SLASSCOM to host first-ever conference in Sri Lanka on emerging technologies

SLASSCOM Chairperson Sandra De Zoysa and SLASSCOM Technology Forum Lead Calvin Hindle

Emerging technologies are changing the way we do business. In the global run towards economic growth and building a healthier and safer world, emerging tech has transformed the fields of communication, healthcare, finance, transportation, and much more. In order to help Sri Lankan businesses to keep up with this fast-accelerating trend, SLASSCOM is hosting a conference on Emerging Technologies on 8 and 9 December. 

Emerging technologies are used not only to streamline business operations but also to address the challenges of sustainable development goals, such as environmental conservation and creating eco-friendly products. Organised by the SLASSCOM Technology Forum, the first-ever conference on emerging technologies (or EmTech/emerging tech) will explore trending technological advancements.

The event boasts a vibrant panel of acclaimed keynote speakers from around the world, including R3’s Vivek Gupta, who will be speaking on a blockchain roadmap for Sri Lanka; Brandon Quittem, who will be focusing on cryptocurrency and bitcoin; Axiata Digital Labs’ Namal Jayathileke, who will be talking about digital and AI application in telecommunications; Dr. Kalana Withanage from Lockheed Martin who is set to cover the topic of ‘Advance Computer Vision’; Global Wavenet’s Suren Pinto, whose topic is ‘Low Code, No Code application in telecommunications’; Vega Innovations’ Dr. Beshan Kulapala, whose key focus will be the future of the electric vehicle industry; Arvind Neelakantan, who represents  Epic Games/Unreal Engine, will cover extended reality AR/VR in gaming; a representative from Huawei who will be talking about 5G and IoT; and Alchemy AI’s Jennie-Marie Larsen, who will be covering AI and sustainability.

The vast and diverse panel of experts will not be all what the conference has to offer. There will be two panel discussions taking place on the exciting topics of gaming, featuring Arimac Director and Head of Game Development Thilina Premasiri, Ingame Entertainment CEO and Sri Lanka eSports Association President Raveen Wijayatilake and an esteemed speaker from the Indonesian Gaming Association and the second panel on the space industry and technology, featuring Kavindi De Silva, Isi Casad del Valle, Sue Kaur and Abilasha Purawar, who are representing Space Hero and the International Space University.

The panel discussion on space industry and tech will be the highlight of the summit as it is the very first time Sri Lanka will be broaching this topic on such a large scale. Additionally, a key component of the conference will be the gaming industry, which is rapidly growing thanks to a plethora of new tech. The panel discussion on the gaming development industry and the e-sports community will be covering the possibilities of creating an ecosystem between the two.

Overall, the event will help participants gain unique insights into the thinking behind developing a range of breakthrough technologies, as well as be able to immerse themselves in the endless possibilities of emerging global trends.

Speaking on the upcoming conference, SLASSCOM Chairperson Sandra De Zoysa said, “Providing a supportive platform for businesses in emerging tech to scale up and expand is one of SLASSCOM’s five key focus areas aimed at developing and growing the industry to $ 5 billion by the year 2025. As a catalyst for growth in the Sri Lankan IT and BPM sphere, we hope to continue facilitating trade and business, propagating education and employment, and encouraging research and innovation. This conference is just one step in our long-term efforts to bring Sri Lanka’s IT/BPM industry to the forefront on the global stage.”

SLASSCOM Technology Forum Lead Calvin Hindle highlighted: “The science fiction part of movies is now becoming a reality. The speed of innovation and disruption is unprecedented. The SLASSCOM Emerging Technologies Conference 2021 will help the attendees to understand the practical use cases and the potential opportunities of these technologies, and it will also highlight how Emerging Tech can be used to solve challenges around sustainability.”

This event is supported by Platinum Sponsor: Axiata Digital Labs, Gold Sponsor: Global Wavenet, Silver Sponsor: Huawei and Corporate Sponsor: Dialog Enterprise.