Description

Details of the Workshop: Date: 21 st of February 2018 Place: Electrical Seminar Room, Department of Electrical Engineering - University of Moratuwa Number of participants: 120 Electrical Engineering Undergraduates Program IAS Chapter Contests are annually organized by the IAS main chapter, with the participation of contestants across all the ten IEEE regions. In 2017, there were only three submissions from University of Moratuwa, two submissions to the Myron Zucker Undergraduate Student Design Contest and one submission to the Student Robotics Demonstration Contest. Out of the three submissions, two won awards, Jathushan Rajasegaran won the first place in the individual category of the Design contest while Vinoj Jayasundara won the second place in the Robotics Demonstration contest. Both of these submissions were from the Department of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Moratuwa. In order to promote these competitions among the other departments of the University, IAS student branch chapter of University of Moratuwa decided to conduct several awareness sessions targeting the undergraduates of the university from different departments. Awareness Session for the Undergraduates of Department of Electrical Engineering, held on 21st of February 2018 at Electrical Seminar Room. We discussed about IAS, benefits of being an IAS member and mainly about the IAS Competitions. Undergraduates were eager to know more details about becoming a member of IAS, the format of the submissions to the contests, Experience from the past participants to the competitions. The sessions were conducted by Vinoj Jayasundara, a past winner of the Robotics Demonstration Contest and the treasurer of the University of Moratuwa student branch chapter, with the assistance of Lakshitha Gunasekara and Hirunima Jayasekara, the president and the secretary of the University of Moratuwa student branch chapter, and under the guidance of Dr. Upuli Jayathunga, the adviser of the chapter. The presentation introduced the IAS chapter to the participants, highlighting the importance and significance of it within the IEEE network. Subsequently, it introduced the Myron Zucker Undergraduate Student Design Contest and Student Robotics Demonstration Contest, elaborating on the entry requirements, scope, deadlines, prizes and other details. Past winners of these contests from University of Moratuwa were also introduced. Conclusion The program was extremely successful and the purpose of the program was fulfilled, with many students confirming their submissions to the contests this year. As opposed to the 3 submissions last year, we expect over 10 submissions from the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science to the contests this year, as a result of these awareness programs.