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APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

350 NEW GRADUATES<br />

WALK ACROSS THE STAGE<br />

AND INTO THE WORLD<br />

Graduation day is the<br />

most anticipated day in<br />

the life of an undergraduate.<br />

The culmination<br />

of years of hard work and<br />

sacrifice is celebrated not only by<br />

the graduates but also by their<br />

family, friends and teachers. Appreciating<br />

the significance of this day,<br />

APIIT has consistently ensured that<br />

the annual graduation ceremony<br />

surpasses all other events in its<br />

academic calendar by making it the<br />

most glamourous and joyful day in<br />

the lives of its students.<br />

The Convocation of the Graduating<br />

Class of 2016 was held at the BMICH<br />

on the 16th of December, where 352<br />

students walked across the stage<br />

and received their awards. The event<br />

was graced by Mrs. Christine Slade,<br />

Director Partnerships of Staffordshire<br />

University, UK. The academic<br />

and non-academic staff of APIIT<br />

were present in full force along with<br />

a cross section of APIIT alumni now<br />

numbering more than 2000 graduates.<br />

APIIT takes pride in its graduates,<br />

most of whom are already gainfully<br />

employed by the time they graduate.<br />

Their value is not limited to<br />

paper qualifications; they have<br />

been moulded by a modern<br />

curriculum not only geared to the<br />

needs of the industry but also<br />

focused on personality development<br />

and professionalism. Unsurprisingly,<br />

they hit the deck running<br />

when they enter the industry and<br />

have the strength of character to<br />

successfully face the challenges of<br />

the 21st century. No doubt, the<br />

graduating class of 2016 will<br />

contribute further to the positive<br />

industry feedback that APIIT has<br />

been receiving consistently over<br />

the years.<br />

352 students have qualified this<br />

year from the Schools of Computing,<br />

Business and Law. 45 of these<br />

students graduated with a First<br />

Class Honours. Also, among the<br />

graduates were 6 exemplary<br />

students who had excelled in their<br />

respective streams of study. They<br />

were awarded gold medals in the<br />

midst of rapturous applause<br />

bringing the graduation ceremony<br />

to a crescendo.<br />

While acknowledging the years of<br />

hard work put in by the students, the<br />

fact that each of these students had<br />

been supported by their parents,<br />

friends and families was deeply<br />

acknowledged. Thus, this event was<br />

also a celebration of the immeasurable<br />

love and care shown towards<br />

our students by these amazing<br />

individuals who no doubt made the<br />

process of successfully completing<br />

their studies that much smoother.<br />

The graduating class of 2016 joins<br />

the illustrious APIIT Alumni, many of<br />

whom hold top positions in the<br />

industry both here and abroad.<br />

Many an alumnus has returned to<br />

APIIT as a guest lecturer and<br />

industry expert to engage with the<br />

current students and impart knowledge<br />

gained from their experience<br />

in the industry. We hope that the<br />

members of this graduating class<br />

will also return to APIIT in a similar<br />

way and enrich the lives of future<br />

students.<br />

The staff of APIIT Sri Lanka, along<br />

with those of Staffordshire University<br />

and APIIT Malaysia, congratulate<br />

each and every member of the<br />

graduating class of 2016 on their<br />

magnificent achievement and<br />

wish them the very best as they<br />

step out into the world as<br />

resourceful and enterprising<br />

professionals.<br />

A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

01


APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

APIIT Embeds CISCO Training in<br />

the BSc (Hons) CNS Award<br />

CISCO is the world’s<br />

largest network<br />

e q u i p m e n t<br />

manufacturing<br />

company. The<br />

American IT giant produces the<br />

most innovative networking<br />

hardware and network<br />

simulators and offers some of<br />

the most sought-after<br />

professional certifications in the<br />

industry. Network engineers the<br />

world over aim to obtain the<br />

prestigious CCNA (CISCO<br />

Certified Network Associate) and<br />

CCNP (CISCO Certified Network<br />

Professional) certifications to<br />

further their employability and<br />

enhance their recognition in the<br />

field.<br />

APIIT maintains a dedicated<br />

CISCO lab which is fitted with the<br />

latest CISCO hardware and<br />

simulators. From the very first<br />

year itself, students begin using<br />

this lab. This aims to deliver an<br />

intense practical experience to<br />

enhance the theoretical<br />

knowledge that they receive.<br />

Those who read for their BEng<br />

(Hons) Computer Networks and<br />

Security degree automatically<br />

follow the coursework that is<br />

required to sit the CCNA and<br />

CCNP examinations. At the end<br />

of each year of the three year<br />

course, students are ready to<br />

face a variety of CISCO routing<br />

and switching as well as CISCO<br />

security certification exams.<br />

Therefore, by the time a student<br />

has graduated, he could well be<br />

a CISCO certified network<br />

professional as well.<br />

The importance of secure<br />

computer networks in virtually<br />

every industry cannot be over<br />

emphasised. The need for<br />

competent professionals to<br />

create and maintain<br />

complicated and secure IT<br />

VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

networks is evidenced by the<br />

demand for those having not<br />

only a university degree, but<br />

also the appropriate<br />

professional qualifications.<br />

Mrs. Nazeefa Fawzer<br />

Senior Lecturer<br />

APIIT Business School<br />

Dr. Kushanthi Harasgama<br />

Head -APIIT Law School<br />

Dr. Kushanthi Harasgama took<br />

over the headship of the APIIT<br />

Law School in November, 2016.<br />

Applying Islamic Banking and Finance<br />

Fundamentals in the Corporate World<br />

Shari’ah compliant finance (or Islamic Banking) is a<br />

branch of finance which is gaining popularity in the<br />

corporate world today. In her paper titled “The<br />

Constituents of Shari’ah Governance”, Ms. Nazeefa<br />

Fawzer, Senior Lecturer of the APIIT Business<br />

School, analyses the components of this system.<br />

Both Islamic Finance Institutions (IFI) as well as their<br />

more conventional counterparts exist to make<br />

profit and increase shareholder wealth. However,<br />

what sets IFIs apart is the compliance with Shari`ah<br />

Dr. Harasgama Takes Over<br />

as Head of Law School<br />

She is a Senior Lecturer in Law<br />

and the module leader for Dissertation<br />

and Research Project<br />

modules at the Law School. She<br />

teaches Contract Law, Criminal<br />

Law, Law of Sale and Export as<br />

well as International Trade Law.<br />

Prior to joining APIIT, Kushanthi<br />

lectured at the Law School of<br />

Monash University.<br />

Kushanthi obtained her B.A.<br />

(Hons) in English Literature from<br />

the University of Kelaniya. She<br />

went on to obtain her LLM from<br />

Deakin University and her PhD in<br />

Criminal Law from Monash<br />

University, Australia. She is an<br />

Attorney-at-law of the Supreme<br />

Court of Sri Lanka.<br />

Her research interests are in the<br />

areas of legal theory, criminal<br />

law, anti-terrorism law and<br />

human rights.<br />

Speaking on the goals<br />

envisioned for the near future,<br />

rules and regulations in all aspects of its operations.<br />

A systematic review of all available literature on the<br />

subject was carried out. This is the first study which<br />

looks into the mechanisms of the Shari`ah governance<br />

process. Whilst most jurisdictions have their<br />

own components to constitute Islamic Banking<br />

process, this paper proposes unified constituents that<br />

will lead to an effective Shari`ah governance framework.<br />

she says that an internship<br />

programme for the students will<br />

be put in place from March 2017<br />

while more emphasis will be<br />

placed on mooting. Two teams<br />

will be coached to take part in<br />

mooting events; one for the<br />

mooting competition on Constitutional<br />

Law and Property Law<br />

that will be hosted by the Sri<br />

Lanka Law College and the other<br />

for a mooting event in Malaysia<br />

on Commercial Arbitration.<br />

02 A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER


VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

RESEARCH AND TRAINING<br />

APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

The Concept of Iot Envisions a World Where Everything is Connected<br />

Dr. Harinda Fernando<br />

Head- APIIT School of Computing<br />

By the year 2020, all devices<br />

and appliances will<br />

communicate with each<br />

other. This requires that<br />

they all speak the same language.<br />

Simply put, the “Internet of Things”<br />

(IoT) involves going above and<br />

beyond the magnitude of<br />

networking and data sharing that is<br />

seen in the world today. The<br />

concept of the IoT envisions a world<br />

where everyday objects such as a<br />

Sri Lanka has been a signatory to<br />

several Human Rights conventions.<br />

However, certain provisions in the Sri<br />

Lankan Penal Code contravenes the<br />

basic Human Rights ensured by these<br />

conventions.<br />

heartrate monitor, the biochips on<br />

farm animals, your refrigerator or<br />

washing machine at home and<br />

your car are all linked via the<br />

Internet. This would mean that data<br />

can be exchanged between these<br />

devices, and they could in turn<br />

make intelligent decisions. This<br />

would relieve humans of spending<br />

valuable time and brainpower on<br />

mundane tasks; instead allowing<br />

them to focus more on activities<br />

that make better use of the<br />

capabilities of the mind.<br />

For example, with the IoT, the need<br />

for human interaction in global<br />

supply chain systems could be<br />

reduced. This in turn would<br />

improve access to data, reduce<br />

bottlenecks and ultimately save<br />

Specifically, Section 365 and Section<br />

365 A, have penalized what is termed<br />

as carnal intercourse “against the<br />

order of nature” and acts of “gross<br />

indecency”. Research suggests that<br />

these clauses are widely utilized to<br />

“intimidate, harass and coerce” those<br />

of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,<br />

Transgender, Intersex and Questioning<br />

(LGBTIQ) community.<br />

Section 363 A (a), which suggests<br />

that marital rape is not an offense in<br />

Sri Lanka, where the partners are not<br />

judicially separated also puts the<br />

lesbian and questioning women in a<br />

helpless situation. This is despite the<br />

Government’s suggestion that the<br />

Prevention of Domestic Violence Act<br />

successfully responds to the issue of<br />

Marital Rape.<br />

Lecturer at the APIIT Law School, Ms.<br />

Sashini Vidanapathirana Abeysinghe<br />

conducted a study to ascertain the<br />

time and other resources.<br />

The exchange of data between<br />

devices is complicated. Each of<br />

these devices that are<br />

interconnected need to function<br />

on a common stage; they must<br />

“speak the same language”.<br />

Currently, the base upon which all<br />

devices would exchange data does<br />

not exist. In his Doctoral research<br />

paper titled “A Web Based<br />

Peer-to-Peer RFID Architecture”, Dr.<br />

Harinda Fernando, Senior Lecturer<br />

and the Head of the School of<br />

Computing at APIIT, presents a web<br />

based Peer-to-Peer (P2P)<br />

architecture for Radio-Frequency<br />

Identification (RFID) technology<br />

along with a comparative analysis<br />

of other existing frameworks in<br />

implications of these provisions of<br />

the Penal Code, which could be<br />

utilized to harass or cause discomfort<br />

to the women belonging to the<br />

LGBTIQ community.<br />

She notes that these clauses are in<br />

contravention of Article 12 of the Sri<br />

Lankan Constitution. Article 12 of the<br />

Constitutions states that all persons<br />

are equal before the law, and are<br />

entitled to the equal protection of<br />

the law. The previously mentioned<br />

provisions of the Penal Code are also<br />

in contravention to certain international<br />

conventions that Sri Lanka is a<br />

order to illustrate the benefits of<br />

deploying an architecture that is<br />

specific to the RFID technology. A<br />

substantial number of advantages<br />

are seen over the conventional<br />

architectural frameworks, which<br />

are common to many systems.<br />

This paper was presented at the<br />

2nd International Conference on<br />

Soft Computing and Data Mining<br />

which was held in Bandung,<br />

Indonesia in August 2016.<br />

To access the complete abstract<br />

and publication of this paper,<br />

please visit<br />

https://www.researchgate.net/publi<br />

cation/312078449_A_Web_Based_<br />

Peer-to-Peer_RFID_Architecture<br />

Webguardia Poised to Detect Web Application Vulnerabilities<br />

Ms. Neera Jeyamohan<br />

Senior Lecturer<br />

APIIT School of Computing<br />

Mr. Nisal Vithanage<br />

Information Security<br />

Executive, Hutch<br />

The role that the Internet plays in the daily lives of<br />

most people today is mind boggling. As more and<br />

more users become dependent on the web for<br />

information, communication, transactions and data<br />

storage, the need for enhanced security for the web<br />

applications that provide these services must<br />

increase. As Information Technology evolves in its<br />

uses and complexities, so do the threats and<br />

malicious activities of cyber criminals.<br />

Web applications frequently redirect and forward<br />

users to other pages and websites, and use<br />

untrusted data to determine the destination pages.<br />

Without proper validation, attackers can redirect<br />

victims to phishing or malware sites, or use forwards<br />

to access unauthorized pages. Good security<br />

requires having a secure configuration defined and<br />

deployed for the application.<br />

With this in mind, Mr. Nisal Vithanage, BEng (Hons)<br />

1st class graduate of the class of 2015 and Ms. Neera<br />

Jeyamohan, senior Lecturer, developed a system<br />

which aims to detect five of the top ten vulnerabilities<br />

that web applications are exposed to. They have<br />

proposed two approaches by which to ensure that<br />

these 5 vulnerabilities are effectively detected.<br />

Serious Shortcomings Identified in the Penal Code<br />

With Respect to the Protection of Women<br />

These are, namely, Security Misconfiguration<br />

Detection and Unvalidated Redirects & Forwards<br />

Detection.<br />

WebGuardia is an integrated penetration testing<br />

system that has been created and subjected to<br />

exhaustive testing. In their research titled WebGuardia<br />

- an integrated penetration testing system to<br />

detect web application vulnerabilities, the authors<br />

emphasize that WebGuardia has proven to be<br />

effective in the detection of specific web application<br />

vulnerabilities; especially in comparison to other<br />

popular open source web vulnerability scanners.<br />

This paper was presented at the IEEE WiSPNET<br />

conference held in India on 21st March 2016. It<br />

has now been published in IEEE Xplore and is<br />

available for download at<br />

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7566124/<br />

Mrs. Shashini Abeysinghe<br />

Lecturer - APIIT Law School<br />

party to and hence, such provisions<br />

should be repealed.<br />

Ms. Abeysinghe’s paper titled<br />

Ensuring a Women Friendly Penal<br />

Code was presented at the International<br />

Conference on Human Rights,<br />

organized by the Centre for the Study<br />

of Human Rights, University of<br />

Colombo. The conference was held in<br />

August 2016 at the BMICH.<br />

A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

03


APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

INDUSTRY COLLABORATION<br />

APIIT uses a variety of methods<br />

of teaching and learning to<br />

ensure that classes are kept<br />

lively and interesting<br />

throughout the duration of a<br />

module. In addition to<br />

classroom lectures, students<br />

are required to carry out<br />

presentations, assignments<br />

and discussions. Mooting,<br />

internal and external<br />

competitions, conferences and<br />

on-site visits help strengthen<br />

the student’s overall<br />

knowledge in each subject.<br />

Industry collaboration is also<br />

carried out by way of guest<br />

lectures which are delivered by<br />

experts, each having excelled<br />

in their respective fields. With<br />

the intention of keeping<br />

classroom time fresh and<br />

interesting, these eminent<br />

personalities bring in much<br />

more than a different face and<br />

sound. The various experiences<br />

that they have faced, the<br />

lessons that they have learnt,<br />

and the ways in which they<br />

have overcome the challenges<br />

that life threw at them add<br />

depth and meaning to the<br />

theoretical subject matter.<br />

Students are able to bring out<br />

their own thoughts during<br />

these talks, and thus, interact<br />

with these practitioners. In<br />

addition to helping students<br />

view situations from different<br />

angles, APIIT hopes that such<br />

initiatives would provide<br />

potential resources which<br />

could be applied in later life.<br />

The Industry collaboration<br />

events that took place during<br />

the period is as follows;<br />

Marketing<br />

Planning<br />

Development of Human Potential<br />

to Enhance Performance<br />

Agency<br />

Advertising<br />

Reaching top positions in<br />

your organization<br />

Mr. G.S.C Sylvester<br />

Marketing Consultant<br />

Fomer Head of Marketing Pan Audio Ltd<br />

Ms. Jayamini Samaratunge<br />

Founder/ CEO<br />

Mind Design International (Pvt) Ltd.<br />

Mr. Chrishantha Jayasinghe<br />

Managing Director<br />

Sarva Intergrated<br />

Mr. Asela Waidyalankara<br />

Chief Executive Officer<br />

Chelcey Telecom<br />

Start up Business Model<br />

Reaching your Potential<br />

Don’t Fear Change<br />

Start your Business today<br />

Mr. Jiffry Sulfer<br />

CEO<br />

PickMe<br />

Mr. Tharindu Ameresekere<br />

Chief Executive Officer<br />

Tharindu Ameresekere Consulting<br />

Mr. Shabeen Muzammil<br />

Chief Editor<br />

JWT<br />

Mr. Mohamed Fawaz<br />

Chief Executive Officer<br />

EQGSEA<br />

Careers in Law<br />

Careers in IT<br />

Careers in Business<br />

What is in it for you<br />

at KPMG<br />

Mr. Rajesh Ponnan<br />

Managing Attorney<br />

Ironwood Legal Solutions (Ltd)<br />

Mr. Anuranga Goonathilake<br />

Operations Analyst<br />

Synergen Health (Pvt) Ltd.<br />

Mr. Piyal Hewapathirana<br />

Head-Banc Assurance Distribution<br />

AIA Insurance<br />

Mr. Hasitha Karunaratne<br />

Manager IT Services<br />

KPMG<br />

04 A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER


VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

Public<br />

Speaking<br />

Time<br />

Management<br />

Online marketing for today’s<br />

competitive environment<br />

Quality<br />

Employment<br />

Mr. Ushan Goonawardane<br />

Manager, Learning and Development<br />

Union Assurance PLC<br />

Ms. Sharon Kern<br />

Manager Human Resource<br />

Embla Software Innovation (Pvt) Ltd.<br />

Ms. Chandima Welagedara<br />

Senior Manager - Online Marketing,<br />

e-Marketing Eye<br />

Mr. Sanjaya Peiris<br />

Human Resources , Recruitment &<br />

Retention - Bellvantage (Pvt) Ltd<br />

Principles and Practices<br />

of Islamic Insurance<br />

Introduction to Software<br />

Testing<br />

Law is<br />

Everywhere<br />

Get to know<br />

your skills<br />

Dr. Marhanum Che Mohd Salleh<br />

Lecturer<br />

APU - Malaysia<br />

Mr. Tharanga Kodippiliarachchi<br />

Senior QA Engineer<br />

Virtusa Polaris<br />

Ms. Nadeesha Mendis<br />

Legal Officier<br />

Overseas Reality (Ceylon) PLC<br />

Ms. Charidra Wijemanne<br />

Associate Technical Lead<br />

99x Technology<br />

From Degree to<br />

Profession<br />

How to write an effective Final year<br />

project report for CNS students<br />

How to do an effective literature<br />

review for CNS projects<br />

Angular JS<br />

Technology<br />

Mr. Shavindra Senevirathne<br />

Assistant Legal Associate<br />

F.J & G de Saram<br />

Ms. Suhashini Somasundaram<br />

Information Security Executive<br />

Amana Bank<br />

Mr. Nisal Vithanage<br />

Information Security Executive<br />

Hutch Telecommunication<br />

Everyone has<br />

Ideas<br />

How to create a creative<br />

marketing mix<br />

Creative<br />

Marketing Plan<br />

Ms. Nadishani Wijewardane<br />

Executive<br />

Dialog Ideamart<br />

Ms. Dimithri Cooray<br />

Brand Manager<br />

Unilever Sri Lanka<br />

An Exhibition by Students<br />

Workshop carried out by Progamme Manager<br />

Ms. Rosita and Developers Chinthaka Dissanayake,<br />

Sankalpa Abeygunawardhana, Amal Athukoralage,<br />

Uthpala Wanigarathne, Indunil Udaya of Exile Soft<br />

A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

05


APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

STUDENT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS 2016<br />

APIIT FOOTBALL TEAM EMERGES<br />

CHAMPIONS IN FUTSAL 2016<br />

CHRISTMAS PARTY AND BAKE SALE<br />

This year’s Christmas party<br />

featured something special. For<br />

the first time, students were<br />

encouraged to take up floor<br />

space and make a sale. Three<br />

students came forward with<br />

baked treats which were sold at<br />

the event. 10% of the proceeds<br />

of their sales went to the SAC<br />

fund.<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

The first ever Inter-University<br />

Football tournament of Sri Lanka<br />

saw the APIIT team putting up a<br />

strong game that ensured an<br />

exciting victory for Avishka and<br />

his team. The tournament was<br />

carried out in a knock-out format<br />

and was the country’s maiden<br />

football tournament which<br />

enabled sportsmen hailing from<br />

universities across the nation to<br />

compete.<br />

The tournament was sponsored<br />

by X-Sports Arena, Mattakkuliya.<br />

Of the 2 DJs who dished out an<br />

array of great dance tunes, one<br />

was a talented APIIT student<br />

who was given the opportunity<br />

to show off what he can do with<br />

the discs.<br />

BLOOD DONATION<br />

CAMPAIGNE<br />

The wheels were in motion and plans took shape for a blood<br />

donation campaign which was carried out in March 2017. This<br />

worthy event was carried out with the support of National Blood<br />

Centre.<br />

MOVIE NIGHT<br />

The SAC organized a movie night for the students on the 17th of<br />

January. Amityville was the film of choice, screened at the APIIT<br />

Auditorium. It was enjoyed by one and all. 54 students from<br />

both the APIIT City Campus as well as the APIIT Law School were<br />

at the event. A Kottu station and a drinks station were set up to<br />

provide refreshments.<br />

06<br />

A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER


VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

APIIT Student Activity Club organises a range of activities<br />

throughout the year to enrich the student experience.<br />

NEW SAC COMMITTEE<br />

TAKES OVER THE REIGNS<br />

APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

3 RD ANNUAL<br />

The 16th Committee of the Student Activity<br />

Club was elected in November 2016. This<br />

election saw the highest voter turnout in the<br />

history of the SAC. The new committee, headed<br />

by Munshak Munawwer as President and<br />

Hashini Gurusinghe as Vice President<br />

comprises students from all 3 schools, along<br />

with several committee members from the<br />

junior batches. Kanishka Kavirathna, the new<br />

General Secretary of the Club says that APIIT<br />

can look forward to an energetic year with<br />

many educational, entertainment, social and<br />

sports activities on the cards. In keeping with<br />

the spirit of the holiday season, the new<br />

committee quickly put together its first event,<br />

which was a well-deserved celebration of the<br />

end of another fruitful year at APIIT. The APIIT<br />

Jingle Bash was a Christmas party featuring<br />

carols and a Secret Santa event, culminating in<br />

DJ music and lots of dancing.<br />

APIIT wishes the new Committee all the very<br />

best in carrying out their duties, whilst<br />

ensuring that the vision of the SAC is promoted<br />

through the execution of a dazzling array of<br />

events during their tenure.<br />

CONFERENCE 2017<br />

SUCCESS THROUGH SYNERGY<br />

3RD ANNUAL<br />

BAT CONFERENCE<br />

TO BE HELD<br />

UNDER THE<br />

THEME OF<br />

“SUCCESS<br />

THROUGH<br />

SYNERGY”<br />

APIIT will host the 3rd Annual Business,<br />

Law and Technology Conference on 20th<br />

July 2017. Original, unpublished<br />

research articles are currently being<br />

solicited for the conference under a wide<br />

range of specializations in the fields of<br />

Business, Law and Technology.<br />

8TH INSTALLATION OF<br />

APIIT TOASTMASTERS CLUB<br />

The 8th installation of the APIIT Toastmasters<br />

Club was held in October 2016, to induct and<br />

welcome the new committee and members<br />

while celebrating the achievements of the<br />

outgoing committee. Mr. Rayhan Wannippa,<br />

who was instrumental in creating the<br />

Toastmasters Club at APIIT in 2008 delivered<br />

the keynote speech at the ceremony. The<br />

new President of the Club, Mazin Hussain,<br />

sharing his vision for the coming year, said<br />

“At its core, this is a place that fuels the<br />

passion to change the world. And this means<br />

empowering our members with the skills to<br />

be great communicators and leaders who<br />

will be able to bring about the change that<br />

they wish to see.”<br />

The evening was brought to a close following<br />

the awards ceremony, which honoured those<br />

with outstanding achievements as well as<br />

those who have helped the Toastmasters<br />

club thrive in the past. The club also held 3<br />

theme meetings under the topics of<br />

Christmas, Halloween and the Olympics.<br />

Similar to previous BAT Conferences, this<br />

year’s conference too is expected to<br />

include submissions from international<br />

researchers. Shortlisted papers will be<br />

peer reviewed by academics from<br />

overseas universities, including those in<br />

the UK and USA.<br />

For the first time, the proceedings of the<br />

conference will be published online in<br />

real-time.<br />

The deadline for submission of papers<br />

will be 20th May 2017.<br />

Please visit the conference website<br />

http://www.conference.apiit.lk for<br />

further information and submission<br />

guidelines.<br />

A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

07


APIIT SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER<br />

APIIT BAGS BRONZE AWARD<br />

IN “HACKATHON – CAPTURE<br />

THE FLAGS 2016”<br />

Team “Squadware” comprising final year students of APIIT won the<br />

Bronze prize in the “Hackathon – Capture the Flags” competition<br />

organized by the Faculty of Computing at Sri Lanka Institute of<br />

Information Technology (SLIIT), which was held in November 2016.<br />

This competition is aimed at developing the ethical hacking skills of<br />

undergraduates.<br />

VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1<br />

APRIL 2017<br />

ALUMNI FEATURED<br />

THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL<br />

OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING<br />

IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY<br />

Lochana De Alwis<br />

MAS Active - Linea Intimo<br />

Sri Lanka has promoted itself<br />

aggressively as an attractive<br />

tourist destination in the<br />

recent years. It has been<br />

ranked among the top 10<br />

destinations to visit in 2015,<br />

2016 and 2017 by popular<br />

travel guides such as Lonely<br />

Planet and Rough Guides.<br />

Tourist arrivals in the country<br />

have increased by 14% in<br />

2016 (compared to 2015),<br />

when over 2 million people<br />

visited the country. The sector<br />

is currently ranked 3rd among<br />

the country’s top income<br />

generators.<br />

Given the importance of the<br />

industry and the impact of<br />

social media, Lochana de<br />

Alwis chose to research on the<br />

effects that the latter already<br />

has upon the tourism sector in<br />

the country. In addition, this<br />

research studies the potential<br />

currently held by social media<br />

marketing in boosting the<br />

industry further.<br />

Under the supervision of Dr.<br />

Prasad Neelawala, Senior<br />

Lecturer, Lochana analysed<br />

the role played by social<br />

media marketing in creating a<br />

positive tourist experience.<br />

They have identified several<br />

key factors that have been<br />

received positively by tourists.<br />

The paper concludes that<br />

insufficient emphasis is<br />

placed on engaging social<br />

media marketing in<br />

promoting the country’s<br />

tourist attractions today. The<br />

authors suggest this medium<br />

should be considered to be<br />

the future of sustainable<br />

marketing for tourism in Sri<br />

Lanka.<br />

CHOOSE YOUR PATH;<br />

DON’T LET THE PATH<br />

CALL THE SHOTS<br />

Mr. Shabeen Muzammil<br />

Chief Editor, JWT<br />

Having spent his initial<br />

undergraduate years at APIIT,<br />

Shabeeb Muzammil was a<br />

Business Administration<br />

student who now works as a<br />

Senior Copywriter and<br />

Creative Team Leader for J.<br />

Walter Thompson - a leading<br />

advertising agency both<br />

locally and globally.<br />

Graduating with Honours in<br />

Business Management from<br />

the Asia Pacific University in<br />

Malaysia, he spoke to us on<br />

the impact that APIIT has had<br />

on him, and helped him to be<br />

where he is today.<br />

"I've been questioned many<br />

times about the mismatch in<br />

my field of study and the<br />

profession I am in today. In<br />

reality, there isn’t a mismatch<br />

at all. I started off as a writer<br />

because I was fuelled by my<br />

passion for writing; but it<br />

was the skills I gathered<br />

during my tenure at APIIT<br />

that built me up to be a team<br />

leader and taught me to have<br />

a more holistic outlook on<br />

things."<br />

Shabeeb was a member of<br />

the Student Activity Club<br />

and played an integral part<br />

in initiating a multitude of<br />

events that are, to this day,<br />

carried out annually. "With<br />

every advertising campaign I<br />

mete out, I realize that my<br />

abilities would not have<br />

been moulded the way they<br />

are if not for my experiences<br />

as an undergraduate. The<br />

people you meet, the<br />

situations you deal with -<br />

those are the lessons that<br />

linger within you."<br />

08 A . P . I . I . T SRI LANKA NEWSLETTER

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