Young Protégé 2026 - Final Summit
Colombo, Sri Lanka As part of its commitment to empowering university students through mentorship, industry exposure, and professional development, IEEE StudPro 9.0 successfully concluded the IEEE Young Protégé 2026 Final Summit, marking the completion of the 12 week mentorship program organized by IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka. The initiative was designed to connect university students with experienced industry professionals, providing mentees with continuous guidance and practical insights while supporting them in transforming their project ideas into meaningful, practical solutions. Throughout the program, participants gained valuable exposure to real-world industry practices, developed professional skills, built meaningful connections, and worked closely with mentors to progress their projects from initial concepts to completed solutions. The Final Summit provided a platform to celebrate these achievements and recognize the dedication of both mentors and mentees who contributed to the success of the program.
Event Overview
The IEEE Young Protégé 2026 Final Summit marked the successful conclusion of the 12 week mentorship programme, bringing together mentors and mentees to celebrate the completion of their journey. The programme was organized by IEEE StudPro 9.0, an initiative of IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka, with the aim of connecting university students with industry professionals and providing them with valuable guidance and knowledge while supporting them in transforming their project ideas into practical solutions with the guidance of experienced mentors throughout the 12 week programme.
Throughout the 12 week programme, mentees had the opportunity to engage with experienced mentors, gain industry exposure, develop professional skills, and work on their project ideas from the initial concept to a completed solution with continuous mentor guidance. They also had the opportunity to build meaningful professional connections and gain insights into real world industry practices. The Final Summit provided a platform to reflect on the experiences and achievements of the programme while recognizing the dedication and commitment of both mentors and mentees.
The programme was supported by IFS as the Main Title Sponsor, along with its industry partners Idea 8, IGT1, Thrive, VSIS, Synopsys, Zone 24x7, Inova, Vario Systems, HCB, Codimite, Farbe, WSO2, Acentura, Sentry Labs, Kawado, Cube, CMS, Oracson, AIGP Health, Virtusa, and Accelr.
The Final Summit served as a meaningful conclusion to the Young Protégé 2026 journey, celebrating the knowledge shared, projects completed, relationships built and experiences gained throughout the 12 week mentorship programme.
Key Highlights
Appreciation of Company Partners
Plaques of appreciation were presented to the company partners in recognition of their valuable support and contribution towards making the Young Protégé 2026 programme a success.
Open Forum
The summit featured an open forum that provided mentors, mentees, and other participants with an opportunity to share their experiences, feedback, suggestions, and ideas for further improving the Young Protégé programme.
Mentor Appreciation
Mentors were presented with appreciation plaques as a token of gratitude for their time, guidance, knowledge sharing, and continuous support throughout the 12 week mentorship journey.
Mentee Recognition
The commitment and dedication of the mentees were recognized during the summit. Mentees who successfully completed their projects with the guidance of their mentors were presented with certificates in appreciation of their achievements.
Speakers & Guests
Guests
- Mr. Dhammika Marasinghe - Founding Chairperson, IEEE Young Protégé ; Industrial Representative, IEEE MGA SAC; 2024 Section Chair, IEEE Sri Lanka Section; Senior Tech Lead, 99x
- Mr. Heshan Mallawaarachchi - Initiative lead- IEEE elevate and Immediate Past Chairperson - IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka
- Mr. Kulunu Weerasoory - Chairperson, IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka
- Ms. Chanukah Gunawardena - Senior Manager - Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding, IFS
- Mr. Sasanka Weerakoon - Treasurer, IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka
- Ms. Amirah Rasmin - Initiative coordinator - IEEE elevate
Mentors
- Dr. Tharanga Gunaratne - Head of AI Solutions Sales, FARBE Technologies
- Dr. Susara Thenuwara - CEO / Founder, KAWDOCO / aiColab Astronomy
- Mr. Amjadh Ifthikar - Technical Lead, WSO2
- Mr. Clarence Samuel - Senior Consultant – Cybersecurity, Sentry Labs
- Mr. Nethun Madanayake - Senior Engineer – Information Security and Data Protection, Sentry Labs
- Ms. Maheshika Delgoda - Manager – Quality Assurance, IGT1 Lanka (Pvt) Ltd
- Mr. Ramindu Walgama - Data Scientist, IFS
- Mr. W. N. D. Dhanushka Sanjaya - Lead Product Designer, IFS
- Mr. Chamath Avishka de Silva - Principal DevOps Engineer, IFS
- Mr. Pramod Pathirathna - Practice Head – Converged Infrastructure and Cybersecurity, VSIS
- Ms. Kalutharage Oshadi Kaumada - Employer Branding Manager / HR Professional
- Eng. Amila Rajapaksha - Director – Environment Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka
- Mr. Sachith Perera - Senior Project Manager, 3Rive Technologies
Event in Numbers
Event Gallery
6 Photos
Closing & Looking Ahead
The Young Protégé 2026 programme successfully created a valuable platform for university students to learn from industry professionals, transform their project ideas into practical solutions, and build meaningful professional connections. We extend our sincere gratitude to all mentors, mentees, company partners, sponsors, and everyone who contributed to making this 12 week journey a success. We look forward to continuing this journey and making Young Protégé 2027 an even more impactful initiative.