SLIIT’s Team Nana Shilpa brings glory to Sri Lanka and Asia as Microsoft Imagine Cup World Runner-up

SLIIT successfully showcased its world-class learning cycle recently when Team Nana Shilpa, formed with students from the Faculty of Computing, brought glory to Sri Lanka and Asia being adjudged Runners-up of the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship 2022.

The Microsoft Imagine Cup is a global student technology competition held annually, where teams take on a local or global issue under categories — Earth, Education, Healthcare, or Lifestyle — and winners are assessed based on the use of Azure cloud technology, accessibility and inclusion, marketability as a business idea, and potential for making an impact.

This year, tens of thousands of students from more than 160 countries participated and advanced as regional winners for the grand final championship representing the Americas, Asia and the combined Europe/Middle East/Africa. The competition enabled students to create and showcase inspiring and inclusive projects using cutting-edge technology while also developing valuable skills for the future.

Team ‘Nana Shilpa’ from SLIIT created unprecedented history as the entry to be chosen to represent Asia and advance to the grand finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship 2022. The team developed the first mobile application developed for screening and refinement of dyscalculia and dysgraphia learning disabilities in primary school students using the Sinhala language.

Commending SLIIT, Microsoft Imagine Cup Global Director Pablo Veramendi said, “The Imagine Cup is about empowering students to achieve by using Microsoft technology to bring their dreams to life. We are inspired every year with the solutions that competitors from across the globe bring to the competition, and the 20th anniversary competition was no different. Nana Shilpa embodies this by empowering students with learning disabilities in Sri Lanka and, in the future, many more countries and languages. We can’t wait to see what Nana Shilpa accomplishes and how many young students’ lives they improve with this impactful solution.”

The achievement has shone a spotlight on SLIIT, as a non-state institute, on a global scale generating tremendous recognition, especially in paving the way for its students to be acknowledged on an international platform. Noteworthily, SLIIT’s reputation for its programs, students’ quality, staff commitment as well as the vision of top management in creating high quality graduates has been further endorsed. 

SLIIT Vice Chancellor/CEO Prof. Lalith Gamage noted, “My warmest wishes to Nana Shilpa on their astounding achievement. Our students have outshone thousands of competitors from over 160 countries making SLIIT and Sri Lanka proud. You have managed to thrive not just locally but in the international arena showcasing your talents and setting an example for others to pursue a higher education journey. My appreciation goes out to the mentors and the supervisors as well. I anticipate seeing you bringing more innovative ideas to society in the future and trust you will keep working with continued greatness.”

SLIIT Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Nimal Rajapakse added, “I am delighted to congratulate members of SLIIT’s Nana Shilpa whose innovative mind, technical knowledge and dedication has led to this significant success at the highest international level. You have shown that teamwork and thinking outside the box are vital attributes of SLIIT graduates. We are proud to see our graduates shine globally, their technical competence while impacting society. You have raised the bar for all SLIIT students and graduates and motivated them to perform at the highest level.”

Supporting and strengthening the students to reach these great heights is SLIIT’s strong learning cycle which endeavours to create perfect graduates for the industry and beyond. Teaching methodology and patterns, staff commitment including assistance by Heads of the faculties, internal and external supervisors, were all leveraged to secure this historic win.

Importantly, SLIIT has demonstrated its commitment to producing high quality research and ensuring publication in reputed journals, especially research which has societal impact. In addition, through SLIIT and student research, software solutions are also being developed to address global problems, while solutions are sought through research to overcome existent gaps in society and business organisations. 

The SLIIT learning cycle also grooms students from the inception, not only in software development skills but allied expertise in soft skills such as presentations, leadership, negotiation, decision making, etc., vital characteristics for a graduate to face today’s challenges. As a result, students are able to quickly integrate with various industries and sectors and apply knowledge acquired into resolving real-world problems.

The Nana Shilpa team participants received significant international exposure during their visit to the Microsoft Headquarters, which hosted the competing teams. Valuable feedback from Microsoft staff was also received. Armed with this success, SLIIT expects to continue to inspire more students to participate in competitions such as the Imagine Cup in the future, providing them further opportunities.

“This research project was part of our requirement for the final year’s research. We were very fortunate to receive multiple feedback from different panels with varied expertise and they gave us dimensions that helped us improve our project and succeed. Even when we were selected for the final championship SLIIT provided valuable mentoring sessions with expert resource persons ensuring we improve our project on a business angle, the approach and the technology,” said Nana Shilpa Team leader Kalpani Abeysinghe.