"There are lots of opportunities in the IT industry"-Buddhika Prasad Perera, IT Executive, MTI Consulting

PR 2.0 Champion Ashan Kumar met Buddhika Prasad Perera, IT Executive, MTI Consulting to understand How “IT” changed his life… log on to prwire.blog.com for the uncut version

“There are lots of opportunities in the IT industry. Without the knowledge in IT I don’t think anyone can survive in the future world, is my opinion. Every industry cannot function with out Information Technology. I am very happy to see Sri Lanka initiating the use of IT as a tool to develop education, health and finance systems. If you want to compete and challenge the world at the same time gain success in your life, Information Technology is the area for you” said a vibrant young Buddhika an ex Cambrian living in Panadura.

In his childhood he always wanted to discover or invent. He recalls his ambition as to be a film director or to be an engineer. In his school years he was a member of the innovators club and eagerly competed in a few innovators competitions. His interest ultimately tainted to computers and its functionalities, like web designing, graphic designing, programming and video editing using which was more than useful in his creative dreams.

He shared “I am quite happy I have achieved both my Engineer dream and for to extent my dream of been a Film Director – because in the last years Imagine Cup held in Paris, the short film I directed  was selected as one of the top 6 videos in the world.

IT is a great example to the saying “Only thing which is constant in the world is change. He experiences new challenges every day gives a varied flavor every day in his working life. Buddhika explained why he selected IT as his career; technology fascinates him, having said that IT is an area where one can find many opportunities around the world. It’s not just one area and it won’t limit one’s exploring other interest areas within its scope. You can be a programmer, Network Engineer, System Analyst, Database Administrator or even a web/graphic designer. Through hard work and determination one can rise to become a CIO.

IT changed his life in many ways. He explained how he has become a strong problem solver. Learning IT helped him to polish his logical thinking.  Through working in the IT industry he got opportunities to meet renowned people in the field in Sri Lanka. He believes in an IT enabled world Internet and mobile technology is extremely useful for his work and studies. 

I queried how Sri Lanka could benefit from IT he replied “There are many ways our country could benefit from Information Technolog. I see that general public in Sri Lanka can enjoy many enhancements in the Education, Health, and Transport sectors. I feel that Projects like e-government, “Nenasala” is already showing some good results.

He says implementing automated systems in the public service sector can provide effective services. For example automating the National ID card issuing process can prevent frauds and can offer faster service. This will also increase productivity. If Sri Lanka can implement a successful distance learning system that would be great help for people who live in remote area. “I think this is quite capable since the more and more wireless internet facilities are emerging” exclaimed Buddhika.

He believes the IT reach needs extend to remote areas and introduce and educate them on how IT can help their day to day life. This is what ICTA and the Governments Task Force have obliged to.