6th Annual SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards 2024 honours Sri Lanka’s leading innovators

Award winners  

The SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards 2024, held at the Shangri-La Hotel on 19 June, honoured and celebrated Sri Lanka’s most brilliant minds and innovative breakthroughs. The event brought together distinguished guests, industry leaders, and promising innovators to recognise and applaud the exceptional contributions made across various fields. 

The event was also attended by distinguished Chief Guest IIT Madras Parvartak Technologies Foundation CEO Dr. M.J. Shankar Raman, along with special guest IIT Madras Research Park COO Rajendra Moortha.

Setting the tone for an evening dedicated to ingenuity, the evening commenced with the lighting of the digital oil lamp, where each flame represented a different province in Sri Lanka, symbolising unity and the collective spirit of innovation across the nation. 

The SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards 2024 recognised outstanding contributions across 11 industries and 16 distinct categories, with new categories this year showcasing the diverse and vibrant tech ecosystem in Sri Lanka. Highlighting the multifaceted nature of innovation, the awards celebrated pioneering women technopreneurs and upcoming innovators from schools and universities. This year’s National Winners demonstrated exceptional talent and creativity. 

In the school category, the “Smart Plant Care System,” “RAIN: Really Autonomous Irrigation Network,” and “INNOVISION” emerged as top winners. At university level, groundbreaking projects such as “An End-to-End Framework for Predictive Maintenance with AI Powered Digital Twins,” “AudiPhix,” and “HearMe: Interactive, Visual-Learning based Tool for Hearing Impaired Children to Improve Language and Cognitive Skills” were recognised.

Delivering the welcome address, SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards Committee Chair Haridhu Abeygoonaratne highlighted the importance of the awards toward creating a platform for recognising innovation and ingenuity from around the country and mentioned that this year’s awards saw applications from all nine provinces in Sri Lanka – an impressive feat. 

SLASSCOM Chairman Jehan Perinpanayagam called out key examples of Sri Lankan ingenuity which have impacted global industries. He thanked representatives from IIT Madras for their collaborative efforts towards making Sri Lanka a centre for innovation and technology emphasising Sri Lanka’s potential to make even more of a contribution to the global tech landscape. 

Rajendra Moortha, special guest for the evening delivered a keynote address and emphasised the importance of fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. He highlighted the role of educational institutions and industry partnerships in driving technological advancement and economic growth. Moortha also applauded the remarkable achievements of all nominees and winners and encouraged continued efforts towards making Sri Lanka a global technology hub. 

The SLASSCOM Ingenuity Awards 2024 were made possible through the generous support of its sponsors, Macksons Solar as the official solar energy partner, Port City as the event’s strategic partner and Dilmah Ceylon Tea PLC, Covalent Systems Ltd., Sysco LABS, and Nagarro as category sponsors. We also extend our gratitude to LSEG, the Platinum Corporate Sponsor, and Mireka Tower and Dialog Enterprise, the Gold Corporate Sponsors for SLASSCOM, whose ongoing support helps us achieve our goals. Deloitte joined as the official governance and compliance partner, reinforcing SLASSCOM’s commitment to a streamlined and transparent application process.

Overall, it was an evening dedicated to showcasing the diverse and vibrant tech ecosystem in Sri Lanka, highlighting groundbreaking projects and pioneering individuals who are driving technological advancement and economic growth in the country. The celebration underscored the importance of innovation and collaboration, setting the stage for continued progress and inspiring future generations to push the boundaries of creativity and ingenuity across all the regions in the country.