Description

The IEEE Women In Engineering (WIE) Affinity Group of SLTC presents LUMINOUS to all female undergraduates on the island to promote and urge them to pursue their education and STEM careers while drawing inspiration from accomplished women throughout the world. LUMINOUS will motivate all female undergraduates in Sri Lanka to adapt to the fast-paced progress in science and technology by motivating them to strive for success and professional growth through listening to podcasts and reading biographies of successful women who accomplished greater achievements in history and the present moment. This will increase female undergraduates' self-esteem as well as their employment prospects in Sri Lanka. The whole project will take place in three stages: Stage 01 - Podcast: The first stage was the podcast series. Stage 02 - Flyer Series: The second stage was a flyer series. Stage 03 - Panel Discussion: The third stage was a Panel Discussion. The panel discussion was the last stage of the whole program and it was conducted as a motivational discussion for the female undergraduates. Ms. Praveeni Senanayake, Ms. Diluni Jayasekara, Ms. Zahara Marzook, Ms. Malmi Kiriwandalage, and Ms. Harindi Jayakody were special guests of this event. In the panel discussion, we discussed how critical thinking can help people in STEM. The panel discussion was about 1 hour long and conducted through Zoom. It was held on September 17th, 2022 at 6.00 pm. The first panel member of the event was Ms. Praveeni Senanayake, Cambium Co-Founder/Future of work and LinkedIn trainer . She discussed critical thinking and technology, how to apply critical thinking, innovations, and challenges. Ms. Zahra Marzook, (C.ENG., MIET), Electrical Engineer (Line construction and Material Management), Ceylon Electricity Board , Project and Heavy Maintenance Branch Distribution Division 1 was the second panel member. She discussed how critical thinking is applied in the engineering field, what the most essential qualities and talents a fresher in STEM should have, and which talents and skills should be developed and which challenges should be faced. The third panel member of the discussion was Ms. Malmi Kiriwandalage, NASA JPL Solar Ambassador, Undergraduate Research Assistant at Stony Brook University. She discussed why critical thinking is important in science, how to apply critical thinking to problem solving, analyze certain points, understand materials and processes, and how to apply critical thinking to your life. Ms. Diluni Jayasekara, Director, Market Intelligence Brand Centrical (PVT)LTD, MBA (UK), PSY (USA), CIM (UK), DIP . Marketing (UK), DIP. Brand Management (USA), Research Methodology (SL) was the fourth panel member. She discussed how to face challenges in STEM fields, as well as creativity, problem-solving, decision-making, teamwork, and skills. The last panel member was Ms. Harindi Jayakody , Scientist | Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology (PHD) University of Bath . She discussed the connection between scientific thinking and critical thinking, and why critical thinking is important for girls.