A panel discussion on ‘5G – READY.. STEADY.. GO!’, with Mobitel Network Strategy and Transformation, Network Planning and Operations Senior Manager Shamil Appathurai as the moderator. From left: Huawei 5G Expert Yuan Fan, University of Moratuwa Senior Lecturer Dr. Tharaka Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka Army Research and Development Director General Major General Renuka Rowel and Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) Director Dr. Harinda Vidanage

Back again by popular demand after its roaring success in the past, Mobitel powered up the Google I/O extended Sri Lanka 2019 for the sixth time at Stein Studios from the evening of May 7, 2019, to the dawn of May 8, 2019.

This year’s Mobitel’s Google I/O Extended Sri Lanka event was a live online event due to the prevailing situation in the country.

Mobitel took this difficult decision keeping in mind its priority to ensure personal safety of attendees while at the same time not wanting to disappoint fans of the event. The highly motivated Mobitel Innovation Centre team worked round the clock to arrange an exciting line up for the Mobitel Google I/O 2019 Extended, bringing the same unforgettable excitement of a large tech event to the proceedings.

Google I/O Extended event is an exciting and interactive overnight event with a live stream of the keynote from USA focused on the next generation of technology, mobile and beyond and local presenter sessions on various tech, entrepreneurship, innovation. The event was streamed on YouTube, Facebook Channels and PEO TV.

Mobitel made sure its audience did not miss out on the technology side of the event in any way with its exclusive sessions which focused on everything from 5G, tech for a greener future, to Island Mentality VS Startup Mentality, an informative panel discussion with key individuals in Sri Lankan startup eco-system.

Sri Lankan Whizz-Kids, an interesting panel discussion with teenagers of Generation Z was a spotlight of the event.

The session ‘Your Gateway to the Digital World’ demonstrated the new digital services platform of Mobitel, ‘mSpace’.

As a responsible corporate and the national mobile service provider, Mobitel did not include any entertainment segments at this year’s event in keeping with the sombre mood in the country. This event has been a resounding success every year amongst ICT professionals, industry leaders, university students and young tech-savvy innovators.

Google I/O is an annual developer conference held by Google in USA which showcases technical in-depth sessions focused on building web, mobile, and enterprise applications with Google and open sources such as Android, Chrome and Chrome OS, APIs, Google Web Toolkit, App Engine, Google Assistant, AI and more.

In parallel to the main event, Google I/O Extended events help developers from around the world take part in the I/O experience through live streaming by bringing local developer communities together to experience the I/O keynote and sessions with one another in real time, around the globe.

A panel discussion on ‘Island Mentality VS Startup Mentality’. From left: Creately Co-Founder and CEO Chandika Jayasundara, Elovate Group Executive Director Heyley Evans and Calcey Technologies Chief Executive Officer Mangala Karunaratne

‘Your Gateway to the Digital World’ demonstration of mSpace, Mobitel’s Digital services platform by Mobitel Product Service Innovation Engineer Tharushi Wickramasuriya

A panel discussion with teenagers of Generation Z on ‘Sri Lankan Whizz-Kids’, moderated by Kapruka.com Chief Executive Officer and Founder Dulith Herath. From left: IoT Innovator Mindiya Karunasinghe, Programmer and Tech Instructor Bihan Mahadewa, Visionary Programmer Navendra Marcelline and Robotics Enthusiast Savith Herath