Society Goals
- To create a generation of students who are able to impart practical knowledge on the subject of Genetics and Molecular Science and other related subjects among the members in practice and thereby work for the betterment of the university community as well as the society as a whole.
- Organizing and implementing workshops, seminars, competitions and other such activities required for imparting genetic and molecular knowledge to the students of schools, Dhamma schools as well as other universities in the island.
- Awareness of students on conservation strategies at special and ecosystem level and implementation of activation related programs to conserve genetic diversity which is an integral component of biodiversity.
- Contributing to the creation of a more productive group of graduates for the society by developing the soft skills of the students through the activities of the association and the special programs organized by it.
Avisor’s message
The Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit was established under the Dean’s office of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 2018 to meet a national need and is currently serving its third batch of students.
The dearth of local, bio-centered molecular specialists is the bottleneck for the snail’s-pace progress in the natural sciences-based industries in the country and the objective of the unit is to produce graduates to fill this void. In line with the K-SAM model outlined in the SLQF, our mission is to arm our graduates with knowledge, provide them opportunity to develop their skills and promote development of positive attitudes and mindset throughout their university life, enabling them to compete with their peers nationally and internationally. In an era where everything is intertwined with biotechnology and genetic engineering, our graduates have the opportunity of expanding their horizons beyond the traditional applications of biotechnology; They can integrate into any industry ranging from food production to detergent production or services such as genetic testing, development of new control methods for diseases or serve as educators to name a few.
Observing these students at work gives me hope for the future generation of scientists and citizens. The Genetics and Molecular Biology Society (GemSoc) was initiated merely one year ago and yet, they have achieved much despite the pandemic. Realizing their role as young scholars, they lost no time in putting together the website and sharing scientific facts via social media, treasuring the old, while embracing the new. Their quick comeback from the challenges wrought by the pandemic, and eagerness to be productive nonetheless, shows their positive outlook of life and adaptability, both assets scarce in today’s society. One event of such efforts was the online gameshow organized with the intention of alleviating the stress of school and university students caused by the pandemic. It truly was revolutionary and quite successful with 180 participants island wide. Best wishes for the GemSoc in all their future endeavors!
I commend the efforts of the students and staff in fulfilling the mission of the Unit and eagerly await to see what the future unfolds, and I invite you all to be part of this exciting journey.
Society initiation
This society was initiated in 2020 under the guidance of Senior Prof. Nissanka De Silva and lecturers of the Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit with the aim of providing opportunities to all the students in the Genetic and Molecular Biology unit, to develop their soft skills. Since the initiation we have been working on providing opportunities for our members to focus on this vast field while spreading the essence of Genetics and Molecular Biology among other local higher educational institutions as well as the school community.
Sub -Committees
Editorial Crew
Editorial crew presents the collective view of the society through the writing. The crew consists of talented individuals who are capable of synthesizing ideas and writing under deadline pressure.
The outlets of the editorial crew consist of fact post series where interesting facts about genetic and molecular science are shared through in an interesting post series, newsletter which is published bi half yearly.
Editorial crew is a place where the members of the society can improve their logical thinking abilities and creativity.
Head of the Crew- Rangana Wijewickrama
Deputy Head- Umesha Gayandi
Media Crew
Media crew consists of two sections. Graphic Designing & video editing and announcing & photography. Designing works, photography and announcing works in the society are handled by the media crew. It is a free and friendly environment for the crew members to explore their creativity,to get inspired and showcase their talents through the events.
Head of the Crew – Hafsa Faizar
Deputy Head – Punsala Ariyaratne
Deputy Head- Buddhini Premarathne
Social Media Crew
In this digital era the Social media crew plays a very important role in GEMSOC. We increase the public awareness of our society, share the scientific knowledge and share creative skills of our members with the members outside the Gemsoc. Social media crew acts as a means of gathering the scientific community through social media platforms around GEMSOC.
Crew Head- Sahan Madusanka
Deputy Head- Avindu Pasan
Finance and Marketing Crew
Build an unwavering professionalism through skills of management, leadership, analytical thinking and problem-solving.
Head of the Crew-Thisura Thejana
Deputy Head- Tharushika Gimhani
Deputy Head – Sasini Sithara
PR Crew
A place where skills of leadership, communication, presentation and interpersonal skills would help towards building a strong personality.
Head of the Crew- Ruwini Sewwandi
Deputy Head – Aruni Sewwandi
Deputy Head – Uthpala Isurandi
Action to Impact crew.
We, Gemsoc of University of Sri Jayewardenepura became collaborative partners with Action to Impact (ACT4SDGs) which is connected with the United Nations. As the first step, we were engaged in 6 forums which covered most of the 17 SDGs and the official website was launched; www.srilanka2030.lk and also useful for the upcoming events. For each forum, a summary was created for the sake of students. After the forums, new ideas were collected from the members for a Sustainable Sri Lanka. We contributed in making the COY16 Youth Statement this year along with other societies with the great ideas of our members which represented the whole Sri Lanka. ANd these days we are taking part in the ‘Global Week ‘ and we all participate in doing 1 Million Actions towards a Sustainable Sri Lanka.
Head of the Crew- Vinoda Dilhari
Asna Ameer
Acting deputy head – Samadhi Karunarathne
Head of the 1st year – Dinuja Perera
Activities
monthly webinar series
The society hosts an educational webinar series monthly as physical seminars are restricted due to the current pandemic situation.
In the GENTALK webinar series, apart from the academic findings regarding the Genetic and Molecular Biology , current affairs in Sri Lanka regarding the environment and the pandemic situation are chosen as the topics of the sessions in the means of arming the members of the society with knowledge. Local and foreign scholars who are known experts in their fields were invited as the resource people.
The webinar series is conducting via ZOOM
fact post series
In this universe, what we know is just a drop from the ocean. Therefore, conferring to the objectives of this society which aims at transcending excellence and passion in propagating the underlying essence of Genetic and Molecular Biology, fascinating genetic based facts are published weekly on our social media platforms. Covering a larger audience, Sinhala and English fact posts are published on every Sunday and Thursday respectively.
Educational activities
Genminds 2021
Genminds is an inter university multimedia competition where the gemsoc offered the chance to explore the boundaries of inner expressivity and creativity through contestants’ preferred medium. Topics for the multimedia competition were selected representing the society goals.
Delivering contestant’s thoughts on the topics that interest the minds of people in a way that captivates the reader is what today’s society is lacking. This initiative is to promote the artistic and communicative skills of the participants while delivering knowledge on genetics. The participants are encouraged to respond by making a video, presentation, essay, art work or using any method that channels their specific passion and talent to share their answer to the question with very timely topics that onlook COVID-19 through a genetic and genomic aspect and that of the biology of a virus , GENMINDS 2021 has concluded successfully.
Valuable E-Certificates would be awarded to the winners in the upcoming Gemsoc week.
Newsletter
Newsletter is bi-yearly published through the society which reinforces transparency and creates clarity about the various concluded, ongoing and upcoming events of the society to its readers. The Newsletter also consists of articles about interesting scientific insights which come as valuable contributions from its members who volunteered with the desire to connect and share their thoughts through the writing.
Through the newsletter, the society offers an opportunity to express the creativity of the members through designing and writing.
Fun activities
Game show 2020
‘Game Show 2020’ was an initiative that brought a fresh and
exciting virtual experience last Christmas to fellow students as an
escape from the monotonous schedules during these pandemic
times. ‘GAMESHOW 2020’ conducted via ZOOM was not a game
aimed solely to provide fun but a platform that tested brain
plasticity, adaptability and creativity where we were able to observe the competitive aspect and character driven personality of its
participants.
With the opening of registrations on the 17th of December 2020, a good turnout of 20 teams representing the universities and 23 teams representing schools island wide entered the competition. They were put through three rounds that challenged the critical thinking ability and general knowledge of participants.The final round was held on the 28th of December with four teams each representing the universities and schools battling against each other under the two categories with the most tactful teams emerging victorious.They were awarded with E-certificates along with handmade gift boxes consisting of items made by our very own members under the ‘ Green Breathe’ fund-raising project.
Annual trip
To the members of the Genetics and molecular biological society who are confined in hectic schedules of virtual learning and exam papers, a field trip to the ‘Genetech’ located in Colombo-08 will be organized once the country returns to normalcy as a change of scenery. Genetech is the pioneer institution of Sri Lanka which makes the latest biotechnology accessible to Sri Lankans. This field trip offers undergraduates of the society a unique experience allowing them to be involved in an environment where they can get more knowledge about the latest biotechnological uses and molecular bio sciences while well pursuing objectives of the society. This annual trip is scheduled to be held once the country returns to normalcy.