12 December 2012 Soon to be software and IT graduate wins 2012 Jade prize

Sri Lankan born Thamali Jayasekara has taken out the 2012 Jade Prize, for receiving the highest mark in one of her final year courses, Software Engineering at Lincoln University.

Thamali Jayasekara, now working as a Quality Assurance Engineer at SunGard, received a $2,000 prize in the 14th year that the award has been offered by Jade Software Corporation.  She will graduate in April 2013 having just completed her Bachelor of Software and Information Technology.

“Thamali excelled in her software engineering course this year,” says Lincoln University Senior Lecturer in Software and Information Technology Dr Stuart Charters . “She is a worthy recipient of the prize and it is always a pleasure to see one of our students acknowledged for their hard work.”

The software engineering course focuses on the lifecycle of software systems – from project inception, software development and deployment, through to on-going maintenance and replacement of the software.

For Thamali she is thrilled to receive the prize.  “I feel honoured to have won this prize and to receive it at the end of the year is a great way to finish a busy year of finishing my degree and starting work at SunGard.”

“I can’t thank the staff and lecturers from the Department of Applied Computing enough for their support during my time at Lincoln.  It was hard work, but enjoyable and it’s now great to use all the skills I learnt,” says Thamali.

Hiren Patel from Jade Software Corporation presented the prize to Thamali and stressed the importance of the relationship between Jade Software and Lincoln University.

“The IT industry has changed dramatically over the years and is constantly changing, providing many opportunities for graduates,” says Hiren.  “It is important to us that we have a strong working relationship with Lincoln University to ensure their graduates are meeting ours, and industry needs.

“This is the 14th year that Jade Software has offered this prize and we congratulate Thamali on her superb achievement.”