Dilkushi Wettewe wins ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year Gold Award’
Women in Management (WIM) in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group has recognised and awarded the prestigious ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year’ award (Gold) to Prof. Chamindi Dilkushi Senaratne Wettewe for her exceptional leadership in the field of higher education.
Prof. Dilkushi, of the Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, was awarded at the ‘Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards 2018 eighth edition, Sri Lanka and Maldives’ held on August 7, 2018, at Hilton Colombo.
By making a significant contribution through her PHD in Contact Linguistics (2009) and becoming a professor in ELT in 2013, she instilled professionalism in her field. Her PHD has been identified as a ‘major feat’ in the advancement of Contact Linguistics. It was published by the Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics (LOT). Her contribution has been vital for transformation in her field. While spearheading the ELTU as Head of Department in 2010, Prof. Dilkushi worked on challenging programmes at national level. 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 90012008 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 Awards are dedicated to celebrating the success and achievements of remarkable Sri Lankan women who have excelled in inspiring and transforming those around them.
The Awards are meant to motivate and inspire women’s participation in leadership roles and reach higher in their careers. The ceremony was graced by Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya while the guest of honor was State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne. The keynote address was delivered by Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls, Dr. Sharmon Stone.