CSSL concludes NITC 2020 in new normal

NITC 2020 fireside chat on ‘Digital Sustainable Sri Lanka’ with Jayantha De Silva, Prof. Kapila Perera, and Oshada Senanayake, moderated by Indika De Zoysa

Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) wishes to mark the successful conclusion of the National Information Technology Conference (NITC) 2020 in virtual format amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa inaugurated the 38th edition of the country’s flagship ICT conference themed ‘Towards a Sustainable Digital Sri Lanka’ organised by CSSL, the country’s apex body representing ICT professionals.

Newly-appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Technology Jayantha De Silva graced the inauguration as the Guest of Honour and delivered the inauguration keynote speech. This year’s National Information Technology Conference was organised under the leadership of CSSL President Prabath Samindra Wickramaratne and Conference Chair was Heshan Karunaratne, while Professor Koliya Pulasinghe was spearheading the academic track and colloquium of the conference.

Inaugural day fireside chat with Ministry of Technology (MoT) Secretary Jayantha De Silva, Ministry of Education (MoE) Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera, and Telecom Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Director General Oshada Senanayake, moderated by Huawei Technologies Vice President and Executive Council Member Indika De Zoysa, was the key highlight of the inauguration day of the conference. Three important Government policymakers of the digital industry shared the policy direction of the Government with conference delegates on the theme ‘Sustainable Digital Sri Lanka’. Digital ID project of ICTA, ‘Gamata Sanniwedanaya’ rural connectivity program of TRCSL and ‘e-Thaksalawa’ e-learning portal of Ministry of Education were some of the key projects highlighted at the panel discussion.

Second day panel discussion with the participation of key industry stakeholders BOI Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala, BoardPac Founder/CEO Lakmini Wijesundara, Virtusa CIO/ICTA Board Member Madu Rathnayake and moderated by Sachindra Samararatne of ICTA shared important insights on the topic of ‘Journey towards USD 3 Billion ICT exports’.

NITC 2020 also featured CSSL’s annual colloquium track. More than a dozen research papers shortlisted after an assiduous selection process were presented by local and international researchers on the second day of the conference.

The Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL), which was established in 1976, is the apex body representing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals in Sri Lanka. The CSSL organises the National Information Technology Conference (NITC) annually, which is the flagship ICT event in Sri Lanka. This event involves key ICT decision makers in the private and public sectors to share and discuss the latest trends in Information and Communication Technology with over 20 foreign and local prominent speakers and 1,200 plus ICT professionals joining the conference.

NITC 2020 on line edition was supported by the Presidential Secretariat and Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka as the National Partner. Huawei was the Diamond Sponsor, and Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel joined as the joint Principal Sponsors. SLIIT as the Gold Sponsor and Axiata Digital Labs as Exclusive Innovation Partner came on board to support the NITC 2020. Independent Television Network (ITN) was the Electronic Media Partner and Wijeya Newspapers was the Print Media Partner of the event.