Kickstarter – Entrepreneurial Weekend
The Kickstarter Entrepreneurial weekend organized by the Department of Information Technology in Collaboration with the Students Association of IT, SquareHub Pvt. Ltd and the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka was successfully held on the 1st, 2nd, and the 3rd of September 2023 at the university premises. This event was organized to enhance the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge of the students of the Department of Information Technology. The Opening Ceremony was held at the Senate Boardroom with the participation of the staff members and the students of the Department of Information Technology. The esteemed guests of the Opening ceremony Mr. Kanishka Weeramunda – CEO, SquareHub Sri Lanka and Mr. Rajive Silva – CEO, Azend Technologies emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship among the undergraduates of Sri Lanka and officially inaugurated the Kickstarter weekend.
On the second day of the Kickstarter weekend Entrepreneurial mentoring, skill development session was conducted by Entrepreneurial mentoring, skills development Session were conducted Mr. Shohan Kulasooriya – Founder of Deegentics Pvt Ltd, Mr. Mohammed Jaseem – Representative from ICTA Sri Lanka, Ms. Nevindaree Premarathne – Founder & CEO at The Makers and Mr. Kithmal Warnasooriya – Founder & CEO at Elysian Crest. A team of experts from Dialog Ideamart also introduced the platform to participants.
On the third day, the students pitched their innovative ideas to the panel of judges. The respected judges for the final round were Dr. Dushan Jayawickrama (Dean, FMSC), Dr. Dharmasiri Kumaratunge (Former Deputy Governor, CBSL), Dr. Ashwini Amarasinghe (University of Peradeniya), Dr. Damith Gangodawilage (Sri Lanka Technological Campus), Mr. Hasanka Padukka (Co-Founder – Thuru), Mr. Dinushan Wanigasekara (Senior Program Manager, Azend Technologies), Mrs Dinali Ruwanpathirana, and Mr. Sachindra Samararathne (Associate Chief Digital Economy Office, ICTA). Team Ammo was selected as the most popular team based on the likes received by the group through Facebook. Team Way Finders emerged as the winners of the Kickstarter weekend followed by Team Ammo as the first Runner-up and Team the Shining Stars and Team Warriors as the second Runner-up. The event was coordinated by Prof. Lasith Gunawardena with the assistance of Ms. Kaveesha Silva and other department academic staff, and was supported by the SECRA Project and Unilever Sri Lanka.
