The Academic Staff Representative from the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, undertook an official visit to Sungkyunkwan University
From March 2 to 7, 2025, a team of senior academic staff from the Faculty of Science at the University of Colombo visited Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). The team was composed of Prof. Chamari Hettiarachchi, Prof. Dharshanie Bandupriya, Dr. Kaveesha Wijesinghe, Dr. Duleepa Pathiraja, and Dr. Sachini Amarasekara. The key objectives of the visit were to finalize the curriculum for the Honors degree program in Biomolecular Sciences and Industrial Biotechnology, identify fields/subjects requiring SKKU expertise, plan workshops and additional training for the faculty members of University of Colombo, design laboratory classes by identifying relevant experiments and determining the necessary equipment. This visit has strengthened the ties with SKKU and created the pathway for fully funded postgraduate opportunities (MSc and PhD) for Sri Lankan students and establish a platform for joint research initiatives which enables the knowledge exchange and technology transfer between the two universities.
During the visit, the team met Prof. Sangho Lee (Director, LUPIC project), Prof. Tuson Park (Dean of the College of Natural Sciences), Prof. Young Uk Kwon (Vice President of the Natural Sciences Campus), Prof. Jae Young Kwon (Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences), Prof. Hwan Su Yoon (Director of the Brain Korea 21 Four Project Division, Department of Biological Sciences), and other faculty members. The delegates also participated in several activities, including guided tours of the Biological Sciences core facility, the TEM Cryo-EM Lab, the Samsung Digital Library, the SKKU Supercomputing Centre, the research labs, and the practical labs.
The visit has also included a departmental seminar in which each University of Colombo delegate presented their current research and academic focus. This workshop marked a significant step in strengthening the two institutions collaborative efforts, particularly in biotechnology and biomolecular sciences.