Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, Chairman of the National Science Foundation was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education of the KDU held on 24. February 2022. It was organized by Dr. Faiz Marikkar, Director of the Staff Development Centre and was attended by Major General Milinda Pieris, VIce-Chancellor, Prof. K.A.S. Dhammika, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Deans and academic staff. Around 30 young academics participated in this programme.
On this occasion, a copy of NSF publication titled "COVID-19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience" edited by Ranjith Senaratne, Dilanthi Amaratunga (UK), Shanthi Mendis (Switzerland) and Premachandra Athukorala (Australia) was also presented to the Vice-Chancellor. This event was followed by a discussion with the Vice-Chancellor on the establishment of a Biomedical Innovations Centre at the KDU with the support of the NSF; it is aimed at producing medical equipment and accessories locally harnessing the technical expertise available at the KDU and other institutions in the country. This initiative will be reinforced with the intervention of Sri Lankan expatriates, particularly Dr. Bandula Wijey in Houston, USA who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field. Prof. Nadira Karunaweera, Chairperson of the Research Arm of the NSF and , Prof. Charitha Goonesekara, Dean, Research and Development, Dr. Pradeep Premadas, Dean, Faculty of Technology and Dean, Faculty of Engineering of the KDU took part in the discussion.
