It all began as a vision in the hearts of the ExCo Members and Co-Directors of the IT Avenue of the Rotaract Club of University of Kelaniya. What started as a spark soon grew into a transformative, ten-month-long journey a journey called Eduකේත, built on the pillars of digital empowerment, inclusive education, and innovation.

But Eduකේත was never just a project. It was a movement crafted by a positive-minded, family-like Organizing Committee that thrived on teamwork, mutual respect, and shared purpose. The IT Avenue’s wholesome culture was more than a driving force; it was the heartbeat of everything Eduකේත became.

The journey began with an islandwide online ICT seminar aimed at GCE A/L students in the ICT stream. Conducted in all three languages, this seminar empowered over 1,000 students, guiding them on exam strategies, university pathways, and tech-driven career options. The impact rippled across the nation, reaching thousands more through social media and YouTube.

But the true turning point came with the launch of TechXpo 2025 the first-ever grand technology exhibition hosted by the University of Kelaniya.

Organized under the Eduකේත initiative, TechXpo was more than an event it was a revolution. With over 520 participants, including 120+ school students from across the Western Province and 500+ undergraduates from diverse faculties, the university campus was transformed into a digital playground of innovation and creativity.

The exhibition featured two competition categories: school-level and university-level. Cutting-edge projects in AI, VR, IoT, robotics, gaming, and machine learning came to life through hands-on displays. From AI sign language translators to AR-based learning apps, environmental monitoring systems, and smart disaster alert platforms, the creativity on display was nothing short of extraordinary.

One of the most heartwarming moments came when the audience voted live for the Most Popular Project, which was awarded to a university team for their disaster alert innovation. Beyond the trophies, it was the collective enthusiasm and curiosity that made TechXpo a true success.

Adding immense value to the experience were four powerful knowledge-sharing sessions covering everything from cybersecurity and AI to the software development lifecycle and emerging tech trends. The sessions were led by experts like Mr. Maninda Edirisooriya from the University of Moratuwa and Mr. Anjula Handapangoda, along with RACUOK’s very own tech-savvy undergraduates.

What truly elevated TechXpo, however, was the incredible support of 14 leading knowledge partners who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the organizing team:

• IEEE Computer Society
• Electronics and Computer Science Club
• Information Technology Students Association
• ISACA UOK Student Group
• Association of Business and Technology
• Electronics Students Society
• Industrial Management Science Students Association
• Software Engineering Students Association
• Engineering Technology Students Association
• FOSS UOK Community
• Legion Club
• AWS Cloud Club
• Computer Science Students Association
• Cyber Security Club of UOK

Together, they helped craft an atmosphere of shared learning, tech exploration, and collaboration, ensuring that TechXpo was not just an exhibition but a launchpad for Sri Lanka’s digital future.

Alongside the campus-wide revolution, the Eduකේත team extended its heart to the Deaf students at Ratmalana Deaf School, marking one of the most inspiring phases of the project. Over the course of six months, a customized ICT course was carefully designed and delivered to empower these students with essential digital skills.

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by Deaf students, the team adopted inclusive teaching methods that blended real-time sign language interpretation with peer-to-peer support. The classrooms were transformed into spaces of encouragement, where technology became a bridge rather than a barrier. Students who once hesitated to engage with digital devices were soon confidently navigating software tools, gaining not only technical literacy but also a profound sense of self-confidence.

This phase embodied the true spirit of Eduකේත education for all, tailored to individual needs, and delivered with empathy. It showcased how technology, when thoughtfully integrated, could empower even the most marginalized communities.

The year-long project culminated in a heartfelt closing ceremony held at the Ratmalana Deaf School, where certificates were proudly distributed to the Deaf students, instructors, volunteer teachers, and the organizing committee. This event was a beautiful celebration of achievement, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds formed throughout the journey.

All of this was made possible through a meticulous and people-centered PR strategy. Using WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, the team rolled out teaser posts, countdowns, reels, live updates, and celebratory highlights not just to promote events

but to build a community that believed in the Eduකේත mission.And what a community it became.Students grew into leaders. Volunteers evolved into mentors. And the IT Avenue, through its consistency and impact, was crowned The Most Outstanding Technical Avenue at the Rota Tomorrow 5.0 Awards Ceremony a fitting tribute to a year of resilience, innovation, and unity.In every sense, Eduකේත was a story of people before pixels, heart before hardware, and vision before victory. From school seminars to campus-wide exhibitions, from inclusive classrooms to national recognition this was a story built on love, tech, and the unwavering belief that the future belongs to those who dare to dream boldly.

And as the final lights dimmed on TechXpo 2025 and the closing ceremony at Ratmalana, one thing was clear:

This was just the beginning.

And here are some heartfelt feedbacks from our beloved OC members;

මම කැම්පස් යන ගමන් සාමාන්‍ය පෙළ උපකාරක පන්ති කරන කෙනෙක්. ඉතින් Edu කේත එකත් එක්ක Deaf School එකේ ළමයින්ට උගන්නන එක මට වෙනස්ම අත්දැකීමක් උනා.විවිධ වයස් ඛාණ්ඩ වල, පොඩි ළමයි අපි උගන්නද්දි, ළගට ගිහින් දෙයක් ආයේ අයේත් පැහැදිලි කරලා දෙද්දි , projecter එකේ ලස්සන presentation play කරද්දි අපිත් එක්ක හිනා වෙලා , හරිම උද්‍යෝගයෙන් ඒවා තේරුම්ගන්න උත්සහ කරපු හැටි හරිම අපූරුයි. දෙයක් ඉස්සෙල්ලම තේරුන ළමයි අනිත් අයට එයාලට හුරුපුරුදු එයාලගේ භාශා වලින් අනිත් අයට කියාලා දෙනවා බලන් ඉන්නත් ආසයි.
ඉතින් මේ වගේ ගොඩක් ලස්සන මතක එක්ක ඒ school එකට උගන්නන්න අවස්තාවක් සළසලා දුන්න Edu කේත එකට ගොඩක් ස්තූතියි!!

-Pasindu-

Eduketha was more than just a project, it was a beautiful journey that will forever live in our hearts. What started off with hope and excitement turned into something deeply meaningful and inspiring. The Eduketha OC made it beautiful and together we built something truly special and created unforgettable memories. I’m glad to have been a part of it. Though this journey has ended, Eduketha will always be one of my most cherished chapters in my life.

-Thushini-

Eduකේත කියන්නෙ මම Rotaract සමග් එකතු වෙල කරපු පලවෙනි project එක. ඇත්තටම මම ආසාවෙන්ම කරපු project එකක් විදිහට මේක මට කියන්න පුලුවන්. මොකද ඒක අපිට කරගෙන යනකොට ඒක අපේ daily වැඩක් වගෙ දිගටම කරගෙන යන්න උන නිසා. මාස ගානක් තිස්සේ එපා වෙන් නැතුව දිගටම කරගෙන යන්න එක හේතුවක් උනෙ project එකෙ හිටපු members ලා කිවොත් වැරදි නෑ. එයාල එක්ක එකතු වෙල ER ගිහින් සල්ලි හොයල අපිට පුලුවන් උපරිම විදිහට මෙ project එක සුපිරියක් කරන්න අපි සෑහෙන්න මහන්සි උනා. ඇත්තට ඒ මහන්සිය අපතේ ගිහින් නෑ කියලා දැන් තේරෙනවා.

ඉතින් Eduකේත ඉදිරියටත් continue වෙන්න ඕන. අනිවාර්යයෙන් අපි ඉන්නවා ❤

-Samoda-

Eduකේත OC එක තමා මම හිටපු oc වල bestම oc එක. හිටියෙ ගොඩක් friendly විදියට නිසා ලොකුවට stress එකක් ආවෙ නෑ. අනික ඒ නිසා වැඩක් කරන්නත් ආස හිතුණා. අනිත් කැමතිම දේ තමා meetings ඕනවට වඩා time ගත්තෙ නැති එක. Project එක ඉතින් සුපිරි. ලොකු දෙයක් කරන්න පුලුවන් උනානෙ. ඇත්තටම මට පස්සෙ අර කට්ටිය කතා වෙද්දි තමා මතක් උ

-Hiruni-