University of Moratuwa

The University of Moratuwa (also referred as Moratuwa University) (Sinhala: මොරටුව විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය Moraṭuva Viśvavidyālaya, Tamil: மொறட்டுவைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்[2]) is a technological university in Sri Lanka. It is located on the bank of the Bolgoda Lake in Katubedda, Moratuwa. Apart from academics including undergraduate and postgraduate studies, the University of Moratuwa presents social and cultural activities, student services, societies,[3] and sports and recreational activities.[4] The institution was known as Ceylon College of Technology, Katubedda (Katubedda Tech) before gaining university status. Its roots go back to the Institute of Practical Technology founded in 1960 to provide technical education.

University of Moratuwa
මොරටුව විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය
மொறட்டுவைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்
The emblem of University of Moratuwa
Former names
Katubedda Campus of University of Ceylon
Motto
Sanskrit: विद्यायेव शर्वधनम (Vidyaayev Sharvadhanam)
Motto in English
Wisdom is all Wealth
TypePublic
Established1972
ChancellorProfessor K. K. Y. W. Perera
Vice-ChancellorProfessor K. K. C. K. Perera[1]
Academic staff
500
Undergraduates7000
Postgraduates2500
Location
Katubedda, Moratuwa
,
Sri Lanka
AffiliationsUniversity Grants Commission
Websiteuom.lk

Students from the University of Moratuwa have won competitions for Google Summer of Code in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011,[5][6][7] Imagine Cup Sri Lanka,[8] and IEEEXtreme Competition.[9][10] In the Google Summer of Code, University of Moratuwa was ranked as the top university worldwide in the number of awards received by students for the five-year period from its inception in 2005.[5]

The University of Moratuwa won the Microsoft Imagine Cup Sri Lankan Software Design Finals in five out of eight occasions, including 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012. In addition to this, the university maintains a stellar record in the world stage in competitions such as the CFA Institute Research Challenge and the CIMA Global Business Challenge.[11]

History

The University of Moratuwa is an independent state university in Katubedda, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka overlooking Bolgoda Lake. It was established as the University of Moratuwa (UoM), Sri Lanka on 22 December 1978 under the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978 and operates under the general direction of the University Grants Commission. Its origin can be traced to the Government Technical College (GTC) which was established in Maradana, Colombo in 1893.[12]

The GTC was one of the first institutions for formal technical education in Sri Lanka (the Ceylon Medical School was established in 1870, followed by Colombo Law College (1875), School of Agriculture (1884) and the Government Technical College (1893)). It became the pioneering institution for science education in Sri Lanka and its name was changed to the Ceylon Technical College (CTC) in 1906. The CTC provided technical education in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering fields even before the establishment of the University College Colombo, affiliated to the University of London, in 1921.

The Ceylon Technical College, Katubedda was established in 1966 offering the Diploma in Technology, it gained University status, as the Katubedda Campus of the single University of Ceylon, on 15 February 1972. The Department of Architecture, then at Colombo, was transferred to Katubedda in the formation of this new campus. The Katubedda Campus thus began with one faculty, that of Engineering and Architecture. The first president was Dr. LH Sumanadasa who steered the progress of the institution and was the principal of the IPT before it became the Katubedda Campus. When Ceylon became a Republic on 22 May 1972, the corporate name of the university was changed to the University of Sri Lanka.

In 1978 it gained the Independent University Status under Universities Act No. 16 of 1978.[13]

Organisation and administration

Academic entities

Faculty of Architecture

The Faculty of Architecture offers six Honours Degrees such as Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Science in Quantity Surveying, Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management, Bachelor of Science in Town & Country Planning. In addition, the Faculty of Architecture offers eight Postgraduate degrees such as MSc/PG Diploma in Interior Design, MSc in Landscape Design, MSc in Architectural Conservation of Monuments and Sites (ACOMAS), Master of Urban Design, MSc in Project Management, MSc/PG Diploma in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, MSc in Occupational Safety and Health Management, MSc in Spatial Planning, Management and Design. The Faculty of Architecture enjoys the unique distinction of being the only seat of education in Sri Lanka offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Architecture, Town and Country Planning, Facilities Management and Quantity Surveying. Many of the programmes conducted by the faculty have reached international standards.

The departments at the Faculty of Architecture are

  • Department of Architecture
  • Department of Building Economics
  • Department of Integrated Design
  • Department of Town & Country Planning

The divisions and units at the Faculty of Architecture are

  • Undergraduate Studies Division
  • Postgraduate Studies Division
  • Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU)
  • Faculty of Architecture Quality Assurance Cell

Faculty of Engineering

The Faculty of Engineering is the most demanding and top-ranked engineering faculty in Sri Lanka.[14] It is the largest faculty in the University of Moratuwa,[15] comprising eleven academic departments, over 200 academic staff and around 3500 undergraduate and thousands of post-graduate students. The faculty offers the Honours Degree of Bachelor of the Science of Engineering in ten disciplines, Bachelor of Design in Fashion Design and Product Development, and Bachelor of Science in Transport and Logistics Management. In addition, the Faculty offers a large number of post-graduate degrees leading to Master of Science, Master of Engineering, Master of Philosophy, Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Philosophy.[16]

Entrance to the faculty is as for all state universities through the highly competitive GCE Advanced Level examination.[17] The entrance examination consists of Maths, Physics and Chemistry subjects. Entrance is granted on the Z-score obtained. The duration of the degree is four years on completion of which the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Science of Engineering is awarded.

The Departments at the Faculty of Engineering are

  • Department of Chemical & Process Engineering
  • Department of Civil Engineering
  • Department of Computer Science & Engineering
  • Department of Earth Resources Engineering[18]
  • Department of Electrical Engineering
  • Department of Electronic & Telecommunication Engineering
  • Department of Materials Science & Engineering
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • Department of Textile & Clothing Technology
  • Department of Transport & Logistics

The following departments do not have dedicated students; they support the academic activities of other departments by offering subjects to engineering undergraduates from all fields.

  • Department of Mathematics

The divisions and units at the Faculty of Engineering are

  • Undergraduate Studies Division
  • Postgraduate Studies Division
  • Industrial Training Division
  • Engineering Research Unit (ERU)
  • English Language Teaching Centre
  • Engineering Faculty Quality Assurance Cell
  • Career Guidance Unit

Faculty of Information Technology

The Faculty of Information Technology was established in June 2001 to address widening gap in the supply of IT professionals.[19] The undergraduate program in IT is limited to a number of students. It was planning to expand the undergraduate intake tenfold when the necessary infrastructure facilities are established by 2005.[19] Further, the faculty has started a postgraduate program in IT from early 2004 and few continuing professional development programs addressing the immediate needs of the local IT industry.

The Faculty of Information Technology offers two undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees which are

  • Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
  • Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Management
  • MSc. in Information Technology
  • MSc. in Artificial Intelligence

The Departments at the Faculty of Information Technology are

  • Department of Information Technology
  • Department of Computational Mathematics
  • Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

Faculty of Graduate Studies

The Faculty of Graduate Studies was established in June 2016 to enhance the postgraduate research culture in the university.

Faculty of Business

The Faculty of Business was established in June 2017 to produce graduates who will be ready to take the businesses to a higher level in the next decade. With the increasing use of data analytics for improving business efficiency, the world is looking for a new breed of business graduates who can bring fresh insights to an organisation. The business faculty at the University of Moratuwa will be offering world-class undergraduate degree programs in Business Science training students with conceptual underpinning as well as vocationally relevant knowledge and skills.[20]

Faculty of Medicine

In 2020, the University Grants Commission (Sri Lanka), in its' annual National University Admission Handbook, announced an inaugural intake of 75 undergraduates to study Medicine in the University of Moratuwa establishing it as the 11th Faculty of Medicine in the island.

Institute of Technology

The Institute of Technology, was founded as the Ceylon College of Technology in Moratuwa in 1966 with the technical assistance of UNESCO. The CCT commenced with specialisations in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, initially utilising the physical facilities available at the IPT. in 2000, the Institute of Technology was established to conduct the National Diploma in Technology course separately from the Faculty of Engineering, with the Ordinance for the same having been gazetted in August 2000.[21]

Other sections
  • Information Systems Division / MIS Unit

Officially established around 2007 and serve most of the information system related services including e-Learning, EMIS, DMS and ERP to the whole university and one of the most successful Education Management Information System in Sri Lankan universities.

CITeS is responsible for the University IT Infrastructure which includes administration of university network backbone, general server administration and maintenance of common computing facilities. CITeS is currently running a Cisco Networking Center.

  • Industrial Automation Research Center (IARC)
  • Medical Centre
  • Day Care Centre
  • Media Centre
  • Centre for Instructional Technologies[22]

Officers
Chancellor

Chancellor is the head of the university and is responsible for awarding all the academic degrees. Usually, the chancellor is a distinguished person in an academic discipline. Otherwise, it is a distinguished person or a clergy in the civil society. The appointment is done by the head of the state, the President of Sri Lanka. The position is mainly ceremonial and duties are usually carried out by the vice chancellor. The current chancellor of the university is Professor K.K.Y.W. Perera.

Vice Chancellor

The vice-chancellor is the principal academic and administrative officer of the university, responsible for the management tasks. This appointment is also done by the President of Sri Lanka. The vice-chancellor of the university is Prof. K.K.C.K Perera.

Deputy Vice Chancellor

Prof. P.K.S. Mahanama[23]

Deans of Faculties

Deans are the heads of the faculties. They are responsible for the management and the tasks carried out by the faculty. Deans are appointed by the chancellor for three years.

  • Dean Faculty of Architecture: Professor M. L. De Silva, BSc (BE), M.sc. Arch (Moratuwa), RIBA, FIA (SL)
  • Dean Faculty of Engineering: Professor Nalin Wickramarachchi, BSc Eng Hons (Moratuwa), MSc (UK), PhD (Canada)
  • Dean Faculty of Information Technology: B. H. Sudantha[24], BSc (Hons), MPhil
  • Dean Faculty of Graduate Studies: Professor Dileeka Dias, BSc Eng (Moratuwa), M.S.(Calif.), PhD(Calif), MIEEE
  • Dean Faculty of Business: Professor N. D. Gunawardena
Other officers
  • Registrar: W. M. D. P. M. Hulugalla[25]
  • Librarian: R. C. Kodikara, BA (Kelaniya), MLS (BrCol)
  • Bursar: K. A. D. Pushpakeerthi

Staff unions and clubs
  • University of Moratuwa Teachers Association (UMTA)
  • Toastmasters Club

Former Chancellors

Notable alumni
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Student life

Student organisations

Students at the University of Moratuwa run over 25 clubs and organisations. These include cultural and religious groups, academic clubs and common-interest organisations. The University Students' Union is considered the highest body which represents all internal students of the university.[3] Separate student unions operate in each faculty. These student societies include:

  • The University Students' Union consists of all members of the faculty unions.
  • The Engineering Faculty Students' Union consists of the representatives of students in the Faculty of Engineering, elected for one year.
  • The NDT Students' Union consists of the representatives of students in the ITUM.
  • The Architecture Faculty Students' Union consists of the representatives of students in the Faculty of Architecture.
  • The Information Technology Faculty Students Union consists of the representatives of students in the Faculty of Information Technology.
  • AIESEC Colombo South
  • Astronomical Society
  • Buddhist Society
  • Catholic Students' Society
  • Civil Engineering Society
  • Computer Science and Engineering Society (CS & ES)
  • Drama Society[27]
  • Electrical Engineering Society (EESoc)
  • Information Technology Society (INTECS)
  • Electronic Club
  • English Literary Association
  • Ethugalpura Students' Circle
  • Gavel Club
  • Leo Club
  • Majlis Ui Islam Society
  • Maritime Club
  • Mass Media Society
  • Materials Engineering Students' Society
  • Mechanical Engineering Society
  • Moratuwa Students Christian Fellowship
  • Nature Team
  • Building Economics Student Society (BESS)
  • Rangamadale Api Rangakala Ekamuthuwa
  • Rotaract Club
  • Sinhala Cultural Society
  • Sisu Sahana Society
  • Student Development Society
  • Tamil Literary Association
  • Textile Engineering Students' Society (TESS)
  • Moratuwa university Textile Association (MUTA)
  • Society of Transport and Logistics (STL)

Sports and recreation

The Department of Physical Education caters to the student population of the university in sports. The department gives the students sports facilities in two ways:

  • Students who wish to play games only for fun and those who wish to use the facilities for fitness may use the power room, swimming, weightlifting room, common room for table tennis, carom and chess and the gymnasium to play badminton.
  • The department conducts a regular programme for 18 sports: athletics, badminton, basketball, carom, chess, cricket, elle, football, karate, netball, rowing, rugby football, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. The department gives the facilities necessary for these sports and supplies qualified coaches for most of the games. The aim in this regular programme is to participate in the annual inter-university and national championships.

See also

References
  1. "Vice Chancellor". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  3. "Welcome to University of Moratuwa". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. "Welcome to University of Moratuwa". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. "Google Open Source Blog: Tasty New Google Summer of Code Stats". Google Open Source Blog. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  6. "Google Open Source Blog: This Week's Top 10's: Universities for Google Summer of Code 2008". Google Open Source Blog. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  7. "Google Open Source Blog: Who's Being Schooled?". Google Open Source Blog. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  8. "Moratuwa, UCSC, Peradeniya, SLIIT and IIT through to Imagine Cup 2011 SL Final". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  9. IEEEXtreme Competition 2009
  10. "IEEEXtreme Competition: UoM team wins world prize". Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  11. "Team "Paradigm" Of University of Moratuwa Winners at the CIMA Global Business Challenge".
  12. The Birth of a University - 50th Anniversary Publication (PDF). Sri Lanka: The Association of Pioneer Engineers of University of Moratuwa. 2016. pp. 56–61.
  13. "History". University of Moratuwa. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  14. "Minimum "Z" Scores for selection to various Courses of Study of Universities, in respect of each district" (PDF). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  15. "Faculty of Engineering". Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  16. "::Home Page::Faculty of Engineering::University of Moratuwa". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  17. "University Admissions - Minimum Z-Scores". Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  18. "Department of Earth Resources Engineering".
  19. "Faculty of Information Technology".
  20. "Faculty of Business".
  21. "The Annual Report of Institute of Technology, University of Moratuwa in 2017" (PDF).
  22. "Centres Providing Specialised Services". University of Moratuwa. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  23. https://uom.lk/officers-of-the-university
  24. https://uom.lk/officers-of-the-university
  25. https://uom.lk/officers-of-the-university
  26. "President Emerita Samarasekera".
  27. "Moratuwa Uni Clinches Bronze Award for..."
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