Design Hackathon 2019 (D-Hack 2k19)
The Students Association of Information Technology (S@IT) recently organized the D-Hack Competition aimed at providing their members a first-hand experience of participating in a design Hackathon. The event was held from 8 am to 8 pm on 17th August 2019 at the Information Technology Resource Center (ITRC), University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
This event was the culmination of a series of events organized by the Department of Information Technology aimed at improving the awareness and skill of design challenges. This event series was designed and conducted by Mr. Dulan Dias from the Department of Computer Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He is the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Award 2018 Gold Medal winner from the Tertiary (University Category). Mr. Dias who also functions as the Co-Founder and CEO of EchonLabs (Pvt) Ltd. mentored the students during the final event day.
The event was open to all students following the B.Sc. Business Information Systems (Special). During the first round, teams of up to three participants had to prepare a proposal for a given problem. Eight teams were selected for the final round. The event was sponsored by Mr. Samantha Pallegedara, Founder/CEO Nvison Solutions and Salesplay (Platinum Sponsor), Mr. Chaminda Rajapakse, Director – Metropolitan Computers Ltd (Silver Sponsor) and Genius Associates Pvt Ltd (Bronze Sponsor). The first three teams were offered gift packs such as External Hard Drives, Multifunction Printers and Flash Drives as well as Medals. All finalists received certificates on their achievement.
The event was won by team “Syntax” comprising of M.D.M. Perera, D.I.R. Perera and H.A.P. Wimalasiri . The second place was won by team “Mango” comprising of A.Dissanayake and M. Tennakoon . The third place was won by Team “Interno” comprising of L. I. Assalaarachchi, T.A. Rambukwella and G.S. Ranasinghe.
The Judging Panel Composed of Mr. Dulan Dias, Mr. Samantha Pallegedara and Mr. Damith Laksitha Bandara Co-founder/ Chief Technology Officer – EchonLabs (Pvt) Ltd. Ms. Madushi Welikala from the Department of Computer Science provided assistance to this process as well as the event day activities.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Samantha Pallegedara reflected back to 10 years ago when he graduated from the same Department, and shared highlights from his entrepreneurial journey. He also gave guidance tips to aspiring entrepreneurs. Dr. P.D.K. Amitha Kumara, Head-Department of IT thanked the students and Mr. Dulan Dias for their roles in bringing this event to life. Dr. K.S. Lasith Gunawardena, Senior Treasurer of S@IT explained how the event grew from the original concept from students and thanked the sponsors who agreed to support this event at short notice.
The presentation party included Mr. Shantha Puhulwella, Coordinator-ITRC, Mr. C. Ranil Peiris, Senior Lecturer, Department of IT, Ms. Kaveesha Silva and Ms. Thamali Chandrasiri, Lecturers from Department of IT.
