The Beginning (2013) The inception of CILA can be traced back to the familial predisposition of our founders and a happy accident. The story goes like this –Jaimon George and Sojan Mathew, both teachers, belonging to families of educators had always intended to start a language institute unlike any in Kerala. One opportune day, while driving past the then under-construction INKEL Business Park, they came across a poster advertising Tower 1 as being available. Intrigued, they walked down a long muddy path looking for some sign of urbanisation in the midst of a woodland. They’d almost given up halfway; yet curiosity got the better of them and they dredged on until they finally came upon the building which now houses our beloved CILA. A quick conversation later, they had the 4th floor of the building to themselves and CILA was born.
January 2014What’s in a name? one might say… Well, quite a lot! You see, everything was coming together quite nicely, but CILA did not yet have a name. How would we make a name for ourselves if we did not even have one? Inspiration struck Mr Mathew while driving through Athani – being located near the Cochin International Airport can certainly be an advantage; why not call the institute Cochin International Academy? Mr George chipped in with the need to add Language to the appellation so as avoid confusion and the institute was christened Cochin International Language Academy, or CILA for short.
March 2014CILA was started as the first division of JS Training Solutions, as the only provider of the Trinity College London CertTESOL provider in India and an IELTS training and registration centre. Our esteemed founders were assisted by Helen Macilwaine and David Frontin, who very kindly bestowed their knowledge and experience into the crafting of our initial courses. Taking in our first batch of 15 students, CILA started with a staff of just 5 people and shared dream – to provide the best language learning experience possible.
2017With a strength of 22 staff members and 180 students under our wing, this was a big year for CILA – we began our language improvement courses in partnership with the Cambridge University Press and also began training for the OET, allowing CILA to branch out into previously unchartered waters for the institute.
2018CILA took its first steps to being a validated OET course provider – becoming a certified OET Preparation Provider, gaining first hand access to exclusive content from OET themselves. With 27 staff members and 300 students CILA also expanded to its premises; acquiring a sizeable portion of the ground floor of INKEL Tower 1.
2020Tragedy struck the world with the COVID-19 pandemic; CILA did not escape unscathed – yet we persisted and continued to soar higher. We opened our second branch at Kakkanad. CILA also became an OET Premium Provider, one of only 7 such institutes in the country, gaining exclusive endorsement from OET; and worked on a special program in conjunction with Health Education England (HEE) and the National Health Service (NHS) to train nurses for the OET. But our biggest achievement of 2020 was adaptability – we did something we had never done before; we went completely online, providing access to all our courses to students from the comfort and safety of their homes. 40 staff members worked tirelessly to provide 350 students the best, despite the odds.
2021Another page has now been added to CILA’s history – with a strength of 45 staff members and 400 students, CILA has now become an independent provider of the Trinity College DipTESOL, the only centre in India to provide this course.
