Workshop on PySpark & Machine Learning – Successfully Concluded

The Actuarial and Data Science Society (ADSS), University of Ruhuna, together with the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, successfully hosted a hands-on workshop on “PySpark & Machine Learning” on 30th July 2025 at LCTU 2.

The session was conducted by Mr. Thisura Senevirathne, Senior Data Scientist at MAS Holdings, who brought both academic expertise and real-world industry experience to the audience.

Key Learning Areas

Participants gained practical exposure to several important aspects of data science and big data engineering:

• 🔹 Building data pipelines with Python
• 🔹 Exploring cloud & cluster computing environments (Azure, Databricks, AWS)
• 🔹 Implementing distributed data processing with PySpark
• 🔹 Designing scalable end-to-end machine learning pipelines
• 🔹 Working on real-world projects through a team-based mini hackathon

Student Engagement

The interactive format allowed students to not only learn the technical foundations but also apply their knowledge in a hackathon-style challenge, which encouraged teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity. The practical orientation of the workshop gave participants a clear understanding of how large-scale data solutions and machine learning models are applied in industry.

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Appreciation

✨ ADSS expresses its sincere gratitude to Mr. Thisura Senevirathne for delivering such an impactful and insightful workshop, and to all the students who actively participated, making the event a resounding success.

This event marked another milestone in ADSS’s continuous effort to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world applications, preparing students for careers in data science and analytics.