Description

LETs talk was a project initiated last year (2017) with the aim of enhancing the knowledge of young professionals by delivering technical and non-technical talks with prominent personals in the society. The participants will find the opportunity to listen to eminent professionals to gain and share expertise knowledge on different fields. The speakers will explain opportunities, barriers, failures, success stories, and illustrate terms and jargons in general while particularly advising on the common mistakes a newbie could make wherever applicable. The flow will be arranged enabling the participants to have a post- speech discussion with the speaker to get their issues clarified. This initiative is not only for IEEE Young Professionals but also for interested persons with engineering background who are keen on brushing up their knowledge on current tech trends. IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka team thought of reaching persons from different technical backgrounds and promoting their brand name among them. Sri Lanka is in the verge of moving from conventional distribution network towards smart technologiesvwith the expectation of meeting the growing energy demands. Micro Grid and Demand Side Managementvare two concepts that are currently in discussion among the utilities. Ceylon Electricity Board and Lanka Electricity Company Limited, the two major players in the Sri Lankan energy market encouraged IEEE YP Sri Lanka to host this discussion, pointing out its timely relevance to the local market. Thirty five participants from electrical and power sector in the industry joined the discussion on 18th October 2018 at Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) for this lecture and discussion.. Among the participants, there were Deputy General Manager and Project Director for Special Projects from Ceylon Electricity Board, Managers and Engineers from Lanka Electricity Company Limited, Engineers representing international brands who are interested in supplying such products to utilities and Engineers from local companies who are interested in designing and executing projects in this field. Organized in collaboration with World Energy Council, the featured speaker for the evening was Prof John Fletcher, Professor of Electrical Power Engineering - University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Prof Fletcher studied Electrical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland graduating in 1991 with the Watt Club Medal. He completed his PhD, also at Heriot-Watt University, in 1995. He lectured at Heriot-Watt University until 2007, then the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and then onto UNSW in 2010, becoming full professor in 2014. John is the Energy Systems Research Group Head with responsibility for 12 academics, post-doctoral researchers and 70+ PhD students. His current research includes microgrids, inverter control, fault-tolerant multi-phase machines and a range of multi-disciplinary projects that rely on power electronics. His team has six postdoc researchers and 21 PhD students. Demand-side management is a powerful tool that facilitates the process of transforming conventional microgrids into green systems. Prof Fletcher in this event, shared his knowledge about “Microgrid and Demand Side Management” and his recent research work. Demand-side management in microgrid control systems can be investigated from various perspectives. The session covered about the drivers and benefits for demand side management in smart grid. Next, associated problems, challenges and the state- of-the-art technologies were also discussed. The organizing committee IEEE YP had to hold back the event up until October particularly targeting the visit of Prof Fletcher one of the renowned veterans in this field to Sri Lanka. The event was announced among the members of IEEE, members of PES, industry professionals that are engaged in power field and the Sri Lankan IEEE Community who are keen in learning via all possible medias such as emails and social media. Finally, achieving the event objectives the event organizing committee the IEEE YP SL team was successfully able to conclude the event with the support of World Energy Council by strengthening the knowledge and awareness of the participants. Photos of the event can be accessed here .