Royal College drives innovation in Sri Lanka through Spark 2018 powered by Dialog

• Over 600 innovations on display at the event from the 25th to 28th September at Royal College Colombo 

Royal College presents Spark 2018 powered by Dialog, a platform and exhibition aimed towards fostering imagination, invention and innovation amongst the youth in Sri Lanka. 

Towards spearheading a culture of innovation, Royal College Colombo in collaboration with Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, has identified the need to inspire the next generation on the value of invention and the power of innovation at an early age. 

Being the first innovation exhibition of scale and magnitude to be held in the country, Spark 2018, will take centre stage from 25 to 28 September at the Royal College premises and will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., free of charge. 

Spark 2018 Project Chair Rizan Nazeer, Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Corporate Officer Shayam Majeed, Royal College Colombo Principal B.A. Abeyrathna, and School Development Society Secretary Asanga Peiris

With over 600 innovations and inventions taking centre stage, Spark’18 will be the first innovation exhibition of such scale and magnitude to be held in the country. Other than exhibits from students of Royal College, Spark’18 will also feature inventions and innovations from over 100 students representing various schools from across the country. To further inspire the youth to think innovatively, Spark’18 will also showcase Sri Lanka’s Top 10 inventions, which were selected at an island-wide competition organized by Sri Lanka Inventors Commission, the apex body to promote innovativeness among the citizens of Sri Lanka.

With many innovations and inventions on display, the exhibition will not be limited to students of Royal, but will also give an opportunity to students from all corners of Sri Lanka to showcase their innovations. 

Due to the national significance of this venture, Spark 2018 is endorsed by The Presidential Secretariat, The Prime Minister’s Office, The Ministry of Education, The Ministry of Science, Technology & Research and The Ministry of Finance & Mass Media. The exhibition is to be inaugurated under the distinguished patronage of the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. 

According to the 2018 edition of the Global Innovation Index carried out by Cornell University and INSEAD, Sri Lanka was ranked 88th out of 126 countries in terms of innovation performance. With innovation being a key driving force for our growing economy, there is a renewed need to prioritise action and foster new sources of innovation-driven growth that will gear the future of Sri Lanka. 

Taking an all-encompassing approach to the exhibition, the organisers, Royal College conducted a series of seminars and workshops for students, teachers and parents, subsequently to be followed by expert panel forums. The workshops and forums will help students further develop skills, together with a mechanism to reward and recognise participants for early stage concepts until they have finalised their end products and projects. 

The exhibition will be held under several categories such as Food and Agriculture, ICT and Electronics (Education and Entertainment included), Home Technology and Appliances, Consumer Goods, Clothing and Fashion, Transportation, Green Technology and Energy and Sports, Games and Toys. 

Royal College Principal B.A. Abeyrathna said, “We are pleased to introduce, Spark 2018, which will provide a platform for young skilled talent in-country to showcase innovations and how their enterprising inventions can help change and impact communities. The national significance of Spark 2018 has encouraged endorsements by the Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research and the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media.”

Dialog will also host a dedicated Future Pavilion to engage and excite audiences and the Sri Lanka Tri-Forces will display some of their key innovations. 

Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Corporate OfficerShayam Majeedsaid, “Keeping with our mantra of delivering ‘The Future.Today.’, Dialog is proud to power Spark 2018 to drive innovation fuelled growth amongst the youth in Sri Lanka. A trailblazer in introducing many technology firsts in Sri Lanka and South Asia, Dialog hopes to continue spearheading the growth of innovation and encourage talent in Sri Lanka.”

Spark 2018 is also honoured to have Elephant House as the Official Food and Beverage Partner, and National Lotteries Board, Development Lotteries Board, Microsoft and Softwave as Co-Sponsors.