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| Sunday, 22 June 2003 |
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Personality Plus Chandana Weerasinghe : Realising dreams through hard work and commitment Everyone can and likes to dream, but most people cannot achieve their dreams as they are not focused. Chandana Weerasinghe, President of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka, is a humble, but determined character who has achieved his childhood dream of being an engineer, with hard work and commitment. Weerasinghe was born as the only child. His father, who hailed from Galle, was a SLAS officer who retired as the Assistant Director of Combined Services. His mother, who hailed from Kandy, was a housewife. He was petted and pampered as an only child, but never spoilt. Education "I attended nursery for two years. However, I was never in grade one as I was directly admitted to grade two of Carey College. I moved to Nalanda College in Grade Five and was there until I completed my Advanced Level examinations and entered the Moratuwa University," Weerasinghe said. He followed a BSc in Engineering, Telecommunication and Electronics and passed out in 1984 with a First Class Honours Degree. "I am more than happy about achieving my childhood dream," he said. Career His first job was at DMS Electronics where he held various positions before being appointed Engineering Manager, which position he currently holds. He has worked very hard, sometimes even through the night, to complete his work, and is now reaping the benefits of this hard work. CSSL Weerasinghe became a member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) in 1994 and was its Students' Counsellor, Secretary and Vice President before becoming the President last December. Present The new council of the CSSL has established a permanent marketing committee which looks at marketing the Society and its activities on a continuous basis. The publications and the website will play an integral part of the marketing campaign. He said: "We are placing considerable emphasis on attracting all IT professionals into the Society, which is the only local professional body in the field of IT. We at CSSL believe that we can contribute in a considerable manner to the development of the profession while providing benefits to our members. "CSSL also conducts professional development programmes in the form of a guest lecture series as we think that duplicating is not the solution, but that we should make a positive contribution in an area not covered by other institutions." e-Sri Lanka This year will be crucial for the country' s IT industry as the Government's ambitious 'e-Sri Lanka' programme will take its first steps this year. These first steps will possibly determine the success or failure of the programme. IT professionals in the country will have a great stake in the realisation of this dream. CSSL, together with other agencies, will play its role towards the success of this programme, Weerasinghe said. "The industry was clamouring for a policy and there were initiatives by various people. Now there is government and donor community involvement. e-Sri Lanka gives a commitment to take IT as an enabler to propel development. "Now we have the foundation, but we have to work hard to make it a reality. Therefore, appointing the right person to the right place and taking the correct decisions are musts. The vision too is very ambitious. Therefore, if we can achieve 50 per cent of it, it will be great." Weerasinghe said the USAID-sponsored Competitiveness Initiative has brought together nine commercial and professional associations in the IT sector under one umbrella, known as the Sri Lanka ICT Association. This, he said, is a positive development as it represents the combined voice of the private sector. Future CSSL is exploring ways and means of providing tangible benefits to IT student members. "At present we coordinate the Australian Computer Society examination which we will continue. Plans are also afoot to organise a competition among students of local universities on their final year projects," he said. Advice "A person who wants to realise his/her dream should be committed and work hard till the goal is achieved. Whatever field you may be in, give your best and you can achieve results in due course, but do not look for short cuts," said Weerasinghe. (SG) ----- Fact File Name: Chandana Weerasinghe |
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