The Jaffna IT Week – an industry initiative for inclusive growth and reconciliation – facilitated this collaboration, bringing together top stakeholders from the public and private sectors to share knowledge and network with some of the young talent of the country at the Jaffna IT Conference, which was held on 6 December 2014 at the University of Jaffna.
Held on the fourth and final day of Jaffna IT Week, the event, hosted by the University of Jaffna attracted over 200 students from State universities all over the country, who were exposed to the core of Sri Lanka’s IT industry, for them to understand the skill sets and expertise required of them, and to open up avenues and opportunities that were previously hard for them to access.
A line-up of some of Sri Lanka’s leading personalities in the IT/BPM sector shared insights on the latest developments in the local and global IT industry – topics discussed included a mix of technical, trending topics in the industry (Development, Internet of Things, Mobile), as well as more business-related themes, with both a local and global outlook.
The panel of speakers included ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura, WSO2 Founder, Chairman and CEO Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, CodeGen CEO and Chief System Architect Dr. Harsha Subasinghe, Motorola Solutions Sri Lanka Country Manager Anuradha Tennakoon, Microsoft Sri Lanka Country Manager Imran Vilcassim, Zone24x7 Vice President – Engineering and General Manager Dr. Sankalpa Gamwarige, Microimage Founder/CEO Harsha Purasinghe, Calcey Technologies Founder and CEO Mangala Karunaratne, 99X Technology Co-Founder and CEO Mano Sekaram and IFS General Manager/Director Sales and Consulting South Asia, IFS Pakistan Country Director and IFS Global Academy Project Consultant Poorna Bandara.
The interest from the students prior to the conference and the levels of interaction between the undergraduates and the speakers at the conference, as well as between the Jaffna undergraduates and their peers from across the island, was extremely heartening to see, and the response from all parties has been exceedingly positive.
Additionally, the Jaffna undergraduates hosted their counterparts from other parts of the country in their own homes, giving the visiting students a real feel of life in the North, forging lasting friendships between the youth – a small yet sure step forward in the process of reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
The ‘Jaffna IT Week’, held from 3 to 6 December 2014, was an IT industry initiative for inclusive growth and reconciliation, driven by SLASSCOM, and supported by the Export Development Board (EDB), Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), Ministry of Education (MOE), University of Jaffna (UOJ) and the Yarl IT Hub, with NDB as Official Bank and Mobitel as Exclusive Mobile Communication Partner.
Over four days, the Jaffna IT Week featured key Government stakeholders, Sri Lanka’s top IT industry thought leaders and tech entrepreneurs. It was a significant event to be hosted in the Jaffna Peninsula, not only for the promotion of IT in Jaffna but also in terms of bridging the digital divide and bringing about reconciliation. (KH)
