Prof. Lasith Gunawardena is the University of Sri Jayewardenepura‘s former Head at the Department of Information Technology, Co-Chair of the Invention, Innovation and Venture Creation Council (IIVCC), and former Chair of the IT Governance Committee (FMSC).
Over the course of 25 years, he has taught and mentored more than 10,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate programs conducted by Sri Lankan Universities and as a Registered University Teacher of Plymouth University, UK.
He is on the Board of Directors of ORCID Inc. as one of two Researcher-Directors globally, and Co-Chair the ORCID Researcher Advisory Council (ORAC), and his role connects Sri Lanka and the broader Global South to that governance conversation.
Moreover, as an elected member of the BCS UK Council (2026–2029) and the 30th Chairman of the BCS Sri Lanka Section, he bridges the UK’s leading professional body for computing, with the development of Sri Lanka’s digital ecosystem.
He is also the Crossref Ambassador for Sri Lanka and a member of the Research Data Alliance and Internet Society.
At the national policy level, he serves on the Digital Transformation of Education Taskforce appointed by the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Sanasa General Insurance. As Chief Judge of Sri Lanka’s National ICT Awards (NBQSA), for 2024 and 2025, he oversaw the country’s most prestigious Information Technology recognition program.
He holds a patent in Japan for a gesture recognition device and has led research grants exceeding EUR 1 million from USJ, ERASMUS, ORCID Inc., Manchester Metropolitan University, and the Internet Society.
Websites: sjp.ac.lk (Company)| lasith.com (Personal)
Email: lasith@sjp.ac.lk