Academic and Professional Qualifications
Biography
Prof. Sarath S. Kodithuwakku, a Senior Professor attached to the Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, obtained his BSc in Agriculture with a specialization in Agricultural Economics from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 1990. He earned his Masters of Business Administration in Marketing and PhD in Entrepreneurship from the University of Stirling, UK, in 1993 and 1997. He founded the MBA programme offered by the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture (PGIA), the University of Peradeniya, in 1998. Historically, this was the third MBA programme initiated by a State University in Sri Lanka and the first MBA programme offered outside Colombo. He was the founder coordinator of the programme and still serves as the Coordinator of the MBA programme. He has served as the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management for four terms and the Chairman of the Board of Study in Business Administration, PGIA, before becoming the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, the Premiere Faculty of Agriculture in Sri Lanka. At the national level, he has been serving as the President of the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka (IMSL), the premier professional institution for Sri Lankan management professionals, since 2017.
Academic and Professional Qualifications
Ph.D. (Entrepreneurship), 1997
Department of Management & Organisation, School of Management, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK.
MBA (Marketing), 1993.
School of Management, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK.
B.Sc. (Agriculture – specialised in Agricultural Economics), 1990.
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
University Academic Administration
Dean - Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (14th November 2021 to date).
Chairman, Board of Study in Business Administration- PGIA, University of Peradeniya (February 2019 to 15th January 2022)
Chairman, Curriculum Development Committee - Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (January 2018 to January 2022).
Head - Department of Agricultural Economics & Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (9th February 2004 to 8th February 2010 and from 1st January 2017 to 13th November 2021).
Member - Board of Management - Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, the University of Peradeniya (2000 to September 2011 & January 2017 to date).
Member - College Board - College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman (3rd March 2015 to 15th August 2016).
Coordinator - MBA Programme - Offered by the Board of Study in Business Administration. PGIA, University of Peradeniya (September 2016 to date).
Chairman – Board of Study in Business Administration, PGIA, University of Peradeniya (October 2002 to September 2011).
Acting Dean - Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (From 18th April.2005 to 13th May 2005, 16th February 2006, 01st October 2007 to 06th October 2007 & 03rd March 2008 to 10th March 2008).
Director – Agribusiness Centre, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (12th December 2000 to September 2011).
Founder Coordinator – MBA Programme, PGIA, University of Peradeniya (1998 to September 2011).
Member - Board of Study in Agricultural Economics, PGIA, and the University of Peradeniya (1998-2002, August 2008 to September 2011 and an as an invited member from September 2016 to December 2016).
ACADEMIC DISTINCTIONS & AWARDS
Articles In Refereed Journals
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=12QPDEMAAAAJ
Awards Received
Best Paper award in Tract Entrepreneurship, Small Business and Innovation, at the 18th International Conference of Business Management-2021 (ICBM 2021) for the research paper de Alwis D.T., Kodithuwakku S.S. & Hemachandra S.D.S., (2021). Determinants of Translating Entrepreneurial Intention to Action: A Study of Undergraduate Students of the University of Peradeniya.
Awarded the best diamond Jubilee theme/tag line, the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (“A diamond thus far and beyond”) on the occasion of celebrating the 75th birthday of the University of Peradeniya (6th July 2017).
Best Paper Award - At the Twentieth Annual Congress of the PGIA for the research paper, Sayandan, T., S.S. Kodithuwakku, and L.H.P. Gunaratne (2008). Influence of Marketing Mix in Prescribing Pharmaceutical Products by Ophthalmologists in Sri Lanka. Tropical Agricultural Research, Vol. 20, pp. 260-268.
Best Paper in Tract : Business Management & Extension - At the Twentieth Annual Congress of the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture for the research paper, Sayandan, T., S.S. Kodithuwakku, and L.H.P. Gunaratne (2008). Influence of Marketing Mix in Prescribing Pharmaceutical Products by Ophthalmologists in Sri Lanka. Tropical Agricultural Research, Vol. 20, pp. 260-268.
The Best Academic Research Paper – At the Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (isbe) award 2006 for the Best Academic Research Paper for the research paper, Rosa, P., S. Kodithuwakku and W. Balunywa (2006). Reassessing Necessity Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries. Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Entrepreneurship From Local to Global Enterprise Creation and Development. Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Cardiff- Caerdydd, UK. 31 October – 2 nd November 2006
The Best Paper in Track S: Supporting Small Business Development Worldwide – At Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (isbe) award 2006 for the research paper, Rosa, P., S. Kodithuwakku and W. Balunywa (2006). Reassessing Necessity Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries. Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Entrepreneurship From Local to Global Enterprise Creation and Development. Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Cardiff- Caerdydd, UK. 31st October – 2 nd November 2006.
