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Wednesday, 18 September 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
SLIIT, the country’s premier degree awarding institute, announced the appointment of distinguished professor and educator Dr. Nimal Rajapakse to the post of Deputy Vice-Chancellor effective this month.
Prior to this appointment, Prof. Rajapakse served as the external examiner of SLIIT’s B.Sc. Engineering Degree in Civil Engineering. His role included reviewing the curriculum, the facilities, and academic staff and recommending improvements to the programme to meet international academic standards.
Until this new appointment, he was a professor in the School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Prior to that, he was the Vice-President (Research and International) of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He has substantial leadership experience in the Canadian higher education sector and building partnerships with industry and international organisations.
Commenting on this eminent appointment, SLIIT CEO/Vice-Chancellor Prof. Lalith Gamage said: “Joining SLIIT management, Prof. Rajapakse will contribute towards driving the highest standards of academic excellence across the Institute and overseeing the achievement of key objectives and core academic values. I look forward to working with Prof. Rajapakse.”
Prof. Rajapakse received B.Sc. Engineering (Hons.) in Civil Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok.
Prior to joining SLIIT, Prof. Rajapakse held several other distinguished posts in Canadian research universities. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University. He served as Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba; and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems at the University of British Columbia.
“The vision of SLIIT is inspiring and its growth is impressive. I had an opportunity to interview a group of first-year students last year and it was an important factor in my decision to join SLIIT. I look forward to working with Prof. Gamage and his management team including the deans and heads to shape the institute’s academic and research agenda and give students a world-class experience. SLIIT’s mission is to produce well-rounded graduates with skills to compete globally and contribute to the economic and social development of Sri Lanka. I am delighted to contribute to that mission,” Prof. Rajapakse remarked. Prof. Rajapakse is the recipient of numerous awards, including the King’s Scholarship of Thailand, Horst Leipholz Medal of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship of Germany, the Rh Award in Applied Science and the Special Visiting Professor Award from the Science without Borders Programme of Brazil. He has published over 150 research papers in international journals and serves on the editorial boards of four international journals. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. He is also a registered professional engineer in British Columbia, Canada.
