Internship for undergrads at Indian microsoft lab

TECHNOLOGY: Two Sri Lankan undergraduates will begin internships at the Microsoft Research Laboratory in India this month.

This is the first such occasion that Sri Lankan university students would have the opportunity of entering one of the four microsoft global labs which are the breeding grounds for technologies that help define and redefine the computing experience for millions of people for decades to come.

The undergraduates will, over the next 6-12 months, be influenced by world-renowned scientists at Microsoft Research, which constitutes one of the largest, fastest-growing, and most highly respected software-research organisations in the world.

The Undergraduates chosen by Microsoft to enjoy this rare opportunity are Rathnaweera Patabandhige Chandima Jayasri from the University of Moratuwa and Thanuja Priyadarshani from the University of Colombo School of Computing. The IT students were selected from a pool of applicants, who were screened based on their research focus.

By granting these internships to Sri Lankans, Microsoft provides the country with critical exposure to world class research and development activity in IT. The experience gained at Microsoft Research will no doubt enable Chandima and Thanuja to share their learnings with colleagues back home, thereby contribute to the research capabilities in Sri Lanka.

Jinashri Samarakoon of Microsoft Sri Lanka said, "Microsoft is committed to support building a resilient IT industry within the country. We understand that as a global leader in the software industry, we can contribute much to the local industry by sharing our best practices, our ability facilitate the bringing together of global experts and knowledge pools together."

Deputy Director of the University of Colombo, School of Computing Dr. Gihan Wickramanayaka where Thanuja pursues her undergraduate studies said, "I would like to thank Microsoft for getting involved with the university to show us the industry requirements and help us produce students that meet these needs.

The Imagine Cup, the annual competition Microsoft holds among University students is in itself, an opportunity where students can show their creativity and their ability to apply their knowledge showcasing talented individuals and helping them shine on a national and international stage.

The next phase we must enter is building the IT research capability of our country - to develop our university, we must have students who conduct research overseas and return to the university system with new knowledge and tools in hand. This will create an opportunity to build a network for future students - and act as a good starting point to building a vibrant IT research culture."