SARIC Rising Tide

lanka perera 46 Lanka would only fall in love with her field when she entered the machine lab at her college, loving it enough to graduate with a first-class degree and be offered a job by her university, first as a lab instructor and then a lecturer. Despite loving her work, she still wanted a chance to work in the field. She started to explore opportunities outside academia, beginning with a job maintaining streetlights in Colombo. In a search that would become oddly Shakespearian in nature, she then applied to her dream employer, the CEB. “I applied twice and was turned down. The third time, I missed it by a slim margin, and I thought that that was it. One day, my parents called and said CEB had asked for me to come and collect my employment letter. I thought it was a mix-up at first,” laughs Lanka. “Why would they employ someone they had just turned down? It turns out they were setting up a new coal plant that needed engineers, so a series of internal shuffles led to the need for new hires, and they turned to their list of recent interviewees. What can I say? This job was meant to be!” A decade on from that fateful employment letter, she was nominated for SAR100, a program she describes as being daunting at times, given her growing family and her work as a transmission engineer. Site visits had to be arranged around the program, and she worked late hours to catch up on any missed sessions. 47 Lanka receives an award at the SAR100 program an ambassador from another world Apart from the increased visibility it has given me at work, I appreciate SAR100 for the chance to refresh my technical knowledge and learn new methods including those that use AI. It has made me want to keep learning more, especially about energy markets and renewable energy integration. Lanka may be an engineer, but she remains a teacher at heart. She’s actively engaged in the WePOWER CEB Chapter, coordinating a series of awareness and mentorship programs to broaden horizons for young schoolgirls, especially those in rural areas. “It’s a way of changing conversations around how we speak to girls versus boys, especially when it comes to STEM and its possibilities. I dream of greater opportunity for young women and accessibility for those who choose to join our industry.” Perhaps she doesn’t see it yet, but much like the marigold seller, Lanka is carving a path for others without realizing its full impact on future generations.