Message from the Head
Department of Computer Engineering
It is with great pleasure that I am writing this message to the 5th Annual Symposium ESCaPE 2020 of the
Department of Computer Engineering. ESCaPE was started with the intention of providing a forum for computer
engineering students to hone many of the skills they should possess for entering into the competitive computing
industry. The researches presented in this symposium are the outcome of the final year research projects which
spans across two semesters.
The skills that the students acquire through this symposium can be categorized broadly into four namely;
research & development skills, report writing skills, presentation skills, and organizing skills. At the beginning of
the project, the students conduct a thorough literature survey to understand what is already being done in the area
of their research. Research topics are selected with the help of the industry or by considering the issues addressed
currently by the research community. Based on the literature survey, students find gaps in existing work and plan
the milestones of their research. Then the development work is carried out with appropriate fine-tuning under the
supervision of the academic staff. In this process, the students carry out several intermediary activities. Project
proposal writing and presentation, mid-term review, 7th semester report and presentation, 8th semester progress
report and presentation, mid-term review, and 8th semester final report and presentation are the main activities.
These activities will provide students ample opportunity to report what they have learned and discuss their findings.
The presentations will help them to improve their presentation skills. In addition to all these, the organization
of an event of this caliber provides a rare opportunity for the students to improve their interpersonal skills and
other related soft skills.
As we did in the past, we were planning to conduct the symposium in a prime location in Colombo together
with career fair and internship interviews. Due to the prevailing pandemic situation, we have decided to conduct
it online. The event organization is lead by the Symposium Chair; Dr. Damayanthi Herath with the help of
academic staff members of the Department. The Association of Computer Engineering Students (ACES) provided
logistic support. I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Damayanthi Herath, academic staff, and ACES for making
this event a success. Finally, I would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor and the Dean for helping us in numerous
ways and for gracing this annual event.
Dr. Kamalanth Samarakoon,
Head of the Department/Senior lecturer,
Department of Computer Engineering,
University of Peradeniya.
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