STEM Link at Cutting-Edge 2024: Where Curiosity Met Career Clarity

BMICH was buzzing. And so were we.

On July 9th, Cutting-Edge 2024 took over Colombo’s iconic BMICH, transforming it into a tech playground for the next generation of builders, coders, and dreamers. Hosted by the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), this wasn’t your typical university exhibition. It was a collision of innovation, ambition, and raw potential. And right at the center of it? STEM Link.

We showed up not just with banners and booths, but with one mission: to help students figure out what the hell they actually want to do in tech.

We Didn’t Just Talk. We Listened.

Every hour, students flooded our space with some curious, some confused, most of them overwhelmed by choices. “Should I learn AI or stick to web development?” “Do I need a degree to get into cybersecurity?” “What frameworks do companies actually care about?”

Instead of throwing around buzzwords, we had real conversations. Our team broke things down, mapped out career paths, and handed over starter guides that didn’t feel like a textbook. Whether someone was figuring out how to apply for their first internship or just discovering what UX design even meant, we made sure they left with more clarity than they came with.

University Students Had Questions. We Had Battle-Tested Answers.

Many undergrads we met, especially second and third years, had that familiar look: “I should’ve figured this out by now.” So we did what we do best:

• Helped them cut through the noise and focus on practical tools and technologies

• Reviewed portfolios and LinkedIn profiles live on the spot

• Shared real talk about what companies actually want in a fresh intern

• And yes, we even snuck in a few cheat codes for getting noticed in a crowded market

No fluff. Just the kind of advice we wish someone gave us when we were trying to break in.

School Students? Absolute Vibes.

And then came the O/L and A/L crowd, some of the most eager faces we’ve seen. They weren’t worried about internships yet. They just wanted to know what tech even is. So we painted the big picture:

• What kind of roles exist in the industry?

• What does a typical day look like for a data scientist or a full-stack dev?

• How can they get started early, even before university?

We showed them that you don’t need to wait four years to be “qualified.” The journey can start now at home, online, with the right support and the right roadmap.

Leaders Noticed. Conversations Started.

It wasn’t just students who stopped by. We had the honor of being visited by some of the biggest names in Sri Lanka’s tech and academic space, leaders from IIT and the Informatics Group, including Mr. Mohan Fernando, CEO of the Informatics Group of Companies; Ms. Naomi Krishnarajah, Dean of the Faculty of Computing at IIT; Prof. Nihal Kodikara, Head of the School of Computing at IIT; Ms. Kishani Wickramasinghe, Group Director at Informatics; Prof. Prasad Wimalaratne, Senior Consultant at IIT; and Dr. Dinesh Arunatileka, Head of Research at IIT.. Their words of recognition validated what we’ve been building: a space that’s rewriting how tech talent is nurtured in this country.

And between handshakes and smiles, some exciting collaborations were born. So yeah, big things are brewing.

This Wasn’t Just an Event. It Was a Signal.

A signal that students want more than theory. They want direction. Mentorship. Relevance. And that’s where STEM Link is planting its flag.

We’re not just another “edtech startup.”

We’re a career GPS for the confused, the ambitious, the ready-to-hustle.

Cutting-Edge 2024 reminded us why we do what we do and made it loud and clear that the next generation is hungry for guidance that actually makes sense.