Banu Athurally ,22 years old
final year undergraduate at IIT who is following the university of Westminster,
UK, BSC(Hones) computer science degree programme with specialization in Mobile and
Web Computing, He is a blogger ,You Tuber and an entrepreneur who has achieved
much recognition in the local and international technology sphere.
Banu, better known as “Andro
Dollar” is the Founder and CEO of the Andro dollar Network (www.network.and
rodollar.com) which has a well-established tech website (www.androdollar.com) which focuses on the
latest Tech News. Reviews and tutorials . Banu has featured many videos on latest
trends on mobile technology on his YouTube channel (www.youtube.com\anddrodollar).He
also is the founder of his very own Creative Agency startup
-(www.services.androdollar.com).Following are excerpts of the interview with
Banu;
What is the degree programme you are following at IIT?
I am currently in my Final
Year following the computer science degree specializing in the Mobile and Web
pathway.
What made you take the leap into entrepreneurship at such
an early stage in your life?
I always had innovative ideas
and thought differently. My ambition was to take Sri Lanka to the international
stage , which is still my main vision for my tech website and You Tube channel
.So I want my audience to be from all over the world , not just Sri Lanka .I
always make sure I do something productive every day that gets me a tiny bit
closer to my dream.
Since my hearts is filled
with passion for the tech Industry , I wanted to build something for myself ,
something that will make me know to the world .This is what made me take the
leap into entrepreneurship at the age of 18. I just want to keep doing this for
the rest of my life because I love what I do.
Recently you were felicitated in India.
Could you give us details about your recent tour to
India?
The 13 th Manthan Award South
Asia finalists were selected out of over 400 nominations from many countries
including , Afghanistan , bangladesh , Bhutan , India , Maldives , Nepal ,
Pakistan , and Sri Lanka.My personal project , journal
(www.journal.androdollar.com)which I built with my partner, Kavishka Fernando,
is a smart Action Camera which captures
images automatically based on a persons heartbeat. This camera uses
machine learning to learn a user’s patterns.
We became runners up in the “smart settlements
and Urbanization” category in the 13 th Manthan Awards South Asia. The Award
Ceremony was held in New Delhi, India back in February, 2017. There was a
conference where I got the opportunity to conduct an interactive session about
my product and pitch the idea for the audience in a special knowledge hub. It
was a truly memorable experience.
I even got invited by Google
for their launch event in india and even got pass to attend the world’s biggest
consumer electronics show, CES in Las Vegas.
What were your achievements while studying at IIT?
It has been an amazing
journey at IIT. Immediately after joining, IP was appointed as a Batch Representative,
and since then I have been able to achieve many things. I was the president of
the IIT students’ Union 2015 /2016, vice chair of the IIT IEEE student Chapter
2015 .I have also taken part in cutting Edge, which is the annual business and
technology exhibition organized by IIT.
I was able to win an award
every year for various projects which I showcased at Cutting Edge.
Why would you recommend IIT for those who wish to
become innovators and business leaders?
IIT is a well renowned IT and
Business campus in Sri Lanka, offering globally renowned British degree
programmes. The modules offered are of high standards and the one year
Internship programme which is a part of the degree give a wonderful opportunity
for all students to get to know the industry and work with professionals .I did
my Internship at 99X Technology and it helped me out immensely.
Since IIT is affiliated to
the University of Westminster, UK, student get a comprehensive and quality
higher education.IIT has always encouraged us to achieve more. This motivation
resulted me in pushing myself to never settle and to achieve more in life .I
got to take part in local IT competitions like NBQSA 2016, Microsoft Imagine
Cup 2016, and International competitions like Manthan Awards South Asia.
What are your future plans and goals in life?
I have many future plans.My
priority is to focus more on my YouTube channel , website and startup .I want
to give my 100% attentions these areas and I have plans to expand.
IIT conducts internal
postgraduate and undergraduate degree from the University of Westminster , UK Robert
Gordon University, UK and Canterbury ChristChurch University , UK .The
University of Westminster degrees offered at IIT are Software engineering ,
Business Information System, Business Management and computer science with
specialization pathways in gaming and computer graphics development , mobile
and web computing and multimedia computing.
IIT is an award winning campus,
which has bagged many accolades for innovation in local and international
competitions such as Microsoft Imagine Cup , National Best Quality Software
Awards (NBQSA), APICTA, British Council - HSBC ,Youth Enterprise Award and e-
Swabhimani. With its strong international affiliations, outstanding resources
and focus on quality higher education, IIT is without a doubt an ideal place
for student to follow world renowned IT and Business degrees.
SundayTimes Education
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