Generative AI courses in Sri Lanka
Square1 Ai is an online school registered in Sri Lanka. It runs six live generative AI bootcamps: Gen AI, Agentic AI, RAG and Search Engineering, Voice AI Agents, LLM Evals and Reliability, and Fine-Tuning. Each is twelve weeks on Zoom with one instructor and 10 projects you keep, from LKR 30,000; self-paced courses such as Building with the Claude API start at LKR 9,999. Live sessions run on weekday evenings from 5:30 PM Sri Lanka and India time, with full-day sessions at weekends.
Sri Lankan founding price, until 1 December. Self-paced courses from LKR 9,999.
What AI roles pay in Colombo
Monthly base pay in Colombo, from Glassdoor (September 2026). The range is the middle half of reported salaries; each role links to its source and to the bootcamps that train for it.
| Role | Median a month | Middle half | Train for it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine learning engineer22 salaries | LKR 233,333 | LKR 110,417 to LKR 279,417 | Fine-Tuning and Open-Weights, LLM Evals and Reliability |
| Data scientist77 salaries | LKR 216,667 | LKR 136,833 to LKR 279,333 | RAG and Search Engineering |
| Software engineer4,928 salaries | LKR 123,750 | LKR 78,917 to LKR 225,000 | Gen AI, Agentic AI |
| AI engineer16 salaries | LKR 109,982 | LKR 109,544 to LKR 260,421 | Gen AI, Agentic AI, Voice AI Agents |
Salaries are what employers in Colombo report paying, not what Square1 Ai students earn: the first cohorts have not graduated.
Bootcamps that fit a working week in Sri Lanka.
Twelve weeks each, weekday evenings and weekend days, 25 spots a cohort. Reserving a seat holds the founding price.
Generative AI courses in Sri Lanka, side by side
Generative AI courses you can take from Sri Lanka in 2026, with their length, how they are taught and the fee each provider lists.
| Course | Length | How it is taught | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Certificate in Generative AI WorkshopIIT | 4 days | Hybrid, Saturdays 9 AM to 1 PM, Colombo | Not listed |
| Short Course in Using Generative AI for Educational EfficiencyOpen University of Sri Lanka | 10 weeks, Saturdays | Saturdays, 6 hours a day | Rs 30,000 |
| Certified AI & ML Engineer (CAME)IJSE | 6 months | Online and on campus, Sundays, Panadura | Not listed |
| Live generative AI bootcamps (6 tracks)Square1 Ai | 12 weeks, about 15 hours a week | Live online, weekday evenings from 5:30 PM and weekend days | From LKR 30,000 |
Fees and lengths as each provider lists them on its own site, checked 14 October 2026. Ask the provider for the current intake before you pay.
Four ways to learn generative AI in Sri Lanka
Each fits a different person. The right one depends on whether you want to use the tools, understand the theory or build products.
- Route 1
A short workshop or certificate
Fits when You want to understand generative AI and use the tools well, in weeks rather than months.
Watch for Most stop at using chat tools; ask whether you build and deploy something.
- Route 2
A degree or postgraduate programme in AI
Fits when You want the theory behind the models, or you are aiming at research.
Watch for Years long, and the field moves faster than the syllabus.
- Route 3
A global online course
Fits when You want the concepts, cheaply, at your own pace.
Watch for Completion rates are low without deadlines, and nobody checks whether what you built works.
- Route 4
A live online bootcamp
Fits when You can code a little and want to ship LLM apps, agents and retrieval systems, taught live after office hours.
Watch for Square1 Ai's bootcamps are new: the first cohorts have not graduated, so there is no placement rate yet.
Questions people in Sri Lanka ask about generative AI courses
Which generative AI course is best in Sri Lanka?
It depends on what you want to do with it. For a short introduction, IIT's Generative AI workshop and the Open University's short course are taught in Sri Lanka; IJSE's Certified AI and ML Engineer goes further. Their lengths and fees are in the table above. If you want to build and ship LLM products, agents and retrieval systems, Square1 Ai's twelve-week live bootcamps start at LKR 30,000.
How much does a generative AI course cost in Sri Lanka?
A Square1 Ai live generative AI bootcamp starts at LKR 30,000 and a self-paced course at LKR 9,999: the Sri Lankan founding price, until 1 December. Other providers' fees are in the table above.
What is the difference between generative AI and agentic AI?
Generative AI produces text, images or code from a prompt. Agentic AI puts a model in a loop with tools, so it can plan, call APIs, check its own work and finish a task. The Gen AI bootcamp starts with the first; the Agentic AI bootcamp is about the second.
What does an AI engineer earn in Sri Lanka?
The median base pay for an AI engineer in Colombo is LKR 109,982 a month, with the middle half between LKR 109,544 and LKR 260,421 (Glassdoor, September 2026). A machine learning engineer's median is LKR 233,333.
Are there free generative AI courses in Sri Lanka?
Square1 Ai's certification practice is free, including Google Cloud's Generative AI Leader, AWS AI Practitioner and the Claude certifications, with a free 20-question diagnostic for each. The live bootcamps and self-paced courses are paid.
Do I need to code to learn generative AI?
To build with it, yes, a little Python. The Gen AI bootcamp page says exactly what you need first. If you want to use AI at work without code, the AI for Business programmes are a better fit.
Can I learn generative AI online in Sri Lanka while working full time?
Yes. The live sessions start at 5:30 PM Sri Lanka time on weekdays, after most office hours, with full-day sessions at weekends, and the work between sessions is graded by Nova, Square1 Ai's AI tutor, whenever you submit it. Plan for about fifteen hours a week across the twelve weeks.
Does the bootcamp guarantee a job?
No. No placement rate is published because the first cohorts have not graduated. You leave with 10 projects, a recorded defence of your work an employer can watch, and a hiring plan worked through with your instructor.
How do I pay from Sri Lanka?
Reserving a seat is free and takes your name, email and country. Nothing is charged until the start date is confirmed and you say yes. Payment is through a Sri Lankan bank gateway, in rupees or US dollars.
25 spots a cohort. Hold one from Sri Lanka.
Pick a bootcamp, reserve with your name and email, and hear the start date first. Square 1 AI (Pvt) Ltd is registered in Sri Lanka.