Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on University-Industry Collaborations for Sustainable Development

This book includes peer reviewed articles from the 1^st International Conference on University-industry Collaborations for Sustainable Development (ICSD 2024) under the themes of Student Employability, Blended Learning, Invention and Innovation, Technoentrepreneurial Skills, Curriculum Development, Multidisciplinary Joint Research, and other initiatives., etc. It highlights the latest knowledge of strategic university-industry partnerships in Asian universities and brings together academic and industry experts to exchange knowledge and foster collaboration.

Prof. Ranjith Dissanayake is a Senior Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Peradeniya. He is a Fulbright Scholar in the USA, an Endeavour Fellow in Australia, and JASSO Research Fellow in Japan. He was awarded the Young Scientist Award in 2007 for Excellence in Scientific Research by the National Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC) of Sri Lanka. He received the Overseas Prize of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the UK in 2007 and the Australia Alumni Excellence Award in 2012. He is the President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL), the Chairman of the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL), and a Vice President of the Chamber of Construction Industry (CCI). He is also the former Secretary to the State Ministry of Rural Roads and the State Ministry of Urban Development. He is the founder of gap HQ, the base of operation of several companies, including Lego International (Pvt.) Ltd, ICB (Pvt.) Ltd, Lanka AAC (Pvt) Ltd, GAP (Pvt) Ltd, and Wrangler Solutions (Pvt) Ltd.

Prof. Guttila Yugantha Jayasinghe is the coordinator of FOUNTAIN project and several other EU funded projects named BRITAE, SECRA and CCA-DRR Projects. Prof. G.Y Jayasinghe is currently the Head of the department and Professor in Agric. Engineering in Ruhuna University of Sri Lanka. He is a recipient of the ‘Endeavour Postgraduate Research Fellowship’ (Australia: 2014); recipient of prestigious Monbukagakusho award, Japan (2004-2010): recipient of NUFFIC fellowship, Netherlands, 2012; a recipient of Presidential awards in 2018: most outstanding Scholar of the university of Ruhuna (2012) and he has been awarded in multiple occasions to remark his contribution as an academician/researcher globally.

Prof. Sujeeva Setunge leads the research portfolio of STEM college at RMIT as Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (ADVC) for Research and Innovation. Prior to this appointment, she had been the Deputy Dean (Research) in Engineering (2016-2020), Head of Civil Engineering (2012-2016), and the Head of Environmental Engineering (2009-2011) at RMIT. As the ADVC R&I in STEM college at RMIT Sujeeva has developed a bold research strategy for the college which is the largest in RMIT with around 26,000 students, 1000 academic staff, and 18 disciplines across four schools. She is an influential research leader who can engage staff and deliver outcomes through a collegial and consultative approach. Her strength is in engaging the industry in academic research to deliver value and mutual benefits. Research and Innovation and especially developing cross-disciplinary research to address large complex problems is one of Sujeeva’s strengths and she has successfully led large multisector, multi-institutional initiatives. A highlight is winning and leading the $21 m ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS) awarded in 2020, in partnership with 9 Australian and 4 international academic institutions and 33 industry partners.

Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga  is a leading international  expert in disaster resilience with an international reputation. As of 2022, she collaborates with 288 research partners in 57 countries, delivering a strong research portfolio focused on impact. Her outstanding contributions, publications and services to her field of expertise  have been recognised with numerous international awards and prizes. She is the winner of the prestigious 2019 Newton Prize (with colleagues), which recognises the best research and innovation projects which create an impact socially and economically, between Indonesia and the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019. In 2018, she received the Received the “His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka Award” from His Excellency, Maithreepala Sirisena,  President of Sri Lanka, for the contribution to Disaster Resilience in Sri Lanka . in 2018, she  won the UALL International Award for 2018, which recognises innovative engagement, including partnerships, that create change in an international and transnational context.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, UK; Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK; Fellow/Chartered Manager of the Chartered Management Institute, UK.

Prof. Lasith Gunawardana is a Professor in the Department of Information Technology, University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka. He has a research interest in Gesture Recognition using Sensor Technologies, IoT (Internet of Things), Innovations using ICT, ICT Workforce – Demand and Supply, ICT Risk Management, Open Data, and Education Technology. He represented Sri Lanka at Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards Competition 2019 as a member of the Judging Panel. He was the deputy chairman, of the National ICT Awards, NBQSA 2021, Member of, the Panel of Judges – National ICT Awards (NBQSA) 2006-Todate, Secretary, of the SriLankan Academy of Young Scientists (2018-19), Council Member, of Sri Lankan Academy of Young Scientists (2017-2020) and General Secretary – Innovation, Invention and Venture Creation Council (IIVCC-USJP).

Dr. Pradeep Gajanayake is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. His research interests are based on waste management and wastewater treatment and he has managed to publish many journal and conference papers in these areas. He has obtained his Bachelors’s and M.Phil. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Peradeniya and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Saitama University, Japan. Currently, he is working as an accredited green professional in the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka and as Manager of the Kandy Conference.