Inter University Software Development Competition gains momentum

Motorola and SLASSCOM sponsored Inter University Enterprise Mobility Software Development Competition 2011 is gaining momentum with high participation and keen interest from  IT undergraduates in Sri Lankan universities.

With the high success it had in its first-ever competition last year, Motorola Solutions Lanka (Private) Limited  once again invested on this very important event to impart the Enterprise Mobility Application Development knowledge and skills to IT Undergraduate Community in Sri Lanka with the blessings of Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM).

“This year we received 49 proposals and after a two-week long evaluation by a panel of experts, 16 proposals from 12 universities have been selected for the finals,” Motorola Solutions Software R&D Centre Director and Sri Lanka Country Manager Anuradha Tennakoon said at a boot camp held at Open University, Nawala. 

“This boot camp is to provide an overview of mobile computer internals and software developer kits and tools available to facilitate application development followed by a hands-on session on mobile computers. At the end of the boot camp, undergraduates will take these resources to their respective Universities and develop a demonstrable application based on their proposal within next three months.  On the final competition to be held in September, the judges will look for the burning enterprise level issue that the application will resolve.  Teams from University of Colombo, Kelaniya, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Rajarata, Uva Wellassa, Jaffna, APIIT, IIT, NIBM and OUSL will compete at this prestigious event,” Tennakoon added.

While addressing the gathering at the Boot Camp, SLASSCOM’s Centre of Excellence for Mobile and Telco Head and CEO of Dinota IT Nayana Serasinghe said: “SLASSCOM has a goal to increase software exports from Sri Lanka to US$ 1 billion level by 2015 and through initiatives such as this, Sri Lanka can increase our capacity needed to reach that goal and attract more business.”

Whilst thanking team Motorola, Serasinghe further said there were no losers but only winners in this competition as the knowledge, skills and the employment opportunities the undergraduates would gain would certainly pay them very high dividends.

Vice Chancellor Open University of Sri Lanka Prof. Upali Vidanapathirana who was the Chief Guest at the boot camp said: “I am sure that these 16 short listed teams are brimming with hopes, expectations and anxieties because you all want to compete. It’s a good thing to have this winning instinct because this country needs winners and may its tribe increase. I am sure SLASSCOM with whom we have been having a long standing friendship also needs winners and so are the sponsors of this event Motorola. We all want to locate, identify, recognise and reward winning instinct of our student and staff alike.”

“Today belongs to new ideas, new processes and new ways of doing things. One who fails to adapt to this change is as lifeless as a carcass. It may be one of the simplest lessons imparted by Charles Darwin when he talked about ‘natural selection’. Those who are brimming with new ideas survive; those who are innovative and creative survive; those who can adapt to changing circumstance survive; those other will live in the books of history like dinosaurs in the Jurassic period,” Prof.  Vidanapathirana added.

Motorola Technologies Lanka (Private) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola Solutions Inc (www.motorolasolutions.com) of USA is organising the 2nd Annual Enterprise Mobility Application Software Development competition for computer science/engineering students of universities and university affiliation colleges in Sri Lanka. This competition endorsed by Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) Mobile & Telco Centre of Excellence (CoE) invites the participation of those who will remain as university students till end of the year 2011.

SLASSCOM acts as the catalyst of growth for the Sri Lankan IT and BPO industry by facilitating trade and business, propagation of education and employment, encouragement of research and innovation, and by supporting the creation of a progressive national policy framework.