May, 8, 2025
The Awards Ceremony of the Young Computer Scientist (YCS) 2024 was held on 28th April 2025 at the Auditorium of the Ministry of Education, Battaramulla, in the presence of distinguished guests, industry leaders, educators, and the brightest young ICT talents in the country. The event was organized to recognize and celebrate the achievements of students who excelled in the YCS 2024 competition.
YCS has now 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 at regional and global ICT competitions such as Aisa Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards, International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in the USA and World Summit Awards (WSA).
The Chief Guest of the ceremony was Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. 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 stated.
The ceremony commenced with a welcome speech by Ms. Vasana Edirisuriya, Additional Secretary for Information Technology and Digital Education. She highlighted the importance of early exposure to ICT and praised the YCS platform for motivating students to think creatively and technically.
Addressing the gathering Mr. Indika De Zoysa, Chairman of FITIS, spoke on the importance of public-private partnerships in building a strong digital economy. “YCS is a great example of how industry and education can work together to inspire excellence among students,” he said, thanking the Ministry and other stakeholders for their support.
YCS competition is open for both public and private schools students under several age categories. YCS 2024 celebrated winners from both public and private schools. The topics cover latest and emerging trends in ICT sector thus allowing the students to learn about the new technologies at a very young age.
ESOFT Metro Campus, the Title Sponsor for YCS, provided their continued support of the YCS programme, reflecting a strong commitment to empowering youth and advancing technology education across the country.
Dr. Dayan Rajapakse, Senior Vice Chairman of FITIS and Chairman/Managing Director of ESOFT Metro Campus, addressed the audience with an inspiring message: “ESOFT is proud to support initiatives like YCS that uplift young minds and guide them towards becoming innovators and entrepreneurs. We believe in planting seeds of knowledge today that will grow into groundbreaking solutions tomorrow.”
YCS competition is organized by the Software Chapter of FITIS. Mr. Sanjaya Dayananda, President of the Software Chapter of FITIS, outlined the long-standing partnership between FITIS and the YCS programme. He noted, “For over two decades, FITIS has worked to identify, mentor, and promote young talent in ICT. YCS is not just a competition—it is a launchpad for the digital leaders of tomorrow.”
The YCS Competition involves a year long process. It starts with the Ministry announcing the competition and requesting the registration of students for Individual and Group Projects. The registration is carried out online through a virtual platform provided by FITIS. At least two rounds of shortlisting is carried out with the students online before selecting the projects for the final round. Those selected for the final round are assigned with mentors to improve the quality of the project. The final round of selection is carried out physically at the UCSC where the students are required to present their projects with working models.
Mr. Kalinga Ihalagedara, Vice President of the Software Chapter, provided an insightful overview of YCS 2024. He mentioned that the quality of projects submitted for YCS 2024 has improved significantly when compared with YCS 2023, with students showcasing solutions in areas like AI, health tech, and environmental monitoring. “The creativity and problem-solving skills we witnessed are truly impressive and give us hope for the future of Sri Lanka’s tech ecosystem,” he added.
This 23rd edition of YCS produced five (05) winners for individual projects and five others for two group projects. The award ceremony honoured students in the following categories:
Winner Awards
Junior Category
Senior Category – I
Senior Category – II
In a special segment, the ceremony also recognized the Sri Lankan winners of the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards, held in Brunei Darussalam in December 2024, for their outstanding performance on an international stage.
Following students won awards at APICTA and WSA competitions.
APICTA
WSA
Following students have been selected for ISEF, USA
A token of appreciation was presented to the dedicated panel of judges and officials who played a vital role in evaluating the projects and ensuring the success of the competition.
The event concluded with the official launch of the YCS 2025 programme, inviting students across the island to participate in the next edition of this prestigious competition. The YCS initiative continues to serve as a powerful platform to identify and develop the country’s young digital talent.
Winners, their teachers, parents and several officiasl of the Ministry, including Additional Secretaries Mr Ms. Udara Dikkumbura Mr. Kamal Ariyasinghe, Ms. Rukmali Kariyawasam ,Ms. Devika Liyanage, Ms. Samanthi Weerasinghe, Chief Financial Officer Ms Samanthi Aluthge, Director General (Planning) Ms. Nalika Dodampe and Deputy Director ICT Ms P S Sandamali participated at the event. Several members of FITIS , too were present.
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