Ocean University of Sri Lanka

Welcome to the website of the Ocean University of Sri Lanka!

NIFNE, which is soon to be given university status, is the premier national training and educational institute in Fisheries and Marine Sciences in the country. Coming under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, it has the mandate to produce necessary manpower for the sustainable management and utilization of fisheries and marine resources in the country. NIFNE is headquartered in Colombo with seven Regional Colleges located in Jaffna, Trincomalee, Baticaloa, Tangalle, Galle, Matakkuliya and Negombo. It will shortly establish another College at Kalutara and proposes to establish new Colleges in Mannar, Puttalam Ampara and Matara in the near future to cater to the rapidly growing demand for capacity building in fisheries and allied fields. Thus NIFNE with its island-wide network in the coastal belt is uniquely positioned to provide necessary training and capacity building programmes to the people engaged in fisheries activities in their own areas.

NIFNE offers a wide array of vocational courses, including mobile, certificate and diploma programmes. In addition, it conducts degree programmes in Fisheries and Marine Science, Marine Engineering and Boat Building and Naval Architecture, which are recognized by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka. It is in the process of fundamental review and revision of its present courses and the introduction of novel and innovative courses to make NIFNE courses more relevant and competitive not only in Sri Lanka, but also in the region. It has recently launched a programme to align all its vocational courses to the National Vocational Qualification Framework, thereby improving the recognition of NIFNE courses at home and abroad. Another salient feature of NIFNE is its strong and synergistic links with all major national institutes and departments committed to vocational training in the country.

NIFNE, through the laddering system, affords opportunities for diploma holders and those with equivalent qualifications to read for degree programmes in keeping with the vision of His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka, who founded the Institute in 1999 when he was the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. This makes NIFNE unique in the higher education landscape of the country as it provides opportunities for the rural youth with requisite vocational qualifications to undertake higher education at NIFNE. At NIFNE, students are provided not only with a sound theoretical grounding, but also a thorough hands-on experience related to the study programme by its competent staff, which is drawn from universities and public and private sector institutions. NIFNE equips its graduates with necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes, making them highly relevant and marketable.

In order to meet the burgeoning human resources needs in the rapidly growing and expanding Fisheries and Marine Sector, NIFNE will soon be transformed to a full-fledged University of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology with international links to foreign universities and Centres of Excellence in Fisheries and allied fields. NIFNE, with its global perspective, is therefore emerging as a dynamic and strategic leader of manpower development in Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology in the region.