IAS Comrades is a novel initiative by IEEE IAS SBC of University of Moratuwa, in collaboration with IEEE IAS Sri Lanka Chapter. The project focuses on membership development, building fellowship between Sri Lankan IAS Student Branch Chapters and creating awareness on IAS CMD Competitions for undergraduates. 

The project kicked off with the publishing of a set of awareness flyers on social media platforms with key information on three of the main IEEE IAS CMD Competitions, namely, Myron Zucker Undergraduate Student Design Contest, Student Robotics Demonstration Contest and Humanitarian Contest.

Phase 1 of IAS Comrades was held at University of Peradeniya on 12th February 2020. A friendly visit was paid to University of Peradeniya by our team; Mr. Lakshitha Gunasekara – Chairman of  IEEE IAS Sri Lanka Chapter, Mr. Tharindu Suraj –  Research Engineer at University of Moratuwa and Contest Winner of Myron Zucker Undergraduate Student Design Contest 2018 and IAS CMD Student Robotics Demonstration Contest in 2019, Mr. Vinura Udaraka – Chairman of IEEE IAS SBC of University of Moratuwa and winner of IEEE SS12 Maker Fair 2018 and Myron Zucker Undergraduate Design Contest 2019 and Mr. Isuru Wijegunasinghe – Vice Chairman of IEEE IAS SBC of University of Moratuwa. The program was conducted for an audience comprising IAS members at University of Peradeniya and undergraduates willing to apply for IEEE competitions. The program consisted of an Introduction to IAS, Benefits of joining IAS, Annual IAS CMD competitions and tips to write an effective report representing a design project.

The event concluded amidst much positive feedback from the participants. Afterwards, our team joined our comrades at University of Peradeniya to enjoy the breathtaking aesthetic beauty and mild climate at their university, followed by refreshments.  

Phase 2 was held at University of Moratuwa on 10th March 2020 which comprised a similar awareness session. The main speaker was Mr. Tharindu Suraj who explained about IAS, IAS CMD competitions and how to write an effective project report. Mr. Vinura Udaraka also shared his experiences at the international competitions he has been a part of. Under Phase 2, apart from the awareness session, the IAS Comrades team also conducted an informatory leaflet distribution program at Final-Year Project Demonstrations held at several Departments of Engineering at University of Moratuwa. The flyer consisted of details of IAS CMD Contests and past winners from University of Moratuwa. 

Undoubtedly, the project was successful in attracting promising new faces to IAS, building new friendships within and beyond IAS SBC University of Moratuwa, and inspiring a multitude of budding engineers to participate in international competitions to showcase their potential to the whole world!

The Familiarization Session was held to educate the Electrical Engineering students of University of Moratuwa, about the Electrical Engineering field and to give them an idea about the opportunities available for an Electrical Engineering Undergraduate, in the job market.

26th December was a much-awaited date for Electrical Engineering undergraduates of University of Moratuwa. Many enthusiastic students were eagerly waiting to participate in the Industry Familiarization Program, organized by IEEE IAS Student Branch Chapter of University of Moratuwa. The program  focused on Electrical Engineering Undergraduates, who were new to the field of Electrical Engineering. Our purpose was to give them a basic idea about the Electrical Engineering field and to educate them about the vast field of opportunities for them in the job market.

The program was expertly facilitated by Eng.Thilini Wasundara, who is the Business Development Manager at Minel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Treasurer of IEEE IAS Sri Lanka Chapter. Important aspects such as, career opportunities for an Electrical Engineering degree holder, how to create a powerful cv/resume and developing soft skills for future career were discussed , and the interactiveness of the program allowed the participants to obtain a better understanding  while clearing all the doubts and questions they had.

The session was successfully concluded with over 50 participants and wonderful feedback was received by the enthusiastic participants, who undoubtedly found the program’s content much enlightening and useful for planning their future career.