Poornima Meegammana

Lecturer Animation and Game Design - AOD

Program Manager Youth Development - Shilpa Sayura Foundation

Unreal Authorised Instructor (UAI)

“I grew up with technology and was also a drama and theatre-obsessed kid at school. I got into a youth programme with Adobe, where young people were taught to use design and creativity to express themselves. I also loved storytelling, and was making amateur movies at the time, so after I finished school in 2015, I was looking for a degree that had something to do with film. I found AOD’s BA (Hons) Motion Graphics & Animation Design and fell in love with animation; it being the perfect bridge between design and technology. From the beginning, I was always ambitious with my projects, and what I appreciate most about AOD was that my lecturers never hindered me from seeing them through; in fact they gave me all the support they could. I also felt at home with the great design community at the university, and built strong relationships with some of my peers that I still hold on to today ”

Education

  • De Montfort University - Master of Arts
  • Northumbria University - BA (Hons) Motion Graphics & Animation, Animation
  • Yes Film school - Cinematography and Film Production
  • Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing-SLIM - Diploma in Marketing, Marketing
  • Past Pupil - Pushpadana Girls College Kandy

Forbes 30 under 30 star Poornima Meegammana continues to fly the AOD & Sri Lankan flags high, showcasing the potential of design from Sri Lanka on the international stage and is a great example of how you alone should define the scale of your dreams, and you have the power to expand them beyond your immediate surroundings using the resources available to you. Poornima Meegammana was recently invited to Paris to meet the First Lady of China and the Director-General of UNESCO. They discussed the work of her organisation, Shilpa Sayura Foundation, which enhances STEM education for girls in rural Sri Lanka. Poornima completed her BA (Hons) at Northumbria University UK in 2017 and her Masters at De Montfort University UK in 2023. She was recently awarded the Social Action Award at the UK Alumni Awards Sri Lanka 2024 

Honors & awards

  • Forbes 30 Under 30 ( 2022 )

  • Social Entrepreneur of the Year ( Issued by Women in Management Sri Lanka · 2022 )

  • Jury member Asifa India's Awards of Excellence ( 2022 )

  • UNESCO Prize for Girls and Women's Education ( 2020 ) 

  • Champion ITU - WSIS Prizes ( Issued by International Telecommunication Union · 2020 )

  • Internet Society 25 Under 25 Award (  2017 )

  • Associate Fellow Royal Commonwealth Society ( 2017)

  • Queen’s Young Leader Award Runner Up ( Issued by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, in partnership with Comic Relief and The Royal Commonwealth Society · 2016 ) 

  • Winner TATHACK Sri Lanka ( Issued by TATHACK and hSenid Mobile Solutions · 2016 ) 

  • Finalist In Girls Impact The World Global Film Festival ( Issued by CONNECTHER · 2015 )

  • Adobe Creativity Scholarship ( Issued by Adobe Inc · 2013 )

  • Microsoft World Bank Youth Solutions Award ( 2013 )

  • Winner Adobe Aspire Awards Unicef Challenge ( Issued by Adobe and Unicef ·2013 ) 

  • Winner World Summit Youth Award ( 2013 ) 

  • Zonta “Young Women In Public Affairs” Award ( 2012 )

  • Winner NanoTechnology Animation Competition ( 2011 )

  • Winner Microsoft Software Competition ( 2007 )