Air Vice Marshal Indika Wickramasinghe has assumed duties as the new Vice Chancellor of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Daily Mirror reported.
He formally took office by signing his first official document amid the chanting of pirith by the Maha Sangha.
Background
An accomplished aeronautical engineer, Wickramasinghe has held several senior engineering appointments in the Sri Lanka Air Force, including Director General General Engineering and Director General Aeronautical Engineering.
The ceremony
The assumption of duties was followed by a guard turnout, a ceremonial parade featuring KDU colours, and a tree planting ceremony. Deputy Vice Chancellors, rectors of campuses, deans of faculties, centre directors, senior tri-service and administrative officials, officer cadets and day scholars attended.
Priorities set out
Addressing the deans of KDU faculties later in the morning, the new Vice Chancellor outlined his vision for his tenure. He identified improving the university’s overall standards through quality education, strengthening academic excellence and increasing research output as key priorities.
Context
KDU, established under the Ministry of Defence, trains officer cadets alongside fee-paying civilian students across faculties including medicine, engineering, law and management. Its research and development capacity was among the areas examined in the pre-budget discussion on integrating defence R&D centres in August.
Not reported
Daily Mirror did not say when the appointment took effect, who Wickramasinghe succeeds, or whether the outgoing Vice Chancellor completed a full term. It did not report which authority made the appointment. No other verified newsroom had carried the story at the time of writing.
