GDRC visit to University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Tue, 22 Dec 2015 11:23:00 GMT
On the 2nd December 2015, GDRC’s Professors Dilanthi Amaratunga & Richard Haigh visited University of Mortuwa, Sri Lanka
University of Moratuwa Vice Chancellor Professor Ananda Jayawardena chaired the meeting. Professor Priyan Dias University’s Director of Research and Professor Samantha Hettiarachchi, Senior Professor of Civil Engineering were also present at the bi lateral discussions.
Professor Jayawardena praised the active collaborations between Moratuwa and Huddersfield even though the partnership effectively commenced only in September 2014 with the move of Professors Dilanthi Amaratunga & Richard Haigh to its School of Art, Design and Architecture and setting up its Global Disaster Resilience Centre.
Progress of current flow of activities were discussed including:
- Selected funded projects led by GDRC where University of Moratuwa is a partner including CASCADE, CADRE and coastal hazards work stream
- Current status of other submitted research proposals
- Publications between the two organisations, e.g. CASCADE national and regional position paper on potential EU-South Asia cooperation to address societal challenges and Disaster Resilience Education and Research Roadmap for Europe 2030
- Joint events between University of Moratuwa and GDRC (e.g. Ensuring Accountability in Disaster Management, CADRE workshop)
- Was discussed in detail and also other planned research proposals. Progress on current joint events including “Ensuring Accountability in Disaster Management” was also discussed together with planed events for 2016.
- And future work
Both parties agreed on the importance of joint publications and it was agreed to support University of Moratuwa with capacity development events on journal paper publications.
There were further discussions on: Development of a professional doctorate programme and on exploring possibilities for exchange of academic staff including short-term research visits.
Photo below (L to R): Professor Priyan Dias (University of Moratiwa Director of Research), Professor Ananda Jayawardena (Vice Chancellor, University of Moratuwa), Professor Dilanthi Amaeatunga, Professor Richard Haigh (both from GDRC, University of Huddersfield, UK). Professor Samantha Hettiarachchi (Senior Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa)
University of Moratuwa is the country's leading technological higher education institute excelling both locally and globally. University of Moratuwa is considered as one of the finest in Sri Lanka attracting best students and producing world class graduates who can compete with graduates with any other university in the world for both employment and post-graduates studies. With three technical faculties, Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Information Technology, it is the most sought after university for undergraduate enrolment in the respective disciplines and the most sought after by the industry for employment in Sri Lanka.
