Business
‘Inspiring Young Minds’
Marist Centennial Oration organized by MSC OBA Colombo branch, delivered by Dr. Ranga Rodrigo, Head, Department of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Moratuwa.
Thank you, Mr. Merrick Goonaratne, esteemed Maristonian of the Order of the Rising Sun for the kind introduction.
Rev. Bro. Principal Sunanda Alwis, Rev. Bro Principal Shanthi Liyanage, Rev. Brothers, President of the Maris Stella College Old Boys’ Association Colombo Branch, Eng. Shirley Jayakody, Secretary, Mr. Mithra Weerakoon, members of the executive committee, past presidents, members, spouses, ladies and gentlemen,
Let your mind think of our world of plenty—rivers, minerals, trees, animals, fruits—but with no human beings. Emptiness rumbles through the dark hills and valleys. Then, it is the man, the pinnacle of creation, which enlivens the lifeless world. It is man’s mind, like the sun that bathes the world with morning light, that energizes the world out of empty darkness into meaning. What is man: a thinking being. Man uses the mind, the power of imagination, to transform the world from emptiness to a habitat. If our desire is to have a vibrant and peaceful world, it is the mind of the man that must be inspired. What is the milieu of a man’s mind that can be inspired? It is only a sapling that turns toward the sun. It is only moist clay that can be molded into a beautiful pot. It is the student who is awake who can be inspired. The nature of a mind that can be inspired is its receptiveness, like a sapling, moist clay, or a listening student. A young mind does not essentially is in a youngster, but in a human who is receptive. Inspiring young minds is, then, empowering those who are receptive to work towards a renewed world.
If the entire existence depends on inspired minds, and such an inspiration is only advantageous, what is the barrier? As I see, there are two barriers: noise and incorrect metrics. A young boy resorts to a windowsill to indulge in reading a book, a treasure trove. There he hears a tone, the tone of an instant message. He drops the book, picks the phone, and immerses in the muddy, turbulent, noisy waters of messages, social networks, and videos. There is no time for reading or reflection when noise is taking its toll. However, children’s love for tools that create noise should not be dealt with retribution. In this context, children will retaliate. The dawn of the era of devices brings to our mind the invention of the printing press in 1440s.
This sent shockwaves through Europe: the press can widely publicize adulterous prints. However, today, we know how to decipher between a good book and a terrible book with ease. The era of devices will reach the same destiny. The second barrier, incorrect metrics, is worse than noise. The story of the bus driver provides me reasons to justify the existence of a lethargic uninspired mind corrupted by an incorrect metric. The driver starts form Piliyandala, where I live, and drives toward Colombo. In his world of incorrect metrics, boarding as many passengers as possible is the goal – the metric. The correct metric should have been the income over expenditure per hour of driving. Noise and incorrect metrics lead anyone far away from inspiration.
In the world drowned in noise and marred with incorrect metrics, how can we go about inspiring young minds? Among many possible, three methods come to my mind: one-on-one mentoring, exemplary life, and joyfulness. An undergraduate dropped by my office to ask what more degrees should he do. He already had a Bachelor of Information Technology Degree and an LLB degree. He was following our Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering degree program, arguably, the most sought after. I told him that more qualifications are of limited use and to get engaged with research. Following that, the work that he did with a couple of more students led to a paper in a high-impact journal, a paper in the Conference on Winter Applications of Computer Vision and, finally, a paper in the coveted Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. At WACV in Hawaii, the student related to me, another researcher has asked “Do these things, i.e., vision research, happen in your country, Sri Lanka, and where is Sri Lanka, by the way?” The student is now with the computer vision group at University of Maryland. One-on-one mentoring works.
Sri Lanka’s construction sector one of the country’s largest economic drivers, continues to bleed billions due to weak cost-control mechanisms, ad-hoc estimating practices and the absence of internationally recognised methodologies, warns veteran Chartered Quantity Surveyor Mafahir Shuhood, a global authority in building economics whose work has shaped industry standards across continents.
A member of IQS (Sri Lanka), AIQS (Australia), ASAC (USA) and CIRB (UK), Shuhood is widely considered a pioneer of modern cost management. His first book, How to Estimate for Building Works, written in 1978, became one of the region’s earliest structured guides on controlling construction expenditure.
His subsequent publications—Cost Control Methodology and Costing Guide, authored in Qatar—today form part of the reference material used by universities, engineers and international contractors from Doha to London and Sydney.
“My methodologies are being used worldwide. Sri Lanka must now bring the same discipline and scientific approach if it wants financial stability in its construction sector, Shuhood told The Island Financial Review.
At the recent BMICS Exhibition in Colombo, all available copies of his books were sold within hours, signalling the growing demand among local professionals for structured, globally aligned cost-control knowledge.
According to Shuhood, Sri Lanka’s project inefficiencies stem from the lack of a unified national system to estimate, monitor and analyse costs. He argues that building economics is not merely a technical discipline,
it is a national economic safeguard.
“Before constructing anything—a house, a building or a public infrastructure project—you must assess materials, labour, wastage, inflation, time and value. Without a scientific system, cost overruns are inevitable, he said.
He believes that the country’s persistent budget blowouts in major infrastructure projects could be avoided with proper cost-control frameworks and independent monitoring.
“Sri Lanka cannot afford imprecision. Every unnecessary cost ultimately affects the national economy.”
Shuhood revealed that he recently met the Prime Minister and shared his recommendations, including copies of his internationally used publications.
“I told the Prime Minister that my advice is not for money. I am prepared to support Sri Lanka purely as a service. This is my profession since childhood, and I want to contribute meaningfully, he said.
He maintains that the introduction of a national cost-control discipline—developed using proven international best practices—could save the country billions in project overruns and miscalculations.
By Ifham Nizam
InsureMe Insurance Brokers Ltd successfully completed its Equity Introduction and subsequent listing on the Empower Board of the CSE recently marking a significant milestone for a local digital-first enterprise.
InsureMe Insurance Brokers Ltd (InsureMe) rang the market opening bell at a market opening ceremony, held at the CSE’s iconic Trading Floor, to commemorate its landmark listing on the Empower Board. highlighting InsureMe’s commitment to digital transformation and its success as a rapidly growing Insure-Tech firm leveraging the capital market for growth.
Founded in 2016 as startup, InsureMe is a digital insurance aggregator and a fully licensed broker regulated by the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL) with a digital-first operating model supported by online assistance and end-to-end digital claims support, operating with advanced platforms such as DigiEye (Motor Claims Automation), DigiMed (Medical Claims Automation), and DigiEx (Corporate Expense & Reimbursement Automation).
Delivering the welcome address at the event, Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO of the Colombo Stock Exchange, congratulated InsureMe on their successful listing. Remarking upon the occasion and InsureMe’s role as successful startup leveraging the capital market, he stated: “InsureMe is one of the very few startups in Sri Lanka making a debut on the Stock Exchange and as the sixth company on the Empower Board and is an innovator in the technology start up space. We are happy to see companies such as InsureMe involved in the IT sector making use of the capital market. When we set up the Empower Board, this is precisely what we had in mind.”
Prajeeth Balasubramaniam Chairman of InsureMe Insurance Brokers Ltd also remarked the companies list, remarking: “This listing represents far more than a financial achievement; it signals strong confidence in Sri Lanka’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and urges us all to aim higher. It demonstrates how visionary teams, armed with essential resources and guidance, can reshape industries and alter the national narrative. “
Also speaking the event Vipula Dharmapala, CEO and Director of InsureMe Insurance Brokers Ltd discussed the companies’ journey, stating: “InsureMe began almost a decade ago when my co-founders and I set out to give Sri Lankan customers the same transparent and convenient digital insurance experience enjoyed in other markets. Guided by our vision of ‘Insurance Made Easy’, we have grown through continuous innovation, digitising policy access, enabling online insurance claims, and developing advanced claims-automation solutions now being deployed in Sri Lanka and overseas.”
The capital raised through the listing is expected to strengthen InsureMe’s capital base and support its strategic expansion into cutting-edge technology adoption, product diversification, and enhancing its digital platform for seamless customer service. These initiatives are aligned with its goal of becoming the most preferred digital insurance intermediary in the country, fostering greater insurance penetration through easy-to-use digital channels.
JXG (Janashakthi Group) was recently recognised with the Parent-Inclusive Workplace of the Year 2024/25 Award at the Parent-Inclusive Workplaces Summit 2025. Held at the Courtyard by Marriott, Colombo, the recognition reflects JXG’s commitment to fostering a supportive, empowering, and inclusive environment for working parents.
Positioning JXG as a benchmark for parent-friendly workplace practices in Sri Lanka, the award aligned with global diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) and family-friendly workplace standards, recognising JXG’s achievements with the highest score in all five sub-categories of the Parent-Inclusive Workplaces Summit 2025. The categories included Best CEO/Leadership Initiatives for Working Parents, Best HR Policies Empowering Working Parents, Best Workplace Culture for Parents, Best Well-being Initiative for Working Parents, and Most Innovative Initiative Supporting Working Parents.
Discussing the award, Wasanthi Stephen, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at JXG said, “Family is at the heart of our policies, culture, and infrastructure. We recognise the importance of dedicating time to family and how it strengthens talent retention while encouraging workplace loyalty. This award not only reaffirms our efforts to meet the emotional and practical needs of our JXG families but renews our commitment to helping our employees thrive professionally while cultivating their personal lives.”
JXG’s progressive HR policies, culture-building efforts, and well-being initiatives demonstrate a comprehensive and sustained approach to parent inclusivity. The initiatives include up to twelve weeks of fully paid maternity leave with the option of a two-month extension on half pay. Similarly, fathers can apply for two weeks of fully paid paternity leave with additional paid leave upon request. JXG also offers parents versatile arrangements including remote work, flexible scheduling, and permission for parents to attend school and family events without having to take leave.
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