MERCon 2020 organized by the Engineering Research Unit (ERU) of University of Moratuwa in collaboration with IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa successfully held from 28th July to 30th July of 2020. Due to the unprecedented condition caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, MERCon 2020 has been reorganized as a virtual conference, considering the safety of both academic and research communities. 

MERCon 2020 consisted of two conference sessions which were held on 28^th and 29^th of July, where 114 research papers were presented and four workshop sessions on 30^th of July. More than 100 papers from nearly all the disciplines of engineering were accepted and presented fully at the first two days of the virtual conference, which will be submitted for publication to IEEE Xplore in the near future. The keynotes of the event were delivered by Prof. Suranga Nanayakkara from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, Prof. Soumyajit Mandal from University of Florida, USA and Prof. Dzung Viet Dao from the Griffith School of Engineering, Australia. 

As the hosting Student Branch of MERCon 2020, the Junior Organizing Team from IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa, undertook the responsibility of managing the technical sessions under the supervision of the chairpersons of the program committee of MERCon 2020. The chairpersons of the program committee of MERCon 2020, the first-ever virtual research conference in the International Multidisciplinary Engineering Research Conference were as follows. 

General Chair – Prof. Ruwan Gopura 

Program Chair – Dr. Buddhika Jayasekara 

Program Co-Chair – Dr. H. R. Pasindu 

Program Co-Chair- Dr. R. Rodrigo 

Financial and Registration Chair – Mr. B. Samarasekara 

The volunteering team from our student branch consisted of Co-chairpersons from the student branch, Online Junior Track Chairs and the Junior Volunteers. The volunteering team from our student branch undertook the management of the technical sessions and monitored the event flow for consecutive 3 days being at the university premises even under the pandemic situation in the country. The closing ceremony of the virtual conference program held on 29th of July, 2020 followed by the 4 workshop sessions which were held on 30th of July, 2020 were fully hosted by the student branch. 

The collective effort of the Program Committee of MERCon 2020 and the Junior Volunteering Team from IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa made the whole event a huge success. The young individuals from IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa worked in a perfect sync with each other and it can be said with confidence that they fulfilled their responsibilities to make the whole event an immense success in every possible way. 

Global Recognitions for the event

• An article about the event was published in the IEEE Region 10 Newsletter: October Edition 2020. 

“IEEE Open Day 2020” organized by the IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa was successfully held on 5th of March, 2020 at New Auditorium, Faculty of IT with more than 300 participants. The objective of the event was to aware the newbies from batch 17, batch 18 and batch 19 of the university and encourage them to join the student branch and branch chapters to start their careers in IEEE. 

Branch counsellor of IEEE SB UoM, Prof. Sisil Kumarawadu, Chairman of IEEE Sri Lanka Section, Prof. Ruwan Gopura gave their valuable thoughts about IEEE and the importance of joining a professional organization to shape up the career of a student. “My IEEE Experience” session conducted by Mr. Peshan Sampath, Chairman of IEEE Sri Lanka Section Student Activities Committee, was able to provide a brief thought on what is IEEE and what it’s like being a part of this organization, along with a message for the students to start volunteering at IEEE. The “Kahoot” session, which was very entertaining and a whole new experience for the students who were new to our traditions at IEEE SB UoM was conducted by Mr. Chamika Sudusinghe, the Sectional Student Representative of IEEE Sri Lanka Section and it encouraged the newbies to learn more about IEEE and as well as the history of the Student Branch. 

Chanux Bro, Sri Lanka’s No.1 tech reviewer was the guest speaker of the Open Day and his session was able to enlighten the young tech enthusiasts at the audience where he gave away a TV box for one unique and creative idea presented by a student from the audience and a smartphone for a lucky winner from a raffle draw. 

Participants of the event got the chance to visit student branch chapter stalls which were located at the event premises. Stalls were arranged by Power and Energy Society, Industry Applications Society, Robotics and Automation Society chapters of our student branch along with the WIE Affinity Group. Students visited the stalls and got the chance to receive a brief introduction on each chapter at the stalls. 

A series of contests were held prior to the open day and gifts were presented on the day for the winners. IEEE Open Day Photo Contest, Guest Speaker guessing contest and Stalls Visiting Contest are the contests held prior to the Open Day and at the event day, and these were held with the intention of getting the students participated actively at the event and encouraging them to continue the journey they just started with IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa. 

Global/Sectional Awards and Recognitions for the event

• An article about the event was published in the IEEE Region 10 Newsletter: April Edition 2020.

•  IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa won the “Best Student Branch Award” at IEEE Boost 2020 and Open Day 2020 was recognized as one of the hallmark events organized by the student branch. (Image credits:- Official Facebook Page, IEEE Sri Lanka Section)

• An article about the event was published in IEEE SL Section Newsletter July 2020