Port City Colombo deepens university ties to curb brain drain, boost talent pipeline

Participants of inaugural Smart City Ideathon workshop hosted by University of Moratuwa’s Town and Country Planning Department, in collaboration with Port City Colomb

Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka’s first multi-services Special Economic Zone (SEZ), is strengthening academic partnerships in a bid to stem brain drain and build a skilled workforce to support its ambition of becoming a regional hub for investment and services.

The US $ 1.4 billion project has since early 2025 rolled out a series of collaborations with leading universities, including the University of Moratuwa, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and University of Colombo. 

The initiatives range from student ideathons on smart city planning to joint research, international symposiums and case studies on the SEZ’s potential role as an investment hub.

“A nation’s true progress is not measured by the number of skyscrapers it builds but by the capacity of its people to envision, lead and sustain its future.

Empowering young talent today will pave the way for a knowledge-driven economy,” said CHEC Port City Colombo Managing Director Xiong Hongfeng.  

Sri Lanka has long had one of South Asia’s highest literacy rates, at over 92 percent but more than half its graduates migrate abroad for jobs, underlining the challenge of retaining skilled workers. Port City Colombo’s backers say creating direct pathways between academia and large-scale projects can encourage students to pursue opportunities at home.

Plans are also underway for a dedicated education cluster inside the SEZ, which will house an international school and university. The move is designed to offer high-quality alternatives to overseas education, attract students from South Asia and align Port City Colombo with Sri Lanka’s broader push to revive growth through foreign investment and services exports.

“Our engagement with the local universities reflects our conviction that the future of Port City Colombo and Sri Lanka, rests with its youth,” Xiong said, adding that such initiatives were also vital to positioning Colombo alongside regional hubs such as Dubai and Singapore.