Trailblazing young engineer makes her mark in the IT field

6 April 2015 12:02 pm This month on LW we feature multifaceted Nimashi Perera as our vibrant young cover personality. Her remarkable journey in the field of Information Technology, a predominantly male dominated industry has truly inspired us. Her passion to break new ground, her thirst for success and her dedication to make her mark in the field is sure to motivate numerous other youngsters looking to create a name for themselves in their chosen career path. Moreover, she has also dabbled in several other fields from sports to English literature, gaming to music making her the epitome of versatility. Nimashi Perera, engineer- technology at Virtusa the youngest engineer in the company, candidly talks to LW about her life, her passions and her dreams of making it big in the IT field.

    Getting to know Nimashi

“I was born in Colombo. My dad Ronald is a hotelier who always supports me in any way possible. My mum Nilanthi is a housewife who has guided me in my path to success and my brother Rashmal is a Peterite who is studying for BEng Software Engineering at APIIT. As a child I was a very talkative person, sometimes I was called a ‘chatter box’. I’m very independent and with a little bit of guidance I’m capable of driving myself to my goals, which I have done since I was schooling.”

Setting goals and pursuing them relentlessly

“From the nursery onwards till A/L’s I schooled at Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya. As a child I wanted to become a lawyer or software engineer. This was identified by my mom who encouraged me to start my IT education at Gateway School of Computing where I completed my higher diploma in Computer Studies, International Driving License Certificate and e-Citizen Certificate. This became the foundation of me identifying my skills and building up my knowledge in the IT industry. The love for English Literature and Theatre lead me to complete my Diploma of Speech and Drama at the Wendy Whatmaore Academy. This era in my life became vital in developing my personality and honing my language skills.”

A strong faith

“Being a devoted Roman Catholic I was able to be a team member of the school Bible studies group and win awards at the Annual Bible Quiz Competitions and many competitions held by the Archdiocese of Colombo.” Sporty, competitive, dedicated - All the right ingredients for success “Even as a child I was keen on playing tennis and also was an enthusiastic student who took part in relays in sports meets in school. The interest in western music resulted in me being a member in the school brass band. As I was very hyper and a very talkative character I was able to become a junior and a senior prefect where I learned about leadership skills. As I held several positions in many clubs and societies in school, I was blessed with the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka as a Student Ambassador for Sri Lanka and participated at the India – Sri Lanka Student Exchange Program in New Delhi, India. I started my higher education by following a Foundation Certificate in Higher Education with Distinction Pass at Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT) affiliated to University of Westminster. Later on, I followed the BEng (Hons) Software Engineering Degree at the same institution. This is one of the main milestones in my life as my ambition was to become a Software Engineer. “At IIT I was able to participate and find success in many areas. From the first year I won many carom tournaments which resulted in me becoming the carom champion in the girls’ category. In carom I also have achieved many successes competing against other universities. I was also a team member of the netball team which has had many successful tournaments. Athletics is something I enjoyed participating in and was able to take part in annual meets. I’m also enthusiastic about music and dancing and therefore I was a member of the Kandyan dancing team and during the final year I performed a Bollywood dance where the team became runner-up at the Stage Craft, the annual talent show of IIT. I was also an active member of the IIT choir.”

An invaluable internship

“During the third year of my degree I completed an internship as a Junior Software Engineer at Virtusa where I was able to gain valuable knowledge under Chamindra De Silva – Senior Director Technology. The year offered an abundance of experiences in Mobile Application Development and Business Analysis in the IT industry. I also gained exposure in the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) processes in a large scale software development industry which prepared me to challenge myself to learn both software development and business analysis. With the treasured experience I received during my internship I was able to pass my final year successfully in completing the BEng (Hons) Software Engineering with a second class – upper division”.

Exploring new horizons in Information Technology

“My final year project was focused on implementing a “Decision Support System for Urban Traffic Optimizing and Vehicle Tracking”. This was mainly done using Computer Vision Image Processing, Optical Character Recognition and Artificial Intelligence technologies. During the period of completing the project I gained more technical knowledge and project management skills which were successfully achieved under the supervision of Prof. Alfred Perera my project supervisor. After graduating I was offered the opportunity in rejoining Virtusa as a Software Engineer the post which I currently hold. I am passionate in exploring new learning horizons in Information Technology, which challenges my thinking and demands me to bring about a positive change in organizations. My career goal is to continuously grow in technical capacity whilst enriching especially management and leadership, which enables me to face the challenges, mentioned above. At Virtusa I was able to be a part of the Open Source Community which interested me in being part and learning about the Sahana Disaster Management System which was initiated in Sri Lanka following the massive Tsunami disaster. I believe that I would be able to develop my skills in business analysis, which in turn will help me become a Business Analyst who is armed with rich technical skills. Currently, I’m working for GTO Strategic Initiatives which is a perfect place to grow and unleash my technical and business skills. There are multiple tasks which I am working on, among them are the millennial innovative User Experience Methodology which is a growing need in the software development industry and which is a vital and very exciting initiative.”

Never a dull moment

“During my spare time I like to travel as it has become a usual part of my life due to my dad’s career. Moreover, I’m very interested in reading technical blogs about new technology and personal biographies like those of Marilyn Monroe, Paul McCartney, Nefertiti and Cleopatra. I was also interested in researching on Egyptian civilizations and their life styles and also how the processes like mummification wer done followed by reading more on projects of discovering ancient artifacts from archeological areas like valley of kings, since I was a child. I’m also into cyber gaming. I was a member of the “VKill” team at the LAN Challenge 2012 and “Cereal Killers” team 2014, a Multi-Player Gaming Tournament organized by the Virtusa Game Development Special Interest Group who emerged runners-up in both the years. As the love for music continues I am also a member of the Virtusa choir where we perform for events.

Passionately promoting corporate social responsibility

“I work as a Business Analyst on several CSR initiatives at Virtusa which include the Akura school management system which was initially developed as part of a CSR initiative which is now a commercial product. We also developed a digital scoreboard software for the Mathota Sports Area which will encourage development of sports and also aid in the reconciliation process bringing the civilians to the digital era. Yet another CSR initiative is the Sahana Software Foundation which is dedicated to the mission of saving lives by providing information management solutions that enable organizations and communities to better prepare for and respond to disasters.”

A day in Nimashi’s busy life

“One of the most interesting aspects of my week is going to work as I totally enjoy what I do at work. Apart from work, I love to hang out with my friends, go dancing, singing, watch movies and play tennis. Travelling has become a part of my life as my dad is a hotelier, therefore we travel very often locally and internationally. Ever since I was a child, Sunday has always been reserved for Sunday mass even if there are several other commitments.”

More opportunities than obstacles

“Being a female in the software engineering industry is different from being a male in the software engineering industry. Working in the IT industry is fun and rewarding in many ways. It requires solving complex problems and challenges need to be met daily, while being able to do so creatively and through your own expression. I started my career as a full time developer but now I have managed to expand my knowledge into the technical business analytical area as well, which I really enjoy. Working on innovative products in the IT industry gives you wings to broaden your knowledge and skills in various ways. Though you may face obstacles in this industry there are a vast number of opportunities for females to succeed.”

The right attitude and skills help debunk the notion of ‘glass ceiling’

“With reference to the glass ceiling concept meaning “the seen, yet unreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements”, my personal opinion is if you are capable of standing up for yourself and possess a great personality along with the required skills and talents, you will always be able to achieve success in whatever you do. The IT industry is a very interesting field because you get to learn and challenge yourself everyday with something new as technology is a vital aspect in the current millennial era which is rapidly growing and changing. This industry is able to impact a person’s day to day life making their lives easier and safer; therefore by being part of the IT industry we could be a major part in making human lives better.”

My family, my guiding light

“Firstly I am so in debt to my parents for who I am today because if not for them I would not be able to achieve what I have done so far. Since I was a child my parents have guided me, helped me identify my skills and made the path smooth for me to follow my dreams. They always encourage me to be a better person in behavior, ethics and personality. Most of all, they have encouraged and helped me to achieve the milestones in my life by sacrificing and guiding me. As my mom is a house wife she always looked into our studies. She was my first teacher and she was able to identify what my abilities are and made me follow suitable programs in order to excel in my future. My dad always helped me to be a perfect person and helps me in every other way even though he is a very busy person. My brother has always been there for me and helped in every possible way as a friend though he fights with me too. My mom has always been an inspiration to me as I have learnt so many things such as time management, etiquette and cooking from her. My family has been the guiding light in my life, staying with me every second and helping me to strive to become the best.”

The juggling act

“The main aspect in balancing a career and leisure activities is firstly, you should enjoy every single thing you do. If work and leisure can all be done perfectly while enjoying life to the fullest, I think it would bring lots of happiness to anyone’s life. I enjoy working and I love the work I do at Virtusa, which makes me satisfied and happy. I’m not only focused on office work but I always find time to enjoy myself because planning ahead and achieving deadlines is a vital part of my life. Due to this factor I always find time to sing, dance and spend time together with my friends. Some of my favorite things to do during the weekend are watching TV and making Italian dishes and desserts. I also find time to go shopping to look out for refreshing fashion trends.”

Future aspirations

“My main goal is to start my MBA soon and complete it so that it will be another pillar of success for me in my career. I would really work hard and gain enough experience to start up my own software company so that I will be able to utilize my leadership skills more on doing what I love and adore. But most of all, I would always want to be a good person who is a friend to everyone.” Photographs by Nirmala Dhananjaya Hair and Make up by Chalana of Ramani Fernando salon