President to open Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine next week

Friday, 26 February 2021 00:39 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

New institute to be 16th National University of Sri Lanka

Started in 1929 by Ayurveda Chakravarti Pandith G.P. Wickramarachchi, as a centre of learning Siddayurveda tradition of medicine with 20 students, Gampaha Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Institute, currently affiliated to the University of Kelaniya, serves as one of the leading university institutes of Ayurveda education in Sri Lanka.

With the mission of becoming a global centre of excellence in indigenous medicine, the institute will be launched as the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine next week which will be the 16th National University of Sri Lanka.

With a proud history of over 77 years, the institute has educated many local and international students on indigenous medicine and continues in its endeavour to meet the challenge of maintaining its unique position in the University system and preserving the methods of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka.

“We are delighted to launch this historic Institute into a fully-fledged University which has been an epicentre for indigenous medicine for over 77 years in Sri Lanka and look forward to taking Sri Lankan indigenous medicine to the world, especially at a time where Indigenous Medicine has gained popularity due to the current pandemic we face,” the Competent Authority and University Grants Commission (UGC) Vice Chairperson, Senior Professor Janitha Liyanage shared.

The university will have full-time academic programs and also introduce new part-time postgraduate and extension programs as an initiative to promote and educate the general public on indigenous medicine of Sri Lanka.

The inauguration ceremony will take place on 1 March at the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine in Gampaha and the official launch ceremony on 4 March under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.