Biz-Tech

Innovative Teachers and Students National Awards:

Microsoft fetes innovation

The Education Ministry together with Microsoft Partners in Learning Initiative recognized innovative thinking and exceptional creative talents of teachers and students islandwide at this year’s Innovative Teachers and Students National Awards ceremony held on November 29 at the Galle Face Hotel.

Education Ministry Secretary H M Gunasekera speaking at the occasion commented “We consider it our collective responsibility to annually appraise creative programs such as this, that are conducted by the Ministry of Education and ICTA together with global IT sector giants, with the objective of increasing computer literacy rate to 75 percent by the year 2016 and make Sri Lanka a knowledge hub as outlined in the Mahinda Chinthana Idiri Dakma development plan.

Microsoft’s dedication to IT innovation and development translates into the field of education through its global initiative Microsoft ‘Partners in Learning’.

Through its activities the company focuses on developing all three areas of learning and education; namely teachers, students and schools with the objective of encouraging active use of ICT in classrooms on a day to day basis.

In Sri Lanka this initiative takes life in partnership with the Education Ministry and the Secondary Education Modernization Project (SEMP), who organizes the Innovative Teachers and Students National Competition which culminates at this annual awards ceremony.

The names of the national level winners were announced at this ceremony. Winning the first place in the Teacher’s category was T G R Tharukaratne from Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya, Matale with R C P Wijewickrama - Siri Mihindu Maha Vidyalaya, Minuwangoda in second place and H M Wijewardena of Rambuka Maha Vidyalaya, Rakwana in third place.

In the 9-11 Teacher’s category Rasika Sampath Edirisinghe of Siddhartha Maha Vidyalaya Weligama was awarded first place while W Chamath Abeygunawardana of All Saints’ Central College, Fort, Galle was placed second and D Priyankara Godage of Siddhartha Maha Vidyalaya Wellawaya was placed third.

In the 12-13 category M G N S Jayasekara of Ananda Balika National School Hingurakgoda, was awarded first place whilst D M L D Senevirathna of St. Joseph’s College, Anuradhapura for second place and U G P Sirikumara of Darmadutha Maha Vidyalaya, Badulla was awarded third place.

In the students 1-8 category Ananthitha Johnson of St. Mary’s College, Trincomalee was awarded first place while D M M B Dissanayake from St Mary’s Maha Vidyalaya, Kegalle was awarded second place along with M D S P S Dasanayake of St. Mary’s Maha Vidyalaya, Kegalle awarded third place.

In 9-11 students category J A D H Aseka of Katukenda Sri Sangabodhi Central College, Dankotuwa was awarded first place while B A Bhagya Chathurangani Swarnasinghe from Ananda Balika National School, Hingurakgoda, Polonnaruwa was awarded second place along with R P H K Ruwanpura of Weddagala South Maha Vidyalaya, Kalawana for the third place.

In A/L Maths category Muditha Bandara Arambepola of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa came first, U Manikya Udayanga Senarathna of Ananda Maha Vidyalaya, Elpitiya second and W M A Sandamali of KudaKusum Maha Vidyalaya, Bandarawela came third. In A/L Bio category K G Rivindu Nishshanka of Pitabaddara Maha Vidyalaya , Pitabaddara received first place while W W M M T Madushan Bandara of Keppetipola Maha Vidyalaya, Keppetipola received second and M N Fathima Shihara of Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya, Badulla was awarded third place.

In the A/L Commerce category R A Dasun Chamara of Narandeniya National School, Kamburupitiya came first along with T Thivanika of Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College, Trincomalee in second place and N D G Shalika of Tissamaharama Maha Vidyalaya in third place. In the A/L Arts category T G D Sandaruwan of Kahagolla Maha Vidyalaya, Diyathalawa was placed first while Abdul Azeez Fathima Sasna of Mutur Muslim Ladies College, Mutur was awarded second place and H A S M Hettiarachchi of Delwala Maha Vidyalaya, Delwala received third place. Microsoft Sri Lanka Country Manager Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne said, “This year is truly an exceptional milestone of this event.

I’m extremely proud to see all winners emerging from rural areas and from all corners of the country. That, together with 80,000 entries received for this year’s competition goes on to prove the popularity of the competition and gives us an indication of the number of lives we have touched through this initiative alone.

We’re humbled by the participant’s enthusiasm and take pride in that we have contributed positively to transform the IT landscape of the country which was our objective when we launched this program seven years ago with very humble beginnings.

Winners of the National Level Teachers Competition receive the chance to represent Sri Lanka and compete at the Asia Pacific regional event which will be held in Thailand in 2011. This will, indeed, be a great opportunity for local teachers to meet, share experiences and interact with their regional counterparts.

Aeturnum Lanka celebrates four years

Aeturnum Lanka, a provider of enterprise software development solutions and services to emerging technology vendors and Global 2000 organizations, celebrated its fourth anniversary recently.

The company was established in 2006 as a subsidiary of US-based Aeturnum Inc, which is headquartered just outside Boston, Massachusetts.

It has specific expertise in a number of technology domains including enterprise search and collaboration, mobile applications, e-commerce, business intelligence and data warehousing, software quality assurance and testing, and e-billing and online self-service.

Aeturnum has continued to reach new heights by providing its clients with maximum support and a complete range of engineering, implementation and consulting services while meeting all their software requirements. Its team of certified technology experts has enabled it to achieve this with great efficiency for the company while delivering great impact for their clients.

In the past year, Aeturnum Lanka has continued to expand its expertise and invested significantly in infrastructure and logistics with the aim of providing its team of engineers with a healthy and vibrant work environment.

The company has also strengthened its technical portfolio by recruiting engineers from diverse technical backgrounds.

The company has a mission of training its engineers on the latest emerging technologies in order to help its clients take full advantage of these solutions to drive their business and increase their productivity. Aeturnum also supports the development of its team by way of its active participation in the Sri Lankan IT community. Shabbir is the Founding Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Software Testing Board (SLSTB) and Aeturnum is a Council Member at the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) - Software Chapter (formerly known as SLASI).

Aeturnum also contributes to the betterment of the society by investing in communities to help people thrive in life.

As a part of its responsibilities as a corporate citizen, the Aeturnum Foundation engages in several social welfare and educational programs, both in Sri Lanka and across the globe.

FITIS felicitates Nayana Dehigama

The Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) felicitated Epic Lanka Group Chairman and Managing Director Nayana Dehigama for winning the most coveted Asia-Pacific Young Entrepreneur Award 2010. Epic Lanka is a member of the Software Chapter of FITIS formerly known as SLASI.

The memento was handed over to Dehigama Technology and Research Senior Minister Prof Tissa Vitharana at the Infotel Forum 2010 held at the BMICH Auditorium recently. EPIC Lanka is a technology leader in providing e-security and e-payment solutions to corporate organizations in Sri Lanka and the region.

Established in 1998, Epic Lanka is committed to innovate, develop and implement world class IT solutions in secure electronic payments, information systems security, mobile enterprise automation and secure document personalization. Epic Lanka is the pioneer in implementing some of the mission critical IT solutions for several State organizations and leading corporate firms. The Sri Lanka ICT Industry Association, FITIS, the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka, which constitutes Sri Lanka Computer Vendors Association (SLCVA) - the Hardware chapter, Sri Lanka Association for the Software Industries (SLASI) - the Software chapter, Association of Computer Training Organizations (ACTOS) - the Training chapter, Lanka Internet Service Providers Association (LISPA)/ (TPA) - the Telecommunications chapter and Information Security Audit and Control (ISACA) - the Professional Chapter. FITIS has been in operation for the last 15 years as the unified umbrella organization of the ICT industry in Sri Lanka. FITIS has been actively engaged in developing the ICT industry in Sri Lanka with many programs which have been successfully implemented for the growth of ICT usage and consequently the growth of job opportunities in the ICT industry.

It has also significantly contributed to the ICT awareness in all regions the country.

Featuring Windows 7 OS, 3.75G connectivity:

Prolink launches first Windows based Touch PC

Prolink has launched a new Touch PC. The new touch screen tablet - the first Windows 7 based tablet to be launched locally - runs on an Intel Atom N450 Processor and features a 32GB SSD storage capacity as well as a 1GB DDR2 memory.

Weighing in at less than 1 kg, the TW8 is a lightweight and practical alternative for users who prefer the convenience of a touch screen interface and a larger screen while working off a familiar Windows based user interface.

Running on the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system with built-in Wi-Fi as well as the option of high-speed 3.75G connectivity, the TW8 has been built to ensure that you are able to work on your documents yet connect effortlessly with others while on the go.

The TW8 comes equipped with the new Bossa Nova User Interface, which makes the running of your web applications and social media platforms a cinch. All the commonly used applications like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, RSS feeds as well as an easy-to-use web browser can be easily accessed from the new interface. Default Windows applications like Windows Live Messenger, Paint, Calculator, Windows Media Player have also been pre-installed so users are able to enjoy using and working on their tablet pc in the shortest time possible. With its sleek casing and additional features such as USB ports, a 1.3MP web camera and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR for enhanced data transfer; the TW8 is both stylish and user-friendly. Its capacitive multitouch capability makes it easy for users to navigate through the user interface, simply by swiping their fingers across the screen, while its 3-axis sensing display orientation allows you to view your screen in landscape or portrait modes effectively.

With all the above features packed into its slim 14mm casing, the TW8 is a must-have for professional users who are looking for convenience and connectivity while on the go.

Prolink is offering a one year international warranty on all its personal computing devices.

Sala Enterprises are the authorized distributor for Prolink Products in Sri Lanka.

Saab extends corporate agreement with IFS

Saab has extended its corporate agreement with IFS to position the Saab Group for new business opportunities.

In addition to the corporate contract signed in June 2009, Saab will implement IFS Eco-footprint Management and IFS Export License Management, the latter as part of the Saab-IFS partnership offering.

Under the terms of the agreement, IFS will call off Kroner 11 million in December 2010, of which Kroner eight million pertains to software licenses.

Saab has been a customer of IFS since 1994 and has a long-term strategy of increasing its use of IFS Applications across the Group to achieve greater IT efficiency.

Many Saab subsidiaries use IFS Applications for design and manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), engineering, supply chain management, project management, and after-sales services.

The need to track environmental impact is often driven by regulation, corporate value systems, customer demands, and risk management. For Saab, this has been a focus for many years and the Group currently has around 50 different environmental targets and programs connected to climate change, the environmental impact of aviation, hazardous substances, and others. “We chose IFS Eco-footprint Management because it is fully integrated with IFS Applications and can easily track environmental impact and critical substances included in the products’ lifecycle. When fully implemented, we will be able to improve our environmental profile and manage risks even more efficiently through the entire Group,” Saab CIO Mats Hultin, said.