System Adminstrator
• Web Developer 
• IT Consultant
• UI Designer
• Information Architect 
• System Analyst
• UX Designer
• Full- Stack Developer
• Software Project Manager

Guidelines

Final Year Research Project

• Research Project Guidelines

Industrial Training

• Handbook of Industrial Training