DevFest 2024 Sri Lanka: A Day of Innovation, Learning, and Networking

On Sunday, December 8, 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to attend DevFest 2024 Sri Lanka at the Grand Ballroom of the Galadari Hotel, Colombo. This year’s conference was an inspiring journey filled with insightful sessions, hands-on learning, and exciting conversations with fellow tech enthusiasts. Hosted by GDG Sri Lanka, GDG Cloud Sri Lanka, and Women Techmakers Sri Lanka, the event brought together developers, engineers, and technology professionals to share knowledge and push the boundaries of what's possible in the tech world.

The Experience: A Deep Dive into the Future of Tech

DevFest 2024 kicked off with a Welcome Note, setting the stage for an afternoon full of inspiring talks and engaging sessions. From AI innovations to web development and cloud technologies, the speakers covered an impressive range of topics, sparking great conversations and new ideas. Here's a quick overview of the sessions that stood out:

• Keynote: Democratization of Human Ability by Rohan Jayaweera: Rohan kicked off the event with an inspiring talk about how technology is enhancing human abilities and making powerful tools accessible to everyone. His insights on the future of tech were thought-provoking and set a positive tone for the day.

• From Cash to Click: Is Cloud AI Driving Payment Innovation? by Namrata More: This session explored how cloud AI is revolutionizing the payments industry, from fraud detection to creating personalized experiences. It was a fascinating look at how AI is reshaping financial systems globally.

• Angular Adventures: What's New and How to 'Code Once, Conquer Everywhere' with Libraries by Sajeetharan Sinnathurai: Sajeetharan's session on Angular provided insights into the latest updates and features in Angular, as well as how developers can leverage libraries to streamline their work.

• AI's Impact on Payments: From Fraud Prevention to Personalized Experiences by Amey Nerkar: Amey gave us an in-depth look at the AI technologies that are transforming the payment sector. His session focused on how AI helps improve security, prevent fraud, and create personalized customer experiences.

• Are LLMs Good Assistants or Great Liars? by Thushan Ganegedara: Thushan's talk was one of the most engaging, diving deep into the pros and cons of Large Language Models (LLMs). He unpacked the superpowers and kryptonite of LLMs, and how they are being used across industries.

• Building Multimodal Search with Gemini Vision Model and RAG by Rishiraj Acharya: This session was all about the future of search technologies. Rishiraj explained how multimodal AI models like Gemini are enabling smarter, more intuitive search experiences.

• Building Trust in Technology: Journey to Responsible AI by Dhaminda Siriwardena: Dhaminda wrapped up the session with a compelling talk on the importance of trust in AI technologies, stressing the need for responsibility in building and deploying AI systems.

• Building High-Performance Flutter Web Apps with WebAssembly (WASM) by Abhishek Doshi: Abhishek's session on Flutter Web and WebAssembly (WASM) was nothing short of amazing! His practical approach and hands-on examples showed us how we can leverage these technologies to build high-performance web apps.

Swags and Surprises

One of the fun highlights of the day was winning some amazing swags! During Abhishek Doshi's talk, there was an interactive Q&A session, and I was lucky enough to answer a question correctly, which earned me some cool swag! 🎉 It was a great moment, and I got to take home a DevFest 2024 T-shirt and a set of stickers. These weren’t gifts from the speakers, but part of the amazing event package provided by the organizers to all attendees. Thank you, GDG Sri Lanka, for the fantastic goodies!

While the T-shirt and stickers were a nice touch, the real gift was the knowledge and experiences I gained throughout the day. The speakers were not only experts in their fields but also incredibly engaging. The interactive elements in their sessions made the content even more engaging and valuable.

Networking and Collaborations

One of the most rewarding aspects of attending DevFest 2024 was the opportunity to connect with a diverse group of developers, engineers, and tech enthusiasts. The event created a collaborative atmosphere where participants could freely exchange ideas, discuss challenges, and explore potential partnerships. Whether it was over coffee during breaks or in smaller, informal group discussions, it was inspiring to see the level of passion and expertise shared among attendees. DevFest truly felt like a community event, where everyone was eager to learn from each other and contribute to the collective knowledge. I left the event not just with new technical insights but with valuable connections that will no doubt lead to future collaborations and growth in the tech space.

A Big Thank You to the Organizers

DevFest 2024 was made possible by the hard work and dedication of the GDG Sri Lanka team, GDG Cloud Sri Lanka, and Women Techmakers. A huge thank you to Suresh Michael Peiris, Kushan Bhareti, and all the volunteers who made this event a reality. Your efforts in curating such an impactful conference were truly appreciated by all attendees. I also want to extend my gratitude to all the sponsors and partners who supported the event.

Conclusion

As I reflect on the event, I can honestly say that DevFest 2024 Sri Lanka was one of the most enriching conferences I’ve attended. From the technical content to the networking opportunities, it was a day that sparked new ideas and gave me a fresh perspective on where the tech world is headed.

I’m already looking forward to the next DevFest, and I encourage everyone interested in technology and innovation to attend. It’s not just about learning—it’s about connecting with a community of like-minded individuals who are just as passionate about the future of tech as you are.

Let’s continue to innovate, collaborate, and make an impact!