The Awards Ceremony of the Young Computer Scientist (YCS) 2024 was held at the Auditorium of the Ministry of Education, Battaramulla recently, in the presence of distinguished guests, industry leaders, educators, and the young ICT talents in the country. The event was organised to recognise and celebrate the achievements of students who excelled in the YCS 2024 competition.
YCS has become a platform for young innovators to try out their novel ideas under the guidance and mentoring of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Federation of Information Technology (Guarantee) Ltd (FITIS) and University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC). The winners have the opportunity to participate in regional and global ICT competitions such as Aisa Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards, International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the USA and World Summit Awards (WSA).
Secretary, Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Nalaka Kaluwewa was the chief guest. He praised the efforts of the young participants and emphasized the government’s commitment to nurturing ICT education at school level. “These students represent the next generation of problem solvers and digital creators. It is our responsibility to provide them with the tools, platforms, and opportunities to thrive,” he said.
This 23rd edition of YCS produced five winners for individual projects and five others for two group projects.
The award ceremony honoured students in three categories: Certificates of Recognition for selected YCS participants, Merit Certificates for high-performing students and Winner Awards for top-ranking students and projects. P. M. B. W. Dasindu Sithmira of Ratnapura Sivali Central College, S. A. Rihan Rishi Ekanayake of Royal College, Colombo, Hiroosha Amiru Uthej Edirisinghe of Group Project and P. K. Methul Manyuga Premadasa were award winners of the junior category.
Ramiru Thehan Wijayasiriwardhane of Ananda College, Colombo and U. Nadun Dhananjaya Jayathilake of Dharmaraja College, Kandy were the winners of the senior category 1. Sineth Daham Bandara Jayasundera of Gateway College Colombo (International School
Category), A. P. Thisath Damiru St. Joseph’s College, Anuradhapura (Government School Category and M. D. D. D. Gunawardana of Mahanama College Colombo (Government School Category) were the winners of senior category 11.
