A Sri Lankan student - Chathurika Kannangara in Bolton, UK has been awarded the top award at a high profile international conference in Bolton.
Chathurika
Kannangara-age 29 is a University of Bolton PhD student, won the Heinz von Forester
Award at the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) conference held outside of
America for the first time.
A panel of experts awards the prize to the person who has made the most significant contribution to the conference. Chathurika, earned the honor for her contribution to group discussions on the conference’s theme.
Chathurika is from Sri Lanka and has only been studying at Bolton for one and half months. She said: “It was a big shock. I couldn’t stand up in my chair when they called my name. I am very much enjoying being here in Bolton. Everyone I have met has been very helpful.
Winning the award came as an extra surprise for Chathurika 29 after nearly missing out. She was initially not going to attend the conference as her area of study is psychology not cybernetics.
After the recommendation of her PhD supervisor, Professor Jerome she attended. Chathurika said: “Jerome said we should attend even though we are not involved in cybernetics. We can go with no expectation and we might come out with something brilliant.”