World class opportunities in South Australia’s compact capital

Some people may imagine the city of Adelaide as just too small a place to have the feel of a city, but Sri Lankan PHD researcher at the University of South Australia’s Telecommunication Research Institute, Jeewani Kodithuwakku says she can imagine few placesin the world more suitable to study.

“I know some people back home imagine Adelaide is a rural town, but that could not be further from the truth, it is a beautiful little city – a great place to work and enjoy life, a perfect place to study and one where there are both job opportunities and world class researchers to learn from and collaborate with,”jeewani says.

Winner of the University of South Australia President’s Scholarship and the Australian Postgraduate Award, she is deeply engaged with telecommunications research likely to be of great benefit to the shipping trade in the Indian ocean and to shipping efficiency globally.

“I am working on a project with the title Decoder-aided Synchronization for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Satellite Communications but in everyday terms it is about improving satellite navigation in the shipping industry,” she says. I am trying to perfect a way to measure the exact time delay that occurs during signal transmission in CDMA systems. “I’m enjoying the research but I’m especially happy to be working in a world class research facility and one that supports excellence, encourages us to publish in quality journals and provides opportunities to go to top international conferences in our field.

In 2011 UNISA sponsored Jeewani to attend the International Space University Summer School – a five week intensive programme in everything from space medicine and engineering, to science and space policy and law.

“It was a rare opportunity to study in a group that included students from 43 countries around the world. I am constantly aware that I made a very good choice in coming to the University of South Australia to complete my PHD.” One of four metropolitan campuses,the University of South Australia’s Mawson Lakes campus where Jeewani is based, is located about 25 minutes from the Adelaide CBD within the newly developed sustainable community of Mawson Lakes. The campus is home to five of the University’s key research institutes with research threads focusing on telecommunications, minerals processing, microfluidics and nanotechnology, manufacturing technologies, systems engineering, environmental remediation and environmental management and sustainable technologies. This one campus is the study base for about 65 undergraduate and postgraduate students from Sri Lanka.

“I came here with my husband but many students come solo and it can be a bit daunting at first,” Jeewani says. I can tell them they won’t be alone because there really is a thriving Sri Lankan community in Adelaide and the lifestyle is relaxed so there is time and opportunity to socialise,” she says.

“There are also good job opportunities for partners and for undergraduates who want a bit of part time work to supplement their income.”

Jenny Arkun, International Business Development officer at the University of South Australia (UNISA) will be in Colombo at the Australian Government organised Australian Education Excellence Showcase 2012 at Taj Samudra on 25 Feb 2012 to discuss your study options at University. Article published with the

assistance from: Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), Colombo-sri Lanka. Contact: David Samuel, Business

Development Manager.