The IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka launched the LETs talk project in 2017 with the goal of enhancing the knowledge and development of professional skills of young professionals to become competent professionals in their future careers. This program is open to interested individuals with engineering backgrounds in addition to IEEE Young Professionals. The desired goals are realized by delivering sessions and workshops in collaboration with well-known individuals in the community on timely, important topics and focusing on the development of skills that are necessary for the growth of their careers. In addition, LETs talk unveiled most of their perceptive sessions collaborating with some prominent entities. Namely IEEE Sri Lanka Section Sight, IAS Sri Lanka Chapter and Luminary Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd.
The participants get the chance to hear from distinguished individuals who share their insider experiences in a wide range of fields. The presenters discuss opportunities, hurdles, mistakes, and success stories while offering advice on the common errors a novice professional could make during their first starting out. The flow is set up such that participants can consult the resource person after the event to seek clarifications and advice for their questions. For the sixth year running, LETs talk conducted two major programs in the year 2022 namely, a talk series “Spark Your Inner self” and “UpSkill 2022”. The IEEE LETs talk Organizing Committee for 2022, which was composed of 24 people, organized these sessions under the supervision of IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka. The IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka social media accounts, Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts were used to promote these LETs talk sessions. Additionally, videos of the events were published on the IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka YouTube channel.
Through the “Spark Your Inner self” talk series the LETs talk team brought out six
presentations in 2022. This series was primarily focused on developing personal traits and
crafting young industrialists into their best versions. This was a vital inspiration as well as
a great motivation for the passionate young professionals who seek their future pathways to be
more fruitful.
Due to the aftermath and present health guidelines due to the Covid-19
pandemic, the majority of the sessions were concluded as online sessions including the panel
discussion.
Each session spanned for 1 and ½ hours. The following content presents the
summary of the sessions we conducted throughout 2022 with a total participation of 850+,
including 323 IEEE members and 532 Non-IEEE members.
This online event served as the opening lecture session for the "Spark Your Inner Self” talk series. The main focus of the session was on prioritizing and supporting self-love. The expert speaker for the evening was Dr. Ranil Sugathadasa, an outstanding coach on mindset mastery, motivation, management, leadership, and organizational change. Further, it gave immense inspiration to the ones who are still seeking for their passion. The participants were encouraged to improve their performance in a much more productive way by prioritizing on themselves by self-love. It was a successful launch that motivated young professionals to pursue their own development.
The second session of “Spark Your Inner Self," “Being assertive - How to say “No”” was a collaborative session with Luminery Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd,focusing on how to handle various scenarios and develop your framework of tactics. The program was led by Mr. Vidhusha Nathawitahrana, founder and density architect of High Five Consultancy and Luminary Learning Solutions, who put the focus on consistency and pragmatism and educated the delegates to make solid decisions. This was an epic session of provoking the delegates to communicate firmly, and with confidence.
Our generous speaker, Ms. Zafrana Nafees (Head of Marketing and CSR for Classic Travel and Expolanka Leisure Group), led the discussion and highlighted the importance of creating a reliable schedule. Further, she motivated our young professionals to nourish their lifestyles with more accuracy and punctuality. Self-care, solid brainstorming, and proper physical and psychological maintenance were widely discussed. Adjusting to a timely schedule and setting goals regularly were major points in the session. Her whole presentation was potential guidance on how to overcome barriers to self-care and adapt to own healthy growth.
A discussion that was heavily focused on the current business climate. The evening`s spark came from Mr. Mangala Perera, Chief Operating Officer of Rootcode Labs. He provided factual information about adjusting to the new normal that our nation is experiencing, particularly the economic crisis and the epidemic. It was a fundamental area that he was discussing according to the current situation that the country is facing. Also, it was immense support for the delegates to reframe their thinking, creating comfort and flourishing their networking abilities. The participants were greatly influenced to be more adaptive and flexible to rapid changes and to overcome the challenges in any scenario.
After our fourth talk session, LETs talk decided to give the series a distinctive twist
by setting up a panel discussion on entrepreneurship. The main objective was to give
direction and counsel to future entrepreneurs and motivate them to do what they are
capable of. The day`s expert moderator was Mr. Manodya Nabadawewa, who introduced Mr.
Tharindu Amarasekere (Founder and CEO of TAC Group) and Mr. Pasindu Wijesena (Co-founder
and CEO of AI Team), an exceptional amalgamation of wisdom and success. It was a
synthesis of ideas from various angles, inspiring our passionate entrepreneurs to take
their own path in their own way, creating the best upshots.
An outstanding personality in the country Mr. Kumar De Silva (Personality Development and Corporate Etiquette Trainer) conducted the session with the greatest perceptions on how to present yourself with the best personality traits. This session marked the closure of “Spark your Innerself”, inspiring our young industrialists to be more charismatic and outstanding on their own terms. A major impact of this session was that developing a strong personal brand can have several positive impacts on an individual`s career and personal life. Some benefits of mentioning personal branding include career advancement, better networking, and greater control over your reputation.
UpSkill Sri Lanka 2022 focuses on overcoming a challenging period due to the Covid-19
pandemic, the “UpSkill 2022” was conducted as a hybrid event having two virtual
sessions followed by a physical session. The event drew approximately 460 people, most
attending both virtual and physical events with tremendous excitement.
The signature
event was a blend of an event trio, a talk session, a panel discussion, and a workshop.
Adapting to dynamic leadership concepts, developing management skills, and maintaining a
positive image could be highlighted as the major outputs of the talk sessions. In contrast,
the panel discussion delivered comprehensive insight to the potential growth of sustainable
development and its vitality.
The last segment of the UpSkill 2022 was conducted as a
physical session on the 6th of November 2022 at Trace Expert City with a participation of 77
delegates. The delegates physically engaged in varying activities to enhance the qualities
and the proper behavior of a young professional in the workplace. The UpSkill remarked on
the closure with a great representation of interpersonal skills.
The following
content presents the summary of the sessions we conducted at the event.
Talk1
This is going to be a leadership related talk session delivering the core value of
being a responsible leader and how to work on that. Will flow under the theme of
“influential leader in the workspace environment." Kasthuri Chellaraja Wilson,
Manjula Perera, and Mangala Karunaratne are the suggested speakers. This session is
deeply concerned with educating young engineers to learn and apply the leadership
strategies to the current workspace that they are engaged in.
Talk2
This is going to be held under the theme of “To survive and thrive in the workplace
with soft skills”. As the topic implies, the delivery will be a blend of basic soft
skills. Mr.Sandun Fernando, Mr. Fadhah, and Mr. Kumar De Silva are the suggested
speakers. Building a solid character who is confident in working effectively and
identifying the strengths and weaknesses of young professionals are the main target
of the session.
Talk 3
The primary objective of this talk is to sharpen up the management skills of the
young engineers. “Manage the career as a young engineer” will be the topic for the
talk. How to manage the workload with the personal life itself and how we should
coordinate work will be discussed in the session.
Will be conducted physically. Two eminent speakers and a moderator will be presented to deliver the potential of modern technology and how it can be applied to the current industry. Young engineers will be able to get the basic idea of evolving technology in varying perspectives. This event will be held under the topic of “Harnessing technology to sharpen the career path”.
The last segment of the UpSkill 2022 was conducted as a physical session on the 6th of November 2022 at Trace Expert City with a participation of 77 delegates. The delegates physically engaged in varying activities to enhance the qualities and the proper behavior of a young professional in the workplace. The UpSkill remarked on the closure with a great representation of interpersonal skills
The LETs Talk Organizing Committee conducted a talk series titled "Skill Up and
Standout" that comprised four main presentations on different categories. The
series was presented to an enthusiastic audience and covered topics such as "True
Blue Strategy," "Logic Setup Creativity," "Pitch the Game," and "Growth Mindset:
Idea behind continuous learning."
The talk series was held between the months of January and March in the year 2023, with
each session spanning one and a half hours. It was a highly successful event series,
which was a significant milestone in the journey of LETs Talk.
Overall, the LETs Talk Organizing Committee's Skill Up and Standout talk series provided
valuable insights and knowledge to the attendees, helping them to enhance their skills
and stand out in their respective fields.
“True Blue Strategy” the initial session of the “Skill up and Stand out” talk series, was held on the 14th of January 2023 via Zoom at 6.30 pm.Dr.Mahinsas Rathnayake was the guest speaker for the event. Crafting a young ethical professional nourished with credibility, discipline, and virtue. The session's core objective was educating them on how to commit to different industrial work and the responsibility they carry as a professional. It was a great flow with many insights. The whole presentation grabbed the attention of the participants while inspiring them with the best insights.
Our second talk session of the series “Logics set up Creativity” made a pathway
to let the participants understand how logic and creativity go together. It was
held on 28th January via Zoom. Mr.Kushan Chanaka Amarasinghe was the speaker for
the session. His competence and presentation made the whole session more live
and interactive. The speaker explored the connection between logic and
creativity, suggesting that these two seemingly opposing forces can actually
work in tandem to produce exceptional results.
Specially, consider the
relationship between logic and creativity is particularly important, as how it
can have a significant impact on their future success. Look for the reason for
what makes something new and distinct. Using logic to reinforce creativity is to
think deeply about causes, analyze targets, and focus on creating the optimal
outcome.
The vitality of a great pitch and how it makes the path to a successful career was nicely elaborated by Mr.Leslie Uduwavidane who was the guest speaker for the talk session of the talks series. The session flowed under the theme “The Pitch Game” which was held on the 11th of February via Zoom. The session was a great fabrication of Perfect pitching with a successful outcome and getting rid of agitation and adapting to a simple, creative, and charismatic behavior to present an effective pitch.
The series “Skill up and Stand Out” successfully concluded with an exceptional talk session on “Growth Mindset” which was held on the 4th of March via Zoom. Mr.Jayantha Fernando was the distinguished speaker for the event. The session was mainly held to Encourage young professionals to develop a proper mind integration in order to enhance continuous learning, manage stress in day-to-day life and maintain professionalism. Primarily focusing on the idea behind continuous learning, which is the main issue the students face in daily life.
