Career Profile
An academic with over 20 years of experience, I have primarily engaged in teaching, management and scholarly work in the fields of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management. Teaching in the most demanded public university in the country for built environment studies, I have a proven track record in effective contribution to produce world class graduates through teaching, and programme development. My external teaching includes international programmes of Birmingham City University and Liverpool John Moores University. My current research interest is in integration of innovative technologies, methods and concepts in order to solve construction management problems; and I conducted my PhD study aiming to establish theories for effective adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in local construction industry.
Key Strengths
Reflecting on my career, I find my key strengths are that I am:
- Passionate and naturally skilled in effective teaching through combination of direct delivery and student centred modes, reinforced by need focused training and extensive experience in teaching different age groups and skill levels;
- Filled with imagination and creativity indispensable in producing innovative research ideas, research methodologies and practical solutions for problems in both academic and administrative domains;
- Excellent in administrative skills demonstrated through leading and serving in different administrative units of the Faculty and outside of the university; and
- Socially active in professional networks with a reputation and recognition built through numerous volunteer engagements and by catalysing positive changes.
Career History
Starting with my graduation in 2000, my professional career has continuously been at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Being in the number one public university for my discipline and subjects, I had no reason to look for another local institute beyond Moratuwa.
Promoted in 2006, I currently serve as a Senior Lecturer attached to Department of Building Economics at Faculty of Architecture of University of Moratuwa. The department conducts two internationally accredited BSc honours programmes in Quantity Surveying and in Facilities Management; and three MSc taught programmes in Project Management, in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, and in Occupation Health and Safety Management. I teach and supervise research dissertations in all programmes in subject areas of Procurement, Research Methods and Statistics. During the early years of my academic career, the key subjects I taught included Development Appraisal, Building Design and Construction, Economics, and Information Technology.
Administrative Responsibilities
I have given leadership as the head in two academic departments. First was the Department of Quantity Surveying and SLIIT Campus during my sabbatical leave (2019 to 2020) where the Degree in Quantity Surveying from Liverpool John Moores University is offered. Success of the programme delivery in the face of COVID-19 pandemic was a noteworthy achievement I had. My administrative skills were further strengthened when I served as the Head of Department of Building Economics from 2021 to 2022.
I currently lead the department Student Learning Environment and Facilities (SLEF) unit of the department. Previously, I lead the department Curriculum Evaluation and Development Unit (CEDU) of which I have been a member for nearly 15 years as the coordinator of Procurement subject stream. CEDU is responsible for revising and updating all departmental programmes assuring quality standards and industry relevance.
Appointed as a Faculty Student Counsellor, I have been entrusted to help students who need assistance and personal advice to overcome troubles and challenges they face which would otherwise affect their successful completion of degree.
I served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies and chaired the Academic Committee of Faculty of Architecture for three years from 2009. I was responsible for administering five undergraduate programmes at the faculty. From general administration, my responsibilities extended to advising students on module selection, academic concessions and leave; to develop, contribute to and review university bylaws relevant to student performance, residence and discipline; and to resolve or recommend solutions to the Faculty Board on student issues.
Achievements
The leadership in Building Information Modelling (BIM) knowledge in Sri Lanka is one of my noteworthy achievements. iBIM.LK research group I initiated and lead is currently the source of about 80% of BIM publications from Sri Lanka.
The initiatives I took at the department level to develop social skills of students has now become a university wide project. With the support from British Council, we now collaboratively offer Active Citizens programme across all faculties.
External Engagements
In addition to my fulltime service as an academic, I served as an external consultant for VFORM Consultants (Pvt) Limited, a leading Quantity Surveying and Project Management consultant in Sri Lanka. My services to them primarily include contractual claim preparation and Quantity Surveying Software (CostX) training and troubleshooting.
Education and Training
Following are the qualifications and training which are noteworthy.
- PhD in Building Information Modelling – University of Moratuwa – 2023
- MSc in Building – National University of Singapore – 2006
- BSc Honours in Quantity Surveying – University of Moratuwa – 2000
- Diploma in Commercial Arbitration – ICLP Arbitration Centre, Colombo – 2009
- Diploma in Interior Designing – CADD Centre, Colombo – 2011
- Certificate in Revit Architecture – CADD Centre, Colombo – 2011
- Certificate in 3D Studio Max for Engineers – CADD Centre, Colombo – 2011
- Induction Training for Senior Lecturers – Open University of Sri Lanka – 2008
- Active Citizens Facilitator Development Workshop – British Council, UK – 2014
- Training on Cleaner Production and Environment Sustainable Technologies for University Academics – National Cleaner Production Centre, Colombo – 2011
Professional Memberships
I am a Fellow of Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL) and a member of its Governing Council. Previously, I was the Chair of Board of Quantity Surveying Education & Training of IQSSL. I also held the membership of Chartered Institution of Building (UK) and chaired its Sri Lankan group.