26
ACES Newsletter 2019 - University of Peradeniya
laptop etc. Simply, the data processed and
obtained at the construction site can be
sent to anywhere across the globe from that
location itself.
Soil Quality Analyzer became the winner of
the ACES Hackathon 2018 in the Systems and
Networks Category and also won the award
for the best idea.
Having got to know about the Construction
field related Hackathon organized by
COINS (Construction Industry Solutions),
Chathurangi decided to present the idea
there, at the international platform. After
getting shortlisted to the final 6, out of
thousands of applicants, she was fully
sponsored to travel to Manchester UK where
the final round of the competition was held.
money worth of GBP 3000 and an investment
prize worth of 115,000 GBP (around 25M
SLR) which is the largest amount of prize
money awarded for a university student in
the history of Sri Lanka.
We all will have to agree with Chathurangi
as she says that opportunities are lying
all around us. The key to all what she has
Chathurangi says that it was the hardest achieved is all about her determination to
competition she has ever participated in, stand out from the crowd and look around,
since she was only given six minutes to and grab all the opportunities to the fullest.
convince 12 judges in 6 panels that her
" I never thought I’d win! Last
product is the best out of the final 6 products.
She claims that the hardest part was to tell year’s winner was from Stanford,
the year before being from
everything she had to say about the product in
Harvard, how could I possibly
the limited amount of time while answering
imagine that the prize this
the cross questions of the judges.
time would go to University of
“I never thought I’d win! Last year’s winner
Peradeniya Sri Lanka? "
was from Stanford, the year before being from
Harvard, how could I possibly imagine that Getting selected to the University of
the prize this time would go to University of Peradeniya, and then to the Department
Peradeniya Sri Lanka?! ” says Chathurangi. of Computer Engineering itself should be
embraced as a package of opportunities. It is
Apparently, her product was far more up to us, the students, to move forward from
exceptional and staggering than she herself there with our strength and persistence, to
imagined!
climb greater heights.
She won the COINS GRAND CHALLENGE
2019 – Undergraduate Category, but what
can be considered even more remarkable
is the fact that she also won the Investment
Prize, which is usually given to the Open
Category, where industrial experts take part
in. The winning brought Chathurangi prize
Faculty of Engineering, established in 1950 is the first Engineering Faculty in the country. It is one of
the nine faculties of the prestigious University of Peradeniya, located in an idyllic setting on the banks
of the Mahaweli River and at the foothills of the Hantana mountain range...