Sri Lanka’s 9th Biennial Conference on Science and Technology (BICOST IX)—2023 Technical Outputs

The National Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC) is mandated to convene Biennial Conference on Science and Technology (BICOST) as per the Science and Technology Development Act of 1994, Section 5(e), in relation to the objectives set out in Section 2 of the act, in order to make available the policy recommendations to the government through a platform for discussing science and technology.

Accordingly, the 9th BICOST was held under the patronage of the Hon. Minister of Education, Dr. Susil Premajayantha, on March 23 and 24, 2023. With the engagement of a diverse group of attendees, including decision-makers, diplomats, professionals, bureaucrats, and public and private sector institutions, the event was a success story.

It was expected that the conference’s Guest of Honour would be H.E., the president of Sri Lanka. Yet due to a crucial commitment, H.E. was unable to attend in person. On this occasion, the formal message from H.E. that had been delivered to the conference was read.

During the first day of the conference, Dr. Suren Ragavan, the honourable state minister of higher education, also attended as a distinguished invitee.

H.E. the High Commissioner of India and H.E. the Ambassador of the United States in Sri Lanka were special guests on the first and second days of the event, respectively.

There were also two Sri Lankan expat scientists who were keynote speakers: Prof. Gehan Amaratunga from Cambridge University and Prof. Siva Sivananathan from Sivanthan Laboratories, USA.

Over the course of a series of three-month pre-conference activities, followed by a two-day main conference, more than 200 scientists from academia, industry, the bureaucracy, and representatives of public and private sector institutions worked on the following theme areas:

• Climate change, agriculture, and food security, chaired by Senior Professor Buddhi Marambe
• Nutraceuticals and lead medicinal compounds derived from Sri Lankan bioresources, chaired by Senior Professor Sirimali Fernando
• value addition to natural resources and minerals, chaired by Dr. R. D. Gunaratne
• Renewable energy, energy storage, and green hydrogen, chaired by Senior Professor Ajith De Alwis

At the end of the whole exercise, the committees were able to come up with four technical reports, including a set of policy recommendations, as the technical outputs of the conference. The reports were formally submitted to the Hon. Minister of Education, Dr. Susil Premajayantha, by the Chairman of the Commission, Senior Professor Veranja Karunarathna, on the closing session of the conference, as per mandate requirements. On the same occasion, further copies were submitted to the special guests, diplomats, and the Senior Advisor to the Hon. Minister.

As a post-BICOST activity, NASTEC, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, is looking forward to working with the pertinent agencies to develop an action plan connected to these findings.

BICOST Reports & Technical Outputs

• 01. Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Safety                                                   
• 02. Nutraceuticals and Lead Medicinal Compounds from Endemic Bio Resources 
• 03. Natural Resources and Minerals                                                                         
• 04. Renewable Energy, Green Hydrogen, and Energy Storage                                 
• i. Renewable Energy                                                                                                      
•  
  ii. Green Hydrogen                                                                                                    
• iii. Energy Storage