Having successfully held the first Conference in Sydney in 2008, the Committee decided to hold the second Conference at the Wrest Point Hotel in Hobart, Tasmania on 01-03 October 2010. Dr K Ratnagopal, an alumni who lives in Hobart was responsible for initial liaison with the Hotel.
The participants checked in at the hotel on Friday evening and the first item was a Hobart harbour cruise in a chartered boat with dinner on board. The alumni introduced themselves and a sing-song followed.
The all-day Seminar on Saturday commenced with talks by Dr Sri Varman, Dr V Manomohan and Dr Tissa Wijeratne. After a break for coffee, talks were given by Dr Udaya Seneviratne, Dr Sarath Weerasinghe, Dr Edmund Ranasinghe and Dr Ramadas. After a break for lunch a talk was given by the special guest speaker, Prof. Basky Thilaganathan, of Sri Lankan origin. He is Professor of Fetal Medicine in the University of London and author of more than 150 peer reviewed publications. The session continued with talks by Dr Kalyana Rodrigo and Dr K Nadesan. The session wound up with a General Meeting of PeMSAA members. With the exception of the guest speaker, all the other talks were by alumni.
In the evening there was a Dinner Dance for alumni and guests. There was a sumptuous three course dinner and music for dancing was provided by a local DJ. A surprise cabaret item was a rehearsed Bollywood dance by five lady alumni. Alumni and guests danced into the early hours. A Souvenir of the event was also released.
On Sunday morning there was Brunch in the hotel, after which the participants were free to explore Hobart, making their own arrangements. In the evening, the participants went to the airport and went their separate ways, after attending a well organised Conference and enjoyable weekend in Hobart.
Dr. Malini ArumugamPresident – PeMSAA Australia 2010
Comments