Recent Activities of IEEE Sri Lanka Section
Windhya Rankothge, Secretary for IEEE Sri Lanka Section
IEEE Sri Lanka Section community has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health crisis that has impacted many members of the IEEE family. The temporary closure of educational and professional institutions during pandemic has abruptly transformed the IEEE Sri Lanka Section activities landscape in favor of online activities. Despite the challenges, the Section has conducted several online activities, including webinars, tech talks, and online competitions.
A Distinguished Lecture Program (DLP) on “Wireless Grid Integration of EVs for V2G Applications” by Prof. Udaya Madawala (University of Auckland) was held on 1st August 2020, with around 100 participants as an online event. Even though Electric Vehicles (EVs) are considered as a remedy to air-quality and depletion of fossil reserves, to address these concerns, EVs require an efficient, compact, and reliable power electronic interface for grid integration. The DLP discussed trends in the grid integration of EVs. The IEEE Sri Lanka Section also conducted the IEEE Electronic Design Competition 2020 as an online competition. It is an annual event of the Section that targets to improve the knowledge and design skills of Sri Lankan undergraduate. The 1st round was conducted on 25th August as an online competition. 38 teams participated in the competition, where they were required to design and develop a given task using a simulation environment.
IEEE BOOST 2020, which was an online awareness program, was conducted on 10th and 11th October 2020, with the participation of 300 student members. It provided an opportunity for the student members of IEEE Sri Lanka Section to interact with the leadership of IEEE Sri Lanka Section and senior volunteers of IEEE. The program included a variety of activities based on professional and membership developments along with enthusiastic competitions.