Editorial

Dear Members and readers,

I believe that most of you, reading this editorial are loyal readers of the institution's newsletter. Through the editorial message, we constantly tried to shed light on dark corners where the institution could have been involved and could have done some good. In this issue, we would like to talk about the "Vision" and "Mission" of the institution. As IESL members, are you aware of those?

IESL's Vision is "to be amongst the leading professional institutions in engineering and technology in the world". The mission states that "to be apex national body of engineers in Sri Lanka, which ensures internationally recognized and locally relevant standards in the professional practice and education in engineering, while actively supporting national development and diligently serving its members and the society at large". To fulfill both of these IESL organizes many events and functions from small discussion to grand events such as international conferences. Unquestionably you must have heard of such and even have participated in few.

Public lectures and webinars are frequently organized by sectional committees covering current issues in their respective fields. Since the COVID-19 restrictions, most of the public lectures are organized as online webinars allowing members to participate from remote areas in the country and even from oversees. Further to these, IESL organizes seminars whenever there is a significant national issue related to engineering. Memorial Orations commemorating engineering giants such as Eng. D J Wimalasurendra, Eng. (Prof) E O E Pereira, Eng. Ray Wijewardhena are essential if IESL to produce such engineering wizards in the future. The lessons we can learn from these gentlemen are incomparable.

Grand events held annually such as Induction and Graduation Ceremony, Annual Sessions, Annual General Meeting, Engineering Excellence Awards, FIESCA International Conference, IESL Annual Conference, YMS technical paper presentations are an indication of the professionalism and competence of the institution and its commitment commending the welfare of the profession in the country.

Also, there are sectional committees dedicated to different engineering disciplines such as Civil Engineering Sectional Committee, IT and Computer Engineering Sectional Committee, etc. Members of the IESL can join these sectional committees and engage in their activities such as organizing public lectures on current and trending topics, CSR projects, organizing site and field visits, and many more. Similarly, there are standing committees of IESL focusing on special areas of the institution such as Education, Continuous Professional Development, Library, and Publication, etc. Initiations by these standing committees are so vital to the progress of the engineering profession of the country.

With the establishment of Provincial Chapters and Oversees Chapters of the IESL, members have the opportunity to involve the institution's activities remotely from their respective locations. Under the guidance of the council, provincial and oversees chapters organize a various number of activities aiming for the continuous professional development of engineers and thereby the advancement of the community.

On the contrary, it also raises the question of whether all these events convey the Vision and Mission of the institution. In this regard, I would like to propose two things for our dear readers.

Firstly, I would like to invite you all to participate in these events more and more. The knowledge and guidance you can gain from these are not available anywhere else. Not only as participants but fitting together with these committees and events you can also take the role of organizers. Therefore, we urge you to connect with the institution through such activities and utilize your skills creatively and innovatively for the betterment of the engineering profession and the development of the country.

Secondly, to all the organizers of these events, I urge you to consider the Vision and Mission of the institution. The events and functions should convey the standards of the institution while supporting the national development and working towards the advancement of the society at large.

In conclusion, the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka is the leading professional engineering organization in the country. IESL must safeguard the engineering profession and ensure that its objectives are met through its activities.

Engage more and more with IESL activities as participants and organizers and keep in mind our Vision and Mission.

Wish you all the best.

Eng. Lalith Pallegama
Editor – SLEN