The opening ceremony of the inaugural academic sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Health Informatics was held on 15th December 2023 at the UCFM Tower of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. The Secretary Health, Dr P. G. Mahipala attended as the Chief Guest. Prof Vajira Dissanayake, The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo and Dr. Palitha Karunapema, The Director-Health Information, Ministry of Health were among the other eminent guests.

President of the College, Dr. Prasad Ranatunge welcomed the gathering. Dr. P.G. Maheepala stated that Sri Lanka has pioneered in creating a unique workforce which has enabled the country to harness the power of digital health and highlighted that this is vital to maintain the excellent health indicators the country has strived to achieve. Prof. Dissanayake reminisced on the humble beginnings of postgraduate education in biomedical informatics and highlighted the outstanding achievements of the fraternity and its contribution to uplifting the country’s health system.

The academic sessions consisted of a number of symposia, free paper sessions, and poster presentations. The sessions concluded with the vote of thanks from the Secretary of the Sri Lanka College of Health Informatics, Dr. Uditha Perera.