International Relations Office

International Relations Office of the University of Peradeniya together with National Science Foundation, organized a Webinar on ‘International Collaborations: Future Prospects’ on 17th September 2020, at 02.00 p.m. via Zoom meeting facility. This webinar was targeted at all the academic staff and research staff of Universities and other Institutions to discuss about new ways of continuing International Collaborative Research after COVID -19. About 60 participants from Sri Lankan and Foreign Universities and R & D institutions joined in this online program.

Prof. Shameen Jinadasa, Director, International Relations Office, made the welcome address. Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, Chairman, National Science Foundation, made the opening remarks at this session. Well renowned researchers who conduct international collaborative researches namely, Prof. Saman Halgamuge, University of Melbourne, Australia, Prof. Janaka Ekanayake, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Prof. Jaya Seneviratne, National Dental Research Institute Singapore, Duke NUS Medical School, and Prof. Stephen Schensul, University of Connecticut, USA, enlightened the participants with their valuable thoughts and experiences. Perspectives of Sri Lankan Academic and R & D institutions in relation to the establishment of international collaborations, funding sources and joint higher education programs, opportunities for Sri Lankan researchers to initiate new international collaborations and advantages, challenges and experiences in international collaborations were some of the themes discussed at this webinar.

An interesting Q&A session moderated by Dr. Nanda Gunawardhana, Director, Research and International Relations, Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC), was also held after the presentations.