Programme Review

Executive Summary

The Faculty of Engineering (FOE) of University of Moratuwa (UOM) envisions to be the leading faculty for academic excellence in engineering sciences and their applications through education, knowledge creation, innovation and transfer of technology. It is one of the pioneering faculties of UOM consisting 12 Departments conducting 10 undergraduate, 34 taught postgraduate degree programmes and research-based MSc, MPhil and PhD research programmes under the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). Around 4000 undergraduate and 1975 graduate students are enrolled at the FOE. The Faculty is directly served by 263 full-time academic staff members, along with 270 staff members in administrative, non-academic, and support roles.

In this report, details are provided on the programme, services, procedures, and administrative mechanisms of UOM in general with emphasis on the FOE. It provides information on the faculty’s commitment to maintain academic standards, quality, ethical behaviour, and adherence to good practices, as well as an overall analysis of its current status, conclusions of the self-evaluation, and the future actions. The information presented herewith was gathered from reports, handbooks, statistical information, and from different stakeholders such as students and staff members. Several stakeholder meetings were held to ensure that the information is up-to-date and verifiable. The information was finally collated to produce the final report. It is noted that FOE can claim adherence to all standards of assessment applicable for Sri Lankan universities and can provide documentary evidence as proof of the above adherence. FOE maintains well-defined governance and quality assurance procedures for all its functions, and they are strictly followed. Thus, the employability of its graduates and its overall reputation continue to be extremely high.

With the establishment of the FGS, the postgraduate research administration and research-related activities are now being streamlined for greater effectiveness. The university has also established several new units, centres, and other facilities to serve the staff and students more effectively. In addition, new collaborations are being established with local and international partners. A significant amount of infrastructure has been added during the past few years. An MIS is currently being employed, further developed and maintained in-house, encompassing all teaching, learning & assessment, research, and administrative activities. Having earned accreditation from international bodies by almost all the study programmes, FOE degree programs are considered equivalent to those offered by the world’s best universities. FOE is committed to delivering its programs with the highest quality standards in line with the expectations stated in its vision and mission to become a leading faculty for academic excellence.

FOE has identified several steps to further improve the standards of its delivery and outputs. During the self-evaluation process, it was identified that further integration of ICT in the operations, for instance an interactive document management and a management information system (MIS) are essential for further growth and streamlining academic and administrative activities. Increasing the budgetary flexibility is also identified as important to be competitive as a faculty. Improving the research capacity and postgraduate degree programs also need attention. This review and the self-evaluation process will facilitate the FOE in further adhering to the Sri Lanka Quality Framework (SLQF) and achieving the corporate goals.

1. Introduction to the Study Programme

The vision of the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka is “to be the most globally recognised knowledge enterprise in South Asia” and its mission is to be the leading knowledge enterprise for technological and related disciplines in South Asia by:

• Providing transformative education in technological and related disciplines which nurtures the inquiring mind and develops knowledge and skills for facing global challenges;
• Carrying out nationally relevant and high-impact research to expand the boundaries of knowledge and to enhance the national technological capabilities;
• Providing expert services to the state, industry and the society as an internationally positioned Sri Lankan University; and,

Contributing to sustainable, scientific, technological, social and economic development of Sri Lanka.
 

1.1 Organizational Structure

The Vice Chancellor is the Principal Executive Officer and the Principal Academic Officer of the University. The executive responsibilities and accountabilities are clearly mentioned in Chapter VI Para 34 - 39 of the Universities Act No.16 of 1978 and its subsequent revisions.  These responsibilities and accountabilities are delegated to the executive staff of UoM for decision making based on the existing rules and regulations. The Organizational Chart of the UoM is shown in Figure 1‑1.

1.2 Overview of the Faculty 

The vision of the Faculty of Engineering (FOE) is “to be the leading faculty for academic excellence in engineering sciences and their applications through education, knowledge creation, innovation and transfer of technology”.

Its mission is “to produce world class graduates, create knowledge, provide professional services and outreach activities in the disciplines of engineering and related fields by creating an environment conducive to nurturing the inquiring mind and developing skills for a diversity of challenges, thus contributing to the sustainable, scientific, technological, social and economic development of Sri Lanka”.

The FOE is the largest faculty in the University and a snapshot of its landscape is given in Table 1‑1. Within the FOE, all academic matters are decided upon by the Faculty Board of Engineering comprising senior academic staff members, three representatives from the industry and two student representatives. The administration of the Departments comes under the Heads of Department, who work under the direction of the Dean of the Faculty. In addition, there are five Directors working under the Dean, Faculty of Engineering to assist the functions of the Dean’s Office. The Dean of the faculty reports to the Vice Chancellor.

The FOE is dedicated towards maintaining world-class quality and has established procedures and systems to design, approve, and monitor study programmes. This way, it maintains high standards in its academic programmes all of which have obtained recognitions from local and international professional institutions.

Under the Internal Quality Assurance Unit (IQAU) established by the Senate, the Engineering Faculty has its Quality Assurance Cell (EFQAC) to implement and maintain quality management and quality assurance systems across the faculty. Quality Assurance is a permanent agenda item in Faculty meetings as well as in Department meetings. The Faculty of Engineering implements the following activities by the Dean’s Office with the assistance of the EFQAC and other sub-committees to ensure quality of delivery of academic programmes.

•     Adopting a standard academic calendar for all programmes.

•     Implementing a well-defined student feedback system as an institutionalized mechanism with feedback forms, information collection, analysis and reporting.

•     Implementing a peer observation system.

•     Appointing of examiners and moderators, conducting examinations and releasing results according to an annual calendar.

•     Scrutinising all student requests, progress reviews by well-defined sub-committees of the Faculty reporting to the Faculty Board, Senate and the Council.

•     Revising the curriculum through institutionalized mechanisms of Department Industry Consultative Boards (meeting once in every 6-12 months) and Faculty Industry Consultative Boards (meeting once in every 6-12 months).

Furthermore, all the Departments in the Faculty, have undergone the Quality Assurance Subject Review process conducted by the Quality Assurance and Accreditation (CAA) Council of the UGC and all Departments obtained “good” ratings which is the best rating under the scheme for almost all the eight aspects evaluated. These eight aspects included: Curriculum design, Content and review; Teaching, learning and assessment methods; Quality of students including student progress and achievement; The extent and use of student feedback, qualitative and quantitative; Postgraduate studies; Peer observation; Skills development; and Academic guidance and counselling. Further, all academic Departments, have undergone external reviewing of their academic programmes.

As a state-funded establishment, the University receives government funding for two purposes: to meet recurrent expenditure and to enhance, maintain assets/equipment, etc. The capital allocation to the faculty is shared among the Departments proportionately to the number of students in each.

The cadre positions to the Departments is based on the number of students considering a lecturer to student ratio of 1:10. The requests for recruitment originate from the respective Departments and they are processed adhering to the strict UGC circulars and guidelines. Once recruited, each staff member will be responsible for bearing an adequate workload which is documented every year. The lectures, tutorials, supervision of research, and other academic-related assignments are considered under the workload. The staff is encouraged to undertake postgraduate teaching, conduct research, and undertake consultancy work for the industry. This is to ensure their professional development and career progression in a balanced manner.

1.3 Outline of the Establishment  

The Katubedda Campus of the University of Ceylon/Sri Lanka, the successor to the Ceylon Technical College (Established in 1893), Institute of Practical Technology (Established in 1960), and the Ceylon College of Technology (Established in 1966), commenced functioning on 15^th February 1972 under the provision of the Universities Act No. 1 of 1972. It was later converted to the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, (UoM) on 1^st January 1979 as one of the six universities established under the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978.

1.4 Major Milestones in the Development of the Programme of Study  

In 1972, the University was established with one Faculty with Departments of Architecture and Engineering. With consistent growth, it has now gained reputation as one of the best Universities in Sri Lanka and the undisputed leader in engineering, architectural and technological education. In terms of education, the University strives to produce “world class graduates” for technological fields, who also can easily gain admission to any postgraduate program in reputed Universities around the globe and perform at the highest level.

• The University established at a 53-acre block of land at Katubedda, Moratuwa in 1972.
• University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka is established in 1979 with Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering programmes in the Engineering Faculty.
• Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Department of Textile and Clothing Technology established on 18^th January 1985.
• The present library building was opened in 1995.
• In year 2000, the Faculty transformed all its programmes to a Semester-based system from the previous year-end-based system.
• Washington Accord accreditation was obtained by the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2013 as the first engineering programme to be accredited under the IESL international accreditation scheme.
• The Faculty of Graduate Studies was established in 2016 and started to manage the University’s research programme.
• The Faculty of Business was established in 2017 and started to offer key management-related subjects to the engineering programme.
• Institute of Technology, University of Moratuwa moved to its present location at Diyagama in 2018 ending a long-standing resource limitation issue.

Further details are available in https://www.uom.lk/history

1.5 Graduate Profile and Intended Learning Outcomes of the Study Programme

The Faculty produces graduates who can:

• Develop solutions to complex engineering and related problems using new or existing technologies, through innovation, creativity and/or change.
• Use a combination of general and specialist engineering and related knowledge and understanding to apply existing and emerging technology.
• Apply appropriate theoretical and practical methods to design, develop, manufacture, construct, commission, operate, maintain, decommission and re-cycle engineering processes, systems, services and products.
• Provide technical and commercial management skills.
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards and safety while recognizing obligations to the society, profession and environment.

The study programmes in the Faculty in general are Washington Accord Accredited through the Institution of Engineers of Sri Lanka. Thus, graduates will possess the ability to:

Criterion 2: Human and Physical Resources

Criterion 3: Programme Design and Development

Criterion 4: Course/ Module Design and Development

Criterion 5: Teaching and Learning

Criterion 6: Learning Environment, Student Support and Progression

Criterion 7: Student Assessment and Awards

Criterion 8: Innovative and Healthy Practices