Design Leadership & Multiplying Impact
A full timeline of how I grow design capability beyond my own deliverables — facilitating discovery with product teams, mentoring designers, judging, and speaking. Each session works toward the same goal: raising the quality of design decisions being made around me.
Design thinking with AI Essentials
I was privileged to co-facilitate the "Design thinking with AI Essentials" workshop with my teammates Ilham Shiraz, Chamrith Jayasinghe, and Kesara Dharmasena in conjunction with the ICTer International conference, at the University of Colombo School of Computing.
DHack 2025 - Innovation Category Judge
I had the privilege of participating as a judge for the Innovation Category at DHack 2025, organized by the Department of Information Technology of the Faculty Of Management Studies & Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. It was great to share the judging panel with Mr. Kuganathan K V, Mr. Janaka Dharmapriya, and Ms. Kushanthi Hasinika.
AdaptIQ Workshop Series - From Concept to Prototype with AI
IEEE WIE Affinity Group of IIT invited me to speak at the AdaptIQ Workshop Series! I had the pleasure of talking to around 50 undergraduates about taking ideas from concept to prototype with a focus on leveraging AI tools to accelerate the design process and test concepts effectively, especially during 24-hour challenges.
IEEE Young Protégé 2025 Program - Mentor
I wrapped up my journey as a mentor in the IEEE Young Protégé 2025 Program organized by IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka chapter. I mentored an undergraduate from University of Rajarata for 3 months guiding her on UX aspects of her final year project.
SLIIT Codefest – Designathon 2025 - 24h Challenge Judge
Being part of the final round of SLIIT Codefest – Designathon 2025 was a thought provoking experience for us as judges to craft the challenge for the new generation. Within just one day, the undergraduates managed to deep dive into the given domain, truly understand the problem space, and come up with innovative solutions that reflected not only technical skill but also empathy and creativity.
SLIIT Codefest Designathon 2025 - Opening Workshop
I curated and presented the opening workshop for SLIIT Codefest Designathon 2025 and prepared the first-round assignment and carried out the evaluations alongside my IFS colleagues Janani Dabare and Sanduni Kariyawasam.
SLIIT Academia Conclave - Invited Speaker
Invited speaker at the SLIIT Academia Conclave, where I shared insights on mobile and AI-driven experiences, along with perspectives on UX career pathways, with senior lecturers and academic staff. The session was hosted at the IFS Office, Colombo 9.
Session on UX practices at IFS
I had the opportunity to conduct a session on UX practices at IFS for bunch of enthusiastic undergraduates from faculty of IT of University of Moratuwa. One thing I love about these sessions: it allows us to stop and have a look at our own practices from a different perspective which can lead to new ideas and improvments!
Career Panel Discussion: IEEE Sri Lanka x IFS
It was a pleasure to be part of yet another panel discussion for IEEE students, representing UX at IFS. During the discussion we explored how AI is reshaping the workforce: focusing on how it can enhance the efficiency of existing teams, and what skills fresh graduates need to bring to the table to stay relevant in an already optimized world. One of the most thought-provoking moments was when our conversation turned philosophical. When asked what skill would be in highest demand over the next 20 years, my answer was: "Being human." We're witnessing cycles of technology hype. Social media, for instance, exploded in the early 2000s and became the norm for connection. But now, we're seeing a counter-trend where people are longing for in-person interactions and a deeper sense of community. That human touch, empathy, and real presence? It's timeless. Engaging with undergraduates always brings fresh perspectives and this was no exception.
Benchmark 3.0 - Keynote Speaker and Panelist
Delivering a keynote on Design Thinking and serving as a panelist at Benchmark 3.0—an island-wide UI/UX competition organized by AIESEC in SLIIT—felt like a true full-circle moment at my alma mater, SLIIT.
Design Thinking 101
I conducted a session to introduce UX and design thinking to new interns in IFS Service Management. They actively identified problems, utilized affinity mapping and dot voting techniques, conducted simple user interviews and created empathy maps. We hope this hands-on experience is invaluable for cultivating a design thinking mindset among the interns.
Introduction to UX - Idealize 2024
Conducted an online workshop on introduction to UX Design for IDEALIZE 2024, a technology competition organized by AIESEC in University of Moratuwa.
Mobile Application Design - MADHack3.0
MADHack 3.0 is an inter-University Mobile Application Development competition organized by IEEE Student Branch of UCSC. I conducted a session on Why mobile app design matters?
Career Panel Discussion - IFS x NIBM
I had an opportunity to be a part of a panel discussion representing the UX career path at IFS for a group of 2nd year undergraduates following BSc. Hons in Computing and BSc. Hons in IT for business of National Institute of Business Management (NIBM - Sri Lanka). One of the answers I shared which I think is worth remembering: "Intentionality is one of the most important qualities you should have to keep up your career journey. Be intentional about every step of your way and how they contribute to your growth."
IEEE Young Protégé Program - Mentor
I mentored two undergraduates on UX design under the IEEE Young Protégé program organized by IEEE Young Professionals Sri Lanka. The goal was to prepare them through 3 months 1-1 mentoring and help them secure internships.
IX'23 Inter-University Designathon - Final Round Judge
I served as a judge for a final round of IX'23 inter-university designathon organized by IT IEEE student chapter. I was honored to share it with Dumindu Tennakoon - country head of TASA Lanka (PVT) Ltd, Ishfaak Sadikeen - Lead designer at Wavenet and with my fellow IFS designers Sanduni Kariyawasam and Vanodhya Oshadhi.
UX Workshop on Pre-Design Activities
We conducted an in-person UX workshop on pre-design activities. Team members of IFS Service Management who are working in various disciplines such as program management, product specialization, software development, and quality assurance participated in this session. Our main goal was to increase collaboration and emphasis on the interdisciplinary nature of design thinking. We had such an enthusiastic audience and got great feedback afterward.
Mora UXplore 1.0 - Workshop and Judge
Mora UXplore 1.0 was a design competition organized by IEEE student chapter at the university of Moratuwa. I got the opportunity to conduct a workshop on design thinking and also plan and judge the competition, representing IFS.
CodeSprint 7 - DesignSprint Judge
I had the opportunity to judge the submission of design sprint of the inter-university competition CodeSprint organized by IEEE student chapter of Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT).
