ESOFT Uni has won the AI in Education Award 2026 at the ASOCIO Digital & AI Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Hiru News reported — the Sri Lankan institution’s third consecutive year of recognition from the regional industry body.
The Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO), founded in 1984, represents national ICT associations across the Asia-Pacific region. The 2026 citation recognises “the application of Artificial Intelligence to enhance teaching and learning, improve student outcomes and expand access to quality education.”
Dr. Dayan Rajapakse, Chairman and Managing Director of the ESOFT Group of Companies, and Amila Bandara, Chief Operating Officer, accepted the award at the Jakarta ceremony.
Three years, three awards
ESOFT says it is the only educational institution in Sri Lanka to have received ASOCIO honours in three consecutive years. The run began with the EdTech Award in Tokyo in 2024, followed by the Talent Development Award in Taiwan in 2025.
The categories have shifted each year — from education technology, to workforce development, to the application of AI in teaching — rather than repeating a single prize.
The ceremony date
Hiru’s filing does not date the ceremony. The award trophy photographed for that report is legible and carries its own inscription: the AI in Education Award presented to ESOFT Uni (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka, signed by ASOCIO Chairman Stan Singh-Jit, and dated ASOCIO Digital & AI Summit 2026, Jakarta, Indonesia — October 06, 2026.
That places the ceremony four days before the Sri Lankan coverage, and confirms the recipient’s registered name, which appears in the reporting only as “ESOFT UNI”. Earlier ASOCIO coverage of the group referred to it as ESOFT Metro Campus; ESOFT Uni is the degree-awarding entity the group launched as part of its university plans.
Not reported
The report gives no detail of what ESOFT actually submitted — which AI tools or teaching programmes were assessed, how many students they reach, or what outcomes were measured. It does not name the other finalists or say how many countries competed in the category, and it carries no comment from ASOCIO on why the entry was selected.
It does not say whether any other Sri Lankan organisation was recognised at the 2026 summit, and gives no figure for ESOFT’s enrolment or its investment in the AI programmes being honoured.
This report rests on a single verified Sri Lankan source. The award is independently evidenced by the inscribed trophy in Hiru’s own photograph, but no other verified newsroom had filed on it at the time of writing.
