Women in Management (WIM) in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group has recognized and awarded the ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year’ Award (Gold) for her exceptional leadership in the field of Higher Education to Prof. Chamindi Dilkushi Senaratne Wettewe of the Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya at the ‘Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards 2018 – Eighth Edition, Sri Lanka and Maldives’.
Wettewe is a Professor of ELT at the Department of English Language Teaching, University of Kelaniya. She was in charge of national-level English language programmes for university new entrants, undergraduates, university academic and non-academic staff members. Apart from designing the curriculum with a team of experts, she was also responsible for the implementation of the programmes that aimed at enhancing English skills of new entrants prior to university entrance.
From 2014 to 2017, she served as the Director of the Staff Development Centre at the University of Kelaniya. As Director of Staff Development, she was in charge of training programmes for academic, non-academic and administrative staff members of the university.
In 2014, she introduced international quality standards to the SDC programme by obtaining the highly acclaimed ISO 9001-2008 and the ISO 9001-2015 certifications from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI). The SDC at the University of Kelaniya is the first and only SDC with ISO certification in a state university.
The WIM award has recognized and rewarded her exemplary services and contribution as Head of ELTU and Director of SDC that made huge strides to the advancement of ELT and staff training in state universities. The award has recognized and rewarded Prof. Dilkushi’s contributions, in research and in administration to the enhancement of academic quality and excellence of ELTUs and English Language Teaching in universities in Sri Lanka, especially during a time when these units were struggling to obtain departmental status. In addition, she has published extensively.
The WIM Awards are dedicated to celebrating the success and achievements of remarkable Sri Lankan women who have excelled in inspiring and transforming those around them.