Inauguration Ceremony of the Center for Data Science
Inauguration Ceremony of the Center for Data Science, Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science
The Center for Data Science affiliated to the Department of Statistics is established with the purpose of carrying out research and development in the emerging area of Data Science. The objective of the center is to establish itself as the center of excellence in Data Science by collaborating with local and foreign experts, facilitating research at postgraduate and undergraduate level, and disseminating knowledge by conducting workshops, seminars and conferences.
The inauguration of the Center was held on the 16th December 2015 at the FGS Auditorium, College House, University of Colombo. The Acting Vice Chancellor and the Dean, Faculty of Science, Prof. Ranjith Mahanama graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The website of the Center was launched by the Chief Guest signifying the launching of the center. The event was graced by around hundred guests from universities and industry.
One of the Key events of the day included a keynote speech by Prof. John Emerson of Department of Statistics at Yale University USA. His talk offered an invaluable insight in to Data Science its applications and how anyone should approach this emerging field. The last event of the day was the panel discussion convened by Dr. Ruvan Weerasinghe, Senior Lecturer of the University of Colombo School of Computing under the theme “Making Data Talk”. The panel consisted of Dr. Liwan Liyanage (Senior Lecturer, University of Western Sydney, Australia), Dr. Kevin Seneviratne (Senior Database Administrator and Consultant at Data Services Group, Coles Supermarkets, Australia), Dr. Dhammika Amaratunaga (Retired Senior Director at Johnson & Johnson’s Research and Development Unit), Dr. Srinath Perera (Vice President – Research, WSO2, Sri Lanka), Dr. Rasika Withanawasam (Associate Software Architect, MilleniumIT Software Ltd) and Mr. Peter D’Almeida (Managing Director/Chief Executive, N*able (Pvt) Ltd). The ideas discussed at the panel were both interesting and insightful for not only to the academics but also to the industrial personnel who attended the event. The Inauguration Ceremony was sponsored by MilleniumIT Software Ltd and CEAT Sri Lanka as Platinum sponsors, N*able (Pvt) Ltd, National Savings Bank and Sri Lanka Apparels as Gold sponsors and Stax as silver sponsor.
