University of Moratuwa

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University of Moratuwa
මොරටුව විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය
மொறட்டுவ பல்கலைக்கழகம்
University of Moratuwa Logo
Motto विद्यायेव शर्वधनम
(Vidyaiwa Sarwadhanam Sanskrit, "Wisdom is all Wealth").
Established 1972
Chancellor Dr. Roland Silva
Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.K.W. Jayawardane[1]
Admin. staff 500
Undergraduates 4,000
Postgraduates 500
Location Katubedda, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Former names Katubedda Campus of University of Ceylon
Affiliations University Grants Commission
Website www.mrt.ac.lk

The University of Moratuwa (Sinhala: මොරටුව විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, Tamil: மொறட்டுவ பல்கலைக்கழகம்), on the banks of the Bolgoda Lake in Katubedda, Moratuwa, is the most sought-after technological university in Sri Lanka. Apart from academics including the undergraduate and postgraduate studies, the University of Moratuwa presents social and cultural activities, student services, societies,[2] and sports and recreational activities.[3] 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 technician education.

Students from the University of Moratuwa have won a number of competitions for Google Summer of Code in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011,[4][5][6] Imagine Cup Sri Lanka,[7] and IEEEXtreme Competition.[8][9] Further in 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.[10] University of Moratuwa has won the Microsoft Imagine Cup Sri Lankan Software Design Finals in 5 out of 8 occasions including 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012.

Contents

History [edit]

The University of Moratuwa is an independent state university located at Katubedda, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka overlooking the picturesque 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 School (GTS) which was established in Maradana, Colombo in 1893.

The GTS was on of the first institutions for formal technical education in Sri Lanka (other than the Ceylon Medical School established in 1870). 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 CCT at Katubedda first earned 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 of the campus 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 single university was changed to the University of Sri Lanka.

In the year 1978 it gained the Independent University Status under Universities Act No. 16 of 1978.[11]

Organization and administration [edit]

Academic entities [edit]

Institute of Technology University of Moratuwa (ITUM) [edit]

The Institute of Technology was established on 10th March 2000 by the Honourable Minister of Education and Higher Education primarily to conduct NDT and other similar level courses at the University of Moratuwa. But the history of the NDT programme dates back to the period of Ceylon Technical College Maradana established in 1893.The origin of the NDT programme had been at Maradana Technical College, as the Junior Technical Offices (JTO) course. The J.T.O course was later transferred to the Institute of Practical Technology (IPT) at Katubedda, when this institute was formed in 1960, with aid from the Government of Canada on a fifty acre block of land over-looking the Bolgoda Lake.

The primary aim of the IPT was to provide full time courses for architects, junior technical officers, surveyors & levellers and draughtsmen. This Institute also offered part time courses in engineering studies for those employed in the government and private sectors, and also prepared students for foreign professional examinations of the Institution of Engineers, UK and the Royal Institute of British Architects. The courses in architecture however, were later transferred to the University of Ceylon, Colombo when it established its own Department of Architecture. Under the provisions of the University Act No 01 of 1972, the University of Ceylon was established on the 15th of February 1972, incorporating all the existing universities and the Ceylon College of Technology as campuses of a single university. The Ceylon College of Technology thus became the Katubedda Campus of the University of Ceylon. The Department of Architecture from the then University of Ceylon, Colombo campus and the Technical Teacher and Instructor Training Institute at Ratmalana established with aid from the International Labour Organization were transferred to this newly formed Katubedda campus. It began with just one faculty, that of Engineering and Architecture. The first President of the Campus was Dr. L. H. Sumanadasa who steered the progress of the Institution from its inception as Principal of the Institute of Practical Technology, and then as the Director, Ceylon College of Technology. Later he was appointed as the Vice – Chancellor of the University of Ceylon.

When Ceylon subsequently became a Republic in 1972, the corporate name of the single university was changed to University of Sri Lanka. In the meantime, the departments of study at the Katubadde Campus were expanded and new courses of study at technician, undergraduate and post graduate levels were introduced. The School of Applied Science was established in 1974. The Sub- department of Rubber Technology now titled Polymer Technology was established in 1976. The Department of Town and Country Planning and the Sub–departments of Textile Technology and Marine Engineering were established later.

Further changes in the corporate structure and composition were effected by the Universities Act No.16 of 1978. Under the provisions of section 139(1) of this Act, the Katubedda Campus of the University of Sri Lanka acquired the status of an independent University with its present corporate name ‘University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, with three faculties of study viz, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Architecture and Town & Country Planning and the Faculty of Physical and Applied Science. Later the Faculty of Physical and Applied Science was amalgamated with the Faculty of Engineering. In August 1983, the Technical Teacher unit was transferred to the Ministry of Higher Education to function as an independent institution within its own premises.

The following fields of discipline are available in ITUM.


  • Electronic & Telecommunication Engineering Technology
  • Electrical Engineering Technology
  • Civil Engineering Technology
  • Mechanical Engineering Technology
  • Nautical Engineering Technology
  • Marine Engineering Technology
  • Chemical Engineering Technology
  • Polymer Engineering Technology
  • Textile Engineering Technology

Faculty of Information Technology [edit]

The Faculty of Information Technology was established in June 2001 to address widening gap in the supply of IT professionals. 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. 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. It is guarantied that the faculty continues to develop and expand adapting to satisfy the ever changing needs of the IT industry to become an entity which the students and the industry would look up to.

The Departments at the Faculty of Information Technology are

Faculty of Architecture [edit]

The Faculty of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa confers Bachelors Degrees in Architecture, Quantity Surveying, Town & Country Planning, Facilities Management and Design. In addition, it confers Masters degrees in Project Management and other post-graduate degrees in fields relevant to academic departments. 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 & 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

Faculty of Engineering [edit]

The Faculty of Engineering is the most demanding and top ranked engineering faculty in Sri Lanka. It is the largest faculty in the University of Moratuwa, comprising 12 academic departments, over 200 academic staff and around 3500 undergraduate and post-graduate students. The faculty offers Bachelor of the Science of Engineering degree in nine 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.[12]

Entrance to the faculty is as for all state universities through the highly competitive GCE Advanced Level examination.[13] 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

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.

Other sections [edit]

Physics Unit

Officers [edit]

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 disciplene. Otherwise it is a distinguished person or a clergy in the civil society. 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 Deshamanya Dr. Roland Silva.

Vice chancellor

The vice chancellor is de facto 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. A.K.W. Jayawardane, BSc Eng Hons (Moratuwa), MSc(UK), PhD(UK), CEng, FIE(SL).

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 Chitra Weddikkara, B.Sc.B.E.(S.L), A.Arch. (Aust), B.Sc.Q.S.(Aust), M.Sc.Bldg(Aust), Ph.D. (Law), R.A.I.A.(Aust), F.I.A.(S.L.), A.I.Q.S.,A.I.Q.S.(Aust), F.R.I.C.S., F.I.Q.S.(S.L.)
  • Dean Faculty of Engineering: Professor U.G.A. Puswewala, B.Sc.Eng (Moratuwa), MEng. (AIT), PhD (Manitoba), CEng, MIE(SL)
  • Dean Faculty of Information Technology: Prof. Asoka Karunananda, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Phil., Ph.D. (Keele)
Other officers
  • Registrar: A L Jaufer Sadique, BA (Cey) P.G.D. Mgt (OUSL)
  • Librarian: R C Kodikara, BA(Kelaniya), MLS(BrCol)
  • Bursar: E. M. R. L. Munaweera

Chancellors [edit]

Alumni [edit]

Coordinates: 6°47′47″N 79°54′3″E / 6.79639°N 79.90083°E / 6.79639; 79.90083

Student life [edit]

Student organizations [edit]

Students at the University of Moratuwa run over 25 clubs and organizations. These include cultural and religious groups, academic clubs and common-interest organizations. The University Students' Union is considered the highest body which represents all internal students of the university.[16] 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 Society
  • Electrical Engineering Society
  • 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
  • Quantity Surveying Society
  • Rangamadale Api Rangakala Ekamuthuwa
  • Rotaract Club
  • Sinhala Cultural Society
  • Sisu Sahana Society
  • Student Development Society
  • Tamil Literary Society
  • Toastmasters Club
  • Textile Engineering students' society(TESS)
  • Moratuwa university Textile Association(MUTA)

Sports and recreation [edit]

Department of Physical Education caters 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 in their leisure times and the students who wish to use the facilities for fitness are given a chance of using 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, Weight Lifting 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.

References [edit]

  1. ^ Prof. A.K.W. Jayawardane
  2. ^ Societies in University of Moratuwa
  3. ^ Sports and recreational activities in University of Moratuwa
  4. ^ Google Summer of Codes Official Blog - Statistics
  5. ^ This Week's Top 10's: Universities for Google Summer of Code 2008
  6. ^ Who is being schooled
  7. ^ Moratuwa, UCSC, Peradeniya, SLIIT and IIT through to Imagine Cup 2011 SL Final
  8. ^ IEEEXtreme Competition 2009
  9. ^ IEEEXtreme Competition: UoM team wins world prize
  10. ^ Google Summer of Codes Official Blog - Statistics
  11. ^ "History". University of Moratuwa. Retrieved 11 April 2013. 
  12. ^ Home page of Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa
  13. ^ University Admissions - Minimum Z-Scores
  14. ^ Dr.D.A.I.Munindradasa passed away
  15. ^ Saman Amarasinghe
  16. ^ Student's Unions, Student's Societies and Clubs of University of Moratuwa

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_Moratuwa&oldid=556401748"