A ‘Ray’ of hope for Lankan innovators

Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The ‘Ray’ award for innovation stemming from the vision of late Ray Wijewardene

Sri Lanka’s venerated linguist, writer and poet Kumarathunga Munidasa, famously stated that a nation that does not innovate will not make a mark in this world; a statement of increasing importance today that is hardly honoured in Sri Lanka. This is why the recently launched ‘Ray’ award that recognises remarkable local innovators is a rare and unique opportunity for Sri Lankan inventors.

‘The Ray’ is a lifetime award given in memory of the late Ray Wijewardene, the foremost inventor produced by Sri Lanka, to help recognise inventors to commercialise their inventions. This award which will be given to a Presidential Award winner of the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission is jointly organised by the Ray Wijewardene Charitable Trust and the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission.

The inaugural Ray award is being sponsored by Commercial Bank with technical support given by the University of Moratuwa, all institutions closely associated with the late Ray Wijewardene. Commercial Bank will award a substantial credit line to assist the winner to prepare his/her invention for commercialization.

The University of Moratuwa will provide the technical support necessary to convert the winner’s invention to a product/process ready for the market. In addition, the Commercial Bank will consider raising the required funds if the winner prepares a bankable project.

The award ceremony for ‘the Ray’ 2012 will be held on the evening of 17 October 2012 at the Cinnamon Lakeside. The RWCT, which has appointed an eminent panel of judges, will award a distinctive trophy to the winner of ‘the Ray’ award together with medals and citations to the six finalists on this day.

A documentary featuring the works of the six chosen inventors for this prestigious award will also be shown, which should make for an interesting and inspiring evening for aspiring inventors. Ensuring ‘the Ray’ is an international event, RWCT has included the Ray Award ceremony as an event of the inaugural Conference of the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) – an association of leading scientists from academies of science and technology in Asia and Australasia with 34 member academies of science representing 30 countries – to be held in Colombo.

For more information on ‘the Ray,’ contact RWCT on www.raywijewardene.net, call 0777349079, 0777480717 or email [email protected]