The Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, recently hosted an enlightening Microgrid Introduction Session, organized by the IEEE Power and Energy Society of the University. This insightful event took place in the Microgrid Lab, offering students a unique opportunity to delve into the world of microgrids and sustainable energy solutions.
Conducted by the distinguished Prof. Lidula N. Widanagama Arachchige, the session provided an in-depth exploration of microgrid technologies, their applications, and their significance in the evolving landscape of electrical engineering. Prof. Lidula Arachchige, with extensive expertise in the field, shared valuable insights into the design, operation, and management of microgrids, showcasing the latest advancements and real-world implementations.
The event not only served as an educational platform but also included a Microgrid visit, allowing participants to witness the practical aspects of microgrid systems. This hands-on experience fostered a deeper understanding of the integration of renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and smart grid technologies in creating resilient and sustainable microgrids.
Organized under the umbrella of the IEEE Power and Energy Society, the Microgrid Introduction Session attracted enthusiastic participation from students, researchers, and industry professionals, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. The University of Moratuwa continues to play a pivotal role in nurturing the next generation of electrical engineers and researchers, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to address the challenges of the future energy landscape.
Stay tuned for more exciting events and opportunities from the IEEE Power and Energy Society at the University of Moratuwa, as we continue to explore and advance the frontiers of power and energy technologies.
We are thrilled to express our profound appreciation for the remarkable success of the IEEE PES Day 2023 event, a collaborative venture between IEEE PES MEA SB and IEEE PES SBC of the University of Moratuwa. This insightful session addressed challenges and solutions related to the high penetration of diverse renewable energies into electric power systems, sparking transformative discussions and fostering connections among participants. The virtual event conducted via Zoom served as a celebration of innovation, knowledge sharing, and global collaboration in the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions. Heartfelt thanks to all participants for their valuable contributions, and we eagerly anticipate future endeavors to further advance the sustainable energy landscape.
The success of the IEEE PES Day 2023 event reflects the dedication of participants and organizers alike. Through engaging discussions on challenges and solutions in renewable energy integration, the event underscored the importance of collective efforts in shaping a sustainable energy future. We express sincere gratitude to all involved and anticipate continued collaboration for impactful initiatives.
The IEEE Power and Energy Society at the University of Moratuwa recently concluded its highly anticipated PES Awareness Session 2023, leaving participants with a wealth of knowledge and unforgettable memories. This captivating event brought together enthusiasts, professionals, and experts to celebrate the dynamic field of power and energy. Attendees were treated to an enticing episode that seamlessly blended informative sessions with engaging activities, providing a unique platform for learning and networking.
The event showcased a series of interactive games that not only entertained but also served as a medium to enhance understanding of the complexities within the power and energy sector. Participants had the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, fostering meaningful relationships and collaborations that extend beyond the boundaries of the event. The atmosphere was vibrant, filled with the energy of individuals passionate about shaping the future of power.
With the overarching theme, “Empowering the Future – Navigating the Landscape of Power and Energy” the event delved into the role of innovation, sustainability, and community collaboration in shaping the trajectory of the power sector. It provided a glimpse into the exciting possibilities that lie ahead in this ever-evolving field. The PES Awareness Session 2023 was not just an event; it was a celebration of progress, education, and the collective drive to create positive change in the realm of power and energy.
As we reflect on this successful event, we extend our gratitude to all participants, sponsors, and organizers who contributed to making the PES Awareness Session 2023 a resounding success. Stay tuned for future endeavors and join us on our ongoing journey to explore, learn, and empower the future of power and energy.
n a short period of time, the term “Energy crisis” has become one of the most common terms within Sri Lanka due to frequent power cuts. To give this term a technical value IEEE Power and Energy Society(PES) Student Branch Chapter of the University of Moratuwa had joined hands with the Electrical Engineering Society(EESoc) of the University of Moratuwa by organizing a panel discussion named “Energizing Sri Lanka”. The theme for the event was “Solving Sri Lanka’s present energy dilemma through scientific research and development”.
The panel discussion “Energizing Sri Lanka” was held on the 19th of February,2022 from 6.00 PM onwards via the Zoom platform as a virtual event. There were three panelists for the event that covered the three sub-topics Energy Policy Changes Towards Better Energy Mix, Renewable Energy Integration Challenges and Solutions, and Demand Side Management and Cost Reflective Tariff. They were Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya, the Managing Director at Resource Management Associates (Pvt) Ltd., Prof. Janaka Ekanayake, the Senior Professor and Chair of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the University of Peradeniya and Deputy Chairman at Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Kanchana Siriwardana, the Director (Tariff and Economic Affairs) at Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka.
The moderator for this event was Dr. Narendra De Silva, the General Manager at Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd.
The discussion consisted of three main rounds. In the first round, the panelists were allowed to express their ideas on the relevant sub-topics, and in the second round, all the panelists were allowed to add their ideas to the others’ ones. In the third round, the audience was allowed to raise their questions, and very inquisitive questions were probed regarding the energy scenario. The moderator negotiated those rounds in a fruitful manner. The session had been held for around two hours.
The event was concluded successfully and for the evidence of that the comments from the audience to organize another these kinds of events, invitations to take leadership to held workshops regarding this kind of topics, positive feedbacks and the participation which was more than 200 can be cited.
Finally, it can be considered that the IEEE Power and Energy Society Student Branch Chapter, University of Moratuwa had added another feather in its cap by concluding “Energizing Sri Lanka” successfully, with the amusing collaboration of the electrical engineering society of the University of Moratuwa.
Nowadays with the busy day-to-day schedules, people always try to hand over their duties to the automated systems. The advanced typesetting system- the LATEX project is also such a product that coherently formats and maintains your defined format throughout the document using mark-up language and compiler. It is very useful to get to know how to use this versatile software not only for academic purposes but also for any other occasion where you have to create a simple and smart document with low effort and no money. Therefore, this timely and valuable topic was the causal factor for the latest event organized by the IEEE Power and Energy Society Student Branch Chapter of the University of Moratuwa with the support of IEEE CSAC and IEEE PES STEP Ambassador Program. It was named as “SCRIPTX-for more competitive you…”.
The “SCRIPTX” was an introductory tutorial session for beginners who wish to use the LATEX project for their typesetting needs. The event was held on the 18th of December 2021 from 6.00 p.m. (IST) onwards as a virtual event via the Zoom platform.
The target audience was all who wished to get familiar with LATEX and without any restriction, all were welcomed for the event. The required software was provided for all the registrants and participants through a sharable link. Eng. Chathura Silva was the keynote speaker for the event. He is a software engineer at Global Market Technologies (Pvt) Ltd who is a graduate of department of Electrical Engineering, University of Moratuwa. He proved that he was the ideal person for the session by covering all the fundamental topics with simple and descriptive examples. The session had been held for around an hour.
As all the basic topics had been covered during the session, it was a great guidance for a beginner to start his/her typesetting works with the LATEX project. This may have been a valuable opportunity for many of the participants who wish to continue their documentation works with the LATEX project for various purposes like production of technical and scientific documentation, papers with abundant bibliography and mathematical formulas, etc.
Finally, it can be considered that the event “SCRIPTX” added another successful and effective milestone for the journey of IEEE Power and Energy Society Student Branch Chapter, University of Moratuwa.
EE –Influx is a career guidance programme initiated by PES SB Chapter of University of Moratuwa, to be aware of and emphasize career opportunities in the electrical engineering sector. The focused audience was the electrical engineering undergraduates. But any undergraduates who would like to join were welcomed.
The programme was held virtually in two days at Zoom platform consisting of three sessions, covering six main areas which are related to career opportunities in the electrical engineering sector. The six experts from academia and industry in the respective fields joined as the Guest Speakers and they shared their knowledge.
The first session was held on the 24th of October and two topics were discussed. Eng. Pasan Pethiyagode was the keynote speaker for the topic Project and Introduction to Industry and Eng. Laksith Sirisena covered the topic Design and Consultancy. The second session was held on the 31st of October on Entrepreneurship. Eng. Prasanna Liyanage had conducted the session. The third session was also held on 31st of October.
Eng. Supun Amarasinghe was the guest speaker for the topic Product Development, Manufacturing and Maintenance and Eng. Anjana Samarakoon delivered speech on Higher Studies. Eng. Isuru Kasthurirathne was the keynote speaker for the topic Utilities.
The main aim of conducting such a programme was to break the misconception that career opportunities in this electrical engineering sector are scarce, reveal and emphasise undergraduates about the value of their degree in electrical engineering.Every session of the programme had empowered the undergraduates to follow their expectations in an electrical engineering career and had built insightful vision to make sound decisions in the field of electrical engineering. The active and enthusiastic audience caused to held such a successful event.In summary, EE Influx was added to the diary of PES SB Chapter of the University of Moratuwa as another effective and valuable programme that reinvigorated the undergraduates and added a new vision to their upcoming career life.
The project “ගම්මැද්දට IEEE අපි“(IEEE for Countryside) is a collaborative effort of IEEE PES, IAS and RAS Stude’61 Branch Chapters of University of Moratuwa hand in hand with IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa with the hope of lending a helping hand to aspiring school students from areas far away from the capital of the country. Last year, during the first phase of the project, a Robotics Workshop was conducted for the benefit of secondary school students of Anuradhapura Central College, Anuradhapura. As for the second phase of “ගම්මැද්දට IEEE අපි” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unable to pr geed this project physically which is the biggest challenge for us. But we are able to turn this situation into our advantage and we are going to expand our helping hand throughout whole Sri Lanka by holding online series for 2 days including 4 sessions.
Technology is rapidly updating around the world every day. The future of the world lies in the hand of technology, and the skills and knowledge related to emerging technologies must be effectively transferred to the children, the leaders of tomorrow, for them to contribute to the evolving technologies and gift something useful to the world in the future. For this transfer of knowledge, the background of the students, whether they are from a village or a
town, whether rich or poor, must not stand as a barrier. However, in carrying out their activities, they have faced several hardships due to the lack proper knowledge in basic robotics. Identifying the necessity, the IEEE Student Branch, along with PES, IAS and RAS Student Branch Chapters of University of Moratuwa have joined hands to encourage and support by conducting online sessions delivering the basics of Robotics and presenting the electronic accessories gifts to carry out their endeavors. As well as we have expanded our expenditure exceeding the linguistic barrier by conducting sessions in both Sinhala and Tamil which simultaneously.
On behalf of celebrating women’s day 2021, an informative webinar was organized with the collaboration of IEEE Power & Energy Society Student Branch Chapter and IEEE WIE Affinity Group of University of Moratuwa based on “Empower yourself as a Woman in Engineering”. IEEE PES student chapter has involved women in power in order to ensure the role of a woman in the power and energy industry. It will be a huge influence to make a diverse leadership by supporting career advancement, networking and knowledge of women in the electric power and energy field.
The webinar was held on 6th of March 2021 from 6.00PM to 7.00PM. It was conducted by Eng.Thilini Wasundara, Bsc. Eng(Hons) University of Moratuwa, Business Development Manager and Electrical engineer at Minel lanka Pvt Ltd, Chairperson of IET YP Sri Lanka and the Treasurer of IEEE IAS Sri Lanka Section. It was a great honor to have her presence to share her valuable knowledge and experience with the younger generation.
It was emphasized that being a woman is not a barrier to empower yourself in Engineering. She has the potential to make the
difference. Our main objective of this webinar was to give the encouragement and motivation to all the enthusiastic women in Engineering. It was successfully concluded with an interactive Q & A session.
An Awareness Session for the new batch of University of Moratuwa was held by the IEEE Power and Energy Society Student Branch Chapter of University of Moratuwa on 13th of December 2020. The session was started at 6.00 pm and concluded at around 8.00 PM. It was conducted via zoom platform. Dr Lidula N. Widanagama Arachchige, Chapter Advisor of IEEE PES Student Branch Chapter of University of Moratuwa, Senior Lecturer of Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Dr Hussain Mahdi, Region 10 PES Chapters Student Activities Committee Representative, IEEE Region 10 Young Professionals South-East Asia Coordinator, IEEE Region 10 Humanitarian Technology Activities Committee, IEEE PES Young Professionals Committee Academic Liaison and Mr. Chamika Sudusinghe, IEEE Sri Lanka Sectional Student Representative, Undergraduate University of Moratuwa, Public Relations and Publicity Chair at 2020 IEEE PES Global Student Congress were invited as the guest speakers of this session.
The event succeeded with more than 100 participants. There were two Menti Questionnaires held within the session to break the monotonic nature of the session. The questions were related to the facts learned from the speeches and general knowledge about Power and Energy. Winners were awarded amazing gifts. There was a massive surprise for the winner of the second Menti session. The winner was sponsored for the IEEE Membership by Dr Hussain Mahdi. Speakers gave clear ideas about what is IEEE, what is PES, what are their functions, benefits and opportunities received by being a member of IEEE, awards and global events related to the society. This Awareness session was a success. Purpose of this event was to aware the undergraduates of University of Moratuwa
about IEEE Power and Energy Society and to give the new batch a chance of being a part of IEEE PES Student Branch Chapter of University of Moratuwa and enhance their experiences. This was a great chance for all undergraduates to get a better idea about the IEEE Power and Energy Society.