Thilini Navaratne's research paper triumphs at SAESM:

Lankan u'grad in landmark achievement in Pakistan

by Oshari Weerawansa

Sri Lanka scored double success at the South Asian Economic Students Meet (SAESM) held in Lahore, Pakistan recently.

Apart from producing South Asia's Budding Economist of the Year in Chathuni Uduwela for the first time in the ten-year old history of the event, the triumph of the Sri Lanka university delegation was achieved by Thilini Navaratne of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

It was an unforgettable experience for Navaratne of the Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Thilini's research paper was adjudged the best paper under the theme of Political Economy of Energy and Natural Resource Use.

Under the given theme, Thilini presented the paper before a panel of judges. Her specific research topic was on "Political economy of access to energy by the rural sector in Sri Lanka" with specific reference to rural electrification.

SAESM is an annual conference of undergraduate students of Economics from across South Asia, hosted by a network of South Asian universities. SAESM is a competitive forum pitting students against their regional peers, a forum to learn about the various issues of importance that the countries face collectively and individually and an event that seeks to foster friendship across South Asian boundaries. This is the largest conference in the region at undergraduate level.

Thilini's landmark achievement would go a long way to inspire Sri Lanka's undergraduates to go places.

Following are excerpts of an interview with the 23-year-old lass who brought honour to Sri Lanka, beating competitors from universities in the South Asian region.

Q: How did you feel when you won the prize for the best research paper and presentation under your topic?

A: I was surprised as there was intense competition and some of the research papers of the other participants were complicated.

I have realised that my hard work has paid off after four months of meeting my supervisors and doing interviews and collecting data.

Q: Was this something you expected?

A: Not really, I wasn't expecting to win but at the back of my mind I wanted to submit an original research paper which would be accepted by the panel of judges. I did this with the hope of expanding it for my further studies, thereby making it actually useful.

Q: How did you prepare to meet this challenge?

A: We've been preparing for the past four months starting from choosing a particular research topic. Many conversations with professors, researchers and other people in the energy sector helped me to finalise my topic.

Data collecting and interviews began and I started putting it into words at a very early stage. The panel of lecturers in charge of SAESM had regular reviews, therefore there were adjustments up until the date of submission

Q: Tell us a little about your family.

A: I have two older sisters, mom and dad. They have encouraged me in my studies and extra activities.

They were supportive and understanding, especially my mom who was behind me throughout the research studies helping me out with the village level survey and always encouraging me to give of my best.

Q: Are you involved in any extracurricular activities?

A: I am a member of the Rotaract Club, post board member, secretary of the Students' Association of Business Economics.

Q: Do you have anything to say to undergraduate students who will be participating in this meet in the future?

A: Firstly, you have to be knowledgeable. I'm not talking only about subject content but also general knowledge. As this is a South Asian conference, it is a prerequisite to be aware of current affairs of the South Asian nations be it political, economic or social.

Q: Do you want to thank anyone who helped you achieve this title?

A: First and foremost, I would like to thank the lecturers who encouraged me to enter this competition, supervisor Indrajith Aponsu from the University of Colombo for his contribution and guidance and also Dr. Wasana Handapangoda for her support and generous comments.

I would be failing in my duty if I don't mention Ms. Shashithanganee and Dr. Dunusinghe for the content reviewing and encouragement throughout the preparation period.

Q: Tell us something about the university that hosted this meet.

A: The Lahore University of Management Sciences is one of the prime universities in Pakistan. The students were extremely nice to us and they made our stay a pleasant one.

Q: In your opinion, in what ways can the profile of SAESM be improved?

A: I believe, having a model SAESM combining major Economics departments in the island would give a better idea about SAESM as well as create a research culture among the students.