Business
Students from Sri Lanka crowned runners-up at the 2022 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship
Team Nana Shilpa—among the top three in the world—competed with tens of thousands of teams from over 160 countries at the 20th edition of Microsoft Imagine Cup
Meet Team Nana Shilpa—the runners-up of Imagine Cup 2022 World Championship at the Microsoft Campus Redmond USA!
Seattle, USA: Microsoft recently announced that Team Nana Shilpa emerged as the runner-up following an intense finale against Team V Bionic and Team Melodic at the 2022 Imagine Cup World Championship in Seattle, Washington. The team from Sri Lanka won a cash prize of USD 10,000, and with this win Sri Lankan technology got recognized as one of the top three novel solutions at the global competition.
Microsoft Imagine Cup is designed to inspire students to use their imagination and passion for technology to create innovative solutions that tackle some of the world’s biggest social, environmental, and health challenges.
“Our Imagine Cup competition is a great example of the possibilities,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “For 20 years, students have shown us what’s possible when they come together to apply technology to help solve the world’s challenges.”
Team Nana Shilpa emerged as one of the top three to advance to the World Championship out of the tens of thousands of students from over 160 countries who registered for the 2022 Imagine Cup. Last week, the team had the opportunity to showcase their original tech innovation to judges through a 3-minute pitch and a question-and-answer session. The team flew out to Seattle from Colombo for the last leg of the competition.
The team—comprising Kalpani Abeysinghe, Chamil Diluksha, Maheshani Makalanda, and Prabath Shalitha from Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) in Malabe—came up with Nana Shilpa, an application that screens and provides guidance for addressing reading, writing, and math learning disabilities in the Sinhala language. The team announced that the app would support different languages and cultures in a bid to help young children across the world.
Many children with learning disorders struggle in school long before being diagnosed. A learning disorder is an information-processing problem that prevents a person from learning a skill and using it effectively. As a result, the disorder appears as a gap between expected skills, based on age and intelligence, and academic performance.
“We live in a world where technology can address various problems. Nana Shilpa helps to eliminate the delay in learning disability discovery using localized languages. It captures input from a mobile device and processes it using advanced machine learning and computer vision algorithms. If a child is diagnosed positive for a learning disability, the app then provides curated activities to mitigate the condition,” Kalpani discloses.
Team Nana Shilpa presenting to the judges during the 2022 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship in Seattle on May 24, 2022.
“The screening AI models are trained using thousands of data points collected from children with learning disabilities,” says Kalpani. “The professional screening process to identify learning disabilities can cost between 400 and 2,000 dollars. With Nana Shilpa, we can cut that to just 60 dollars. We are on a mission to help every kid in the world to read and write.”
Technical architecture of the Nana Shilpa mobile app
This year’s championship was won by the Team V Bionic from Saudi Arabia and Germany. The team developed a modular exoskeletal hand rehabilitation device called ExoHeal that utilizes neuroplasticity and Azure technology to provide adaptive and gamified rehabilitation exercises to people with hand paralysis.
“Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition not only challenges students to utilize technology creatively to make a difference in the world, but also provides the opportunity to connect, engage, and learn from a community of like-minded young innovators,” said Harsha Randeny, Country Manager, Microsoft Sri Lanka and Maldives. “We’re glad to see students from Sri Lanka showcase their unique solutions that have the potential to create lasting impact. Congratulations, Nana Shilpa.”
Watch the highlights of the 2022 Imagine Cup World Championship here. For more information about Imagine Cup, please visit https://www.imaginecup.com/.
The Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) proudly facilitated the first-ever Sri Lankan delegation’s participation at Drupa 2024, the world’s largest trade fair for the printing industry and technology. Held after an eight-year hiatus, Drupa 2024 was a landmark event, marking significant advancements and opportunities in the global printing industry.
AHK Sri Lanka played a pivotal role in organising and supporting the delegation, which comprised 17 members from the Sri Lanka Association for Printers (SLAP), representing eight companies from the commercial, newspaper, stationery printing, and packaging industries. This pioneering effort by AHK Sri Lanka not only showcased the diverse capabilities of Sri Lanka’s printing sector but also facilitated vital bilateral discussions with key stakeholders from the German printing industry.
Business
Unveiling Ayugiri: Browns Hotels & Resorts sets the stage for a new era in luxury Ayurveda Wellness
In a captivating reimagining of luxury wellness tourism, Browns Hotels & Resorts proudly unveiled the exquisite Ayugiri Ayurveda Wellness Resort Sigiriya. This momentous occasion, celebrated amidst a vibrant and serene grand opening on the 6th of June, heralds a new chapter in the Ayurveda wellness tourism landscape in Sri Lanka. Nestled amidst 54 acres of unspoiled natural splendour, Ayugiri features 22 exclusive suites and stands out as the only luxury Ayurveda wellness resort in the country offering plunge pools in every room, rendering it truly one-of-a-kind.
The grand opening of Ayugiri Ayurveda Wellness Resort was an enchanting event, where guests were captivated by the melodies of flutists and violinists resonating through Sigiriya’s lush landscapes. As traditional drummers and dancers infused the air with vibrant energy, Browns Hotels & Resorts’ CEO, Eksath Wijeratne, Kotaro Katsuki, Acting Ambassador for the Embassy of Japan and General Manager, Buwaneka Bandara, unveiled the resort’s new logo, marking a significant moment witnessed by distinguished guests from the French Embassy, Ayurveda and wellness enthusiasts along with officials from the Sigiriya area, LOLC Holdings and Browns Group.
“Our strategic expansion into wellness tourism with Ayugiri Ayurveda Wellness Resort Sigiriya symbolises a significant milestone for Browns Hotels & Resorts. Wellness tourism has consistently outperformed the overall tourism industry for over a decade, reflecting a growing global interest in travel that goes beyond leisure to offer rejuvenation and holistic well-being. By integrating the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda with modern luxury, we aim to set a new standard in luxury wellness tourism in Sri Lanka. Whether your goal is prevention, healing, or a deeper connection to inner harmony, Ayugiri offers a sanctuary for holistic well-being” stated Eksath Wijeratne.
Ayugiri encapsulates the essence of life, inspired by the lotus flower held by the graceful queens of the infamous Sigiriya frescoes. Just as the lotus emerges from the murky depths, untainted and serene,
Ayugiri invites guests on a journey of purity and rejuvenation, harmonised with a balance of mind, body and spirit, the essence of nature, echoes of culture and the wisdom of ancient Ayurvedic healing.
HNB General Insurance, one of Sri Lanka’s leading general insurance providers, has been honored as the Best General Bancassurance Provider in Sri Lanka 2024 by the prestigious Global Banking and Finance Review – UK.
The esteemed accolade underscores HNB General Insurance’s unwavering commitment to excellence and its outstanding performance in the field of bancassurance. Through dedication and hard work, the HNB General Insurance team has continuously endeavored to deliver innovative insurance solutions, cultivate strong relationships with banking partners, and provide unparalleled service to customers nationwide. This recognition is a testament to the team’s dedication and relentless pursuit of excellence in the bancassurance business.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious award, which reflects our team’s tireless efforts and dedication to delivering value-added insurance solutions and exceptional service through our bancassurance partnerships,” said Sithumina Jayasundara, CEO of HNB General Insurance. “This recognition reaffirms our position as a trusted insurance provider in Sri Lanka and motivates us to continue striving for excellence in serving our customers and communities.”
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