Aithon v1.0, the first-ever hackathon specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) problem solving organized by a Sri Lankan university, was successfully concluded on 8^th May 2021. Organised by the Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Computing, together with 99x, this event was held completely online due to the upsurge of the Covid 19 pandemic situation in the country. The entries were exclusively for Intake 35 students of the Faculty of Computing. This was organised to gear up young AI enthusiasts to take up the world of AI.

Along with the hackathon, a webinar session that delivered a comprehensive spectrum of content related to the AI ecosystem and deploying technologies took place online. The webinar series was also a networking event for the participants to meet the some of the local AI experts.  A panel of speakers headed by Dr Upali Kohoban a pioneer in the Sri Lankan AI industry and the head of Research at CodeGen delivered on Industrial AI Applications.  Mr Teshan Liyanage – Senior Electronic Engineer at Zone 24×7, Mr Samudra Kananakarachchi – Solutions Architect 99x, Mrs Samra Aman – Associate Architect at 99x, and Ms Chaturangi Shyalika Big Data & Data Science Engineer at Mobitel formed the panel of speakers along with Dr Kohoban.

Team Binary Fetch was declared the winners and Team AI Mates and Team Horus were declared 1^st runner – up and 2^nd runner- up, respectively at the award ceremony. The ceremony was graced by the Dean of the Faculty, Dr Asela Gunasekara, and Mr Dileep Jayathilake, Director Research & Special Projects at 99x.

We extend our heartiest congratulations to the trophy takers SP Hettiarachchi, HKC Heshani, SD Zoyza (Team Binary Fetch), KPMI Ramanayake, Captain APL Madushanka, KN Jayasinghe (Team AI Mates), KGU Sankalpana, BG Dolamulla, and AHT Lakshan (Team Horus).

A deep sense of appreciation goes to the former Dean, Commodore JU Gunaseela for his support & guidance and 99x (www.99x.io)

This event was aimed at aiding students who are budding to be AI professionals to cut through the hype and guide them through the complicated AI ecosystem.