Meet Sri Lankan Researcher — Chirath Hettiarachchi
What are you currently working on or worked on before?
Machine Learning & Health Informatics, Control Systems.
What encouraged you to pursue your research topic?
My startup “Olivescript” and passion to work on Machine learning related to medicine.
What is the name of your current institute?
Australian National University.
Where do you find your best inspiration for your work?
My passion for creating new healthcare products and creating value to the world, & of course my startup effort.
Can you share with us some of your publications?
Yes, you can find it by clicking this URL.
What’s one of your biggest personal achievements so far?
My startup effort during my bachelor's and the immense knowledge I gained even though it was unsuccessful. This eventually made me a better researcher and led to awards and publications (Olivescript).
What lessons would you share with a budding researcher?
Have the motivation, Passion for research, and startups. There are hardships for researchers in SL and I’m happy to share my knowledge of signal processing, machine learning, and health informatics.
What motivated you to be a researcher?
My passion for creating new healthcare products and creating value to the world, & of course my startup effort.
If there is a chance, will you help build research in Sri Lanka?
Yes, indeed. Currently, I’m focused on mentoring students on research projects and helping to share my insights on higher education.
According to your opinion, what are the changes that the Sri Lankan education system needs to do, in order to meet the requirements of the international industry and academia?
Focus more on research (compared to theoretical studies) and try to link this research to our day to day problems. Many unique research projects halt after the qualification, it’s up to the academics and industry personnel to help make those dreams a reality and focus on sustainable research projects.
