Yarl Geek Challenge (YGC) is a competition aimed to find innovators and it gives support to new ideas for entrepreneurship. This time this was organized in collaboration with the Lanka Angel Network. In order to short list the participants of around 25 teams from many state and private Universities such as University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, University of Jaffna and SLIIT, YGC has organized a three day selection competition. This selection event was targeted to check how the competitors’ ideas are flavored for a business model and the competitors were expected to demonstrate, if possibly, with their working prototypes in front of the audience and selection panel.
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Two teams participated from the Faculty of Engineering, University of Jaffna with the name of Strikers and Elite. Elite (Team members: Muditha kumasri, Suguneshwaran Nidershan, Balasubramanium Nilakshan; Mentor: S.Arunan) has demonstrated with a working prototype device that could be fixed on a public bus to display the upcoming bus-halt. For this device they have developed an algorithm that uses GPS coordinates to estimate the upcoming bus-halt. Their presentation is so skillful that the audiences were fully attracted. Then the other team, Strikers (Team members: A.P.Yasindhu,Sajith Dushmantha; Mentor: S. Thananjeyan), has earned the audience’s clapping with their prototype of modularized system that controls the home electronic gadgets via voice. In fact, both teams has built their prototypes within a short time period and successfully demonstrated in front of the audience that includes investors as well.
Among the 25 teams of participants, only 6 teams were selected for the final competition that includes the two teams from our faculty. The teams selected are Elite, Red Kites, Tracklers, Strikers, Tuna Labz and Cyberknights and these teams will go ahead with their projects. Final round of competition will be held in Colombo and the winners will be awarded with 1 million cash reward to start their own start-ups from their innovative idea.