Gateway Negombo to represent Sri Lanka at Monash University

Following their victory at the national level, the team from Gateway College Negombo has earned a fully funded opportunity to travel to Melbourne, Australia, where they will spend a week, to compete at the Monash University ‘Change It Challenge’ Global Final.

Representing Sri Lanka on the international stage, this achievement marks a significant milestone for both the students and the school.

The Monash University ‘Change It Challenge’ is a prestigious global competition that brings together outstanding student teams to address real world challenges through innovation, research, and problem solving. This year, at the request of Monash College and its Sri Lankan partner UCL, Sri Lanka was included in the competition for the first time.

At the national stage, 22 teams competed, with five advancing to the Grand Final: Ladies’ College Colombo, Gateway College Negombo, Asian International School, Elizabeth Moir School, and Gateway College Colombo. Team ‘Milestone’ from Gateway Negombo, comprising Daishika Perera, Niduka Rupasinghe, and Netul Suriyage, emerged as National Champions with their project ‘Second Mile’. They explored infrastructure challenges in Sri Lanka, particularly those linked to gaps in reporting and accountability.

Gateway Negombo’s success reflects a sustained commitment to excellence and a growing record of international achievement. At the University of Melbourne Global Online Commerce Case Competition 2025, Team ‘BluePrint’ comprising Ronal Fernando, Thisakya Goonesekara, Akain Liyanage, Daishika Perera, and Netul Suriyage, was ranked among the top five teams globally out of over 100 entries. The team designed a study app that helps students stay organised, build better habits, and reduce stress by combining smart study tools with wellbeing support.

Representing Sri Lanka, the Gateway Negombo student team—Pradeep Sharma, Rehan Fernando, Thenumi Samarawikrama, Kethura Fernando, and Jason Anthony also gained global recognition at the University of Pennsylvania ‘Eco Venture Challenge’ 2025, securing fourth place among 200 international teams.

Their project, the ‘Eco Coir Water Purifier’, is a low cost, eco-friendly filtration system using processed coconut coir to address oil and microplastic pollution in Sri Lankan waterways such as the Negombo Lagoon and Hamilton Canal.

The project aligned with Gateway’s Campus Monitors initiative, which promotes environmental responsibility and community engagement, while demonstrating strong potential for local application and scalability.

These accomplishments reflect the consistent quality of Gateway students, nurtured within a structured and forward looking learning environment. At its core is a culture of academic rigour and innovation, where independent thinking is encouraged and potential is developed into performance under the guidance of a dedicated and highly capable academic staff.

Source - Sunday Observer