Creative Solutions engineer produces research that sparks foreign interest

Eranga Herath, a senior software engineer at Creative Solutions, told no one but his manager and a handful of colleagues that he would be presenting his Master’s research at the Nanyang Technology University (NTU) in Singapore. He left discretely and after a month at NTU returned to his office to find posters of him hanging on the company walls. Social media buzzed with posts “Welcome, Eranga!” and the news of his accomplishment beamed in the company’s office newsletter.

Congratulations flew in from the entire company and even though shy by nature, Eranga felt proud. He was happy to return to a place where success, be it professional or personal, was always recognised.

“I’ve been working at Creative Solutions for four years and my team is what makes me feel happy to come to office every day,” said Eranga. “Both my Swedish and Sri Lankan teammates challenge me to learn and grow continuously, while they are extremely supportive and fun to be around.” 

Creative Solutions is one of Sri Lanka’s preferred employers in the software industry. The company – well-known for its challenging work, international projects and use of cutting-edge technologies – is also a fun and informal place to work.

Eranga, like many other ‘Creatives’, has managed to transfer the influence of this vibrant environment to his personal development. Two years after joining the company, he enrolled in a Master’s program at the University of Colombo. Even though balancing research and work was difficult, his passion for programming and his team’s support gave him the drive to pull through.

In fact, Eranga excelled. His Master’s thesis yielded a platform that quickly caught the eyes of the international IT community. Inspired by his mentor Dr. Kasun De Zoysa and powered by the experience he had gained at Creative Solutions, he produced SenZ – an end-to-end secure, lightweight communication platform for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

“Dr. De Zoysa always motivated me to produce something of real value to others, while Creative Solutions gave me the actual means and practical knowledge to do so,” said Eranga. “Dr. De Zoysa and I worked together on producing a sustainable computing solution and what resulted was a platform that solves a serious problem we are facing when communicating via instant messaging clients today: the unapproved sharing of personal data.”

Shortly after presenting his research for the first time at the University of Colombo, Eranga was summoned to take his platform to NTU. Collaborating with the university’s doctoral candidates, he understood the advantage his professional experience Creative Solutions had given him.

“At Creative Solutions I regularly work with the latest technologies and I learn the best practices from international experts,” he said. “I feel that that has given me a great advantage because I know exactly which language and which technology would work to turn a theory into a practical solution.” 

Today, Eranga is preparing to apply for doctoral studies. He has his eyes set on some of the most prestigious universities in the world and looks forward to discovering what the future has in store. 

“I am a firm believer in hard work, practical experience and positive attitude. So if you are ambitious and eager to grow, you should make it your goal to find a place that will challenge you, expose you to the latest and best practices in your industry, and give you a moral support to spur you on. That is what I found at Creative Solutions and that has enabled me to surpass even my own expectations.”