SLASSCOM to host AI Asia Virtual Summit 2021 from 25-27 Feb.

SLASSCOM Board Director Nuwan Perera

SLASSCOM Chairman Channa Manoharan

Driven by the need to raise awareness and discussion around the applicability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across multiple industries, the Tech Forum of Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) will be organising its AI Asia Virtual Summit 2021 from 25-27 February. 

The summit will incorporate conversations on two broad knowledge areas: linking the AI Tech community together with the general populace to create much-needed awareness and excitement around the topic, and also exploring the practical applications of AI across local industries and businesses.

“AI is poised to play a vital part in tomorrow’s growth agendas across the world, as both an accelerator and an enabler. Powered by unprecedented growth in big data, computer sciences and connected devices, Sri Lanka has much to gain through the applications of AI,” stated SLASSCOM Chairman Channa Manoharan, adding that there is a promising potential in AI for Sri Lankan companies, both locally and when penetrating global markets. 

“Every year, the AI summit has been successful in stirring the waters of the tech community in Sri Lanka, and this year, we’re expanding our reach by gathering an audience comprising of individuals and community members in both Sri Lanka and overseas. The focus is on providing participants with opportunities to learn from industry experts and to explore the topic of AI and where it can take their organisations,” stated SLASSCOM Board Director Nuwan Perera.

Committed to being a thought leader in the AI space in Sri Lanka, SLASSCOM’s Tech Forum has a packed calendar for 2021, with the AI Asia Virtual Summit being a key milestone. “We believe that we can steer the right conversations around AI to the right audiences to leverage the full benefit of the technology to create jobs and improve the country’s growth prospects,” highlighted Nuwan.

The summit has an array of acclaimed local and global speakers from a range of industries, that includes Dr. Romesh Ranawana – CTO at Tengri UAV Ltd.; Jeevan Gnanam – Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Data Scientist and Founder Member of the Lanka Angel Network; Dr. Nisha Talagala – CEO at Pyxeda AI; Prof. Johan Loeckx – Assistant Professor of Applied R&D at the Artificial Intelligence Lab Brussels; Prof. Emi Yuda – Researcher at Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University; Prof. Morten Goodwin – Professor, Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research, University of Agder; Professor Olave Lysne – Director of Simula Metropolitan Centre for Digital Engineering; and Prof. Marija Slavkovik – Associate Professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, specialising in AI with expertise in collective reasoning, multi-agent systems, machine ethics and computational social choice.

The AI Asia Summit 2021 will spread across three days and include keynotes, discussions, panel discussions and networking opportunities. This year’s summit will pay special attention to attract participants from around the global, especially from the Asia Pacific region.

An excellent opportunity for Sri Lankans and the global community to gather together to explore the unprecedented potential of applying AI to businesses, industries and economies, the AI Asia Virtual Summit is set to be an eye-opener and conversation-starter at a much-needed time. 

SLASSCOM is supported in this venture by Royal Norwegian Embassy and IKT Norge (Strategic Partners), Veracity AI(Gold Sponsor), HSBC (Official Banking Partner), Northwood Consulting (Digital Media Partner) and Dialog Enterprise (Corporate Sponsor).