Sahadevan Nilackshen was a versatile young journalist and student leader who was killed during the civil war in Jaffna on 1 August 2007. In his memory, the Nila Foundation, established by his friends from Jaffna Hindu College, instituted the Sahadevan Niluckshen Memorial Award and Gold Medal in his honour.

The Memorial Gold Medal is awarded to the student who achieves the highest Overall Grade Point Average (OGPA) upon completion of the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Media Studies Programme at the University of Jaffna.

In recognition of this outstanding academic achievement, Ms. Danushka Sanjeeva (Registration No. 2020/A/048), who obtained the highest OGPA in Media Studies at the 2023 Honours Degree Examination in Arts, was awarded the Sahadevan Nilackshen Memorial Award and Gold Medal at the 41^st General Convocation of the University of Jaffna, held on 6, 7 and 8 October 2026.