Dr Piyasiri hails from Millewa, Horana and did his schooling at Horana Thakshila College. He passed his Advanced Level exam from Horana Thakshila and joined the then University of Sri Lanka, Katubedda Campus in January 1972, the year the institution gained university status, and graduated in July 1976. He is a true reflection of the calibre of graduates that the UoM, just about an infant of a university at the time, was probably envisaging to produce to contribute to the society.
He joined the academic staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an Assistant Lecturer in April 1977. Since then, he served the Department and the country at large for 40 years and 5 months. He is a quiet and humble, but a firm personality. This was a feature of his elite career as an engineer. In 1981, he was granted a Commonwealth Academic Staff scholarship to read for master’s in Marine Engineering at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. On successful completion of his master’s degree, he continued his studies at the same University towards his Doctoral Degree. He earned his PhD and returned home in September 1985.
He was promoted to the Lecturer grade in 1986. The same year, the Department started to plan to commence Marine Engineering programmes for the first time in the Sri Lankan state university system. While developing this programme, he again went to the Directorate of Marine Engineering Training in Mumbai (then Bombay), India for a one-year training programme in Marine Engineering. There, he excelled in his studies and completed the training winning the Best Student award.
Upon his return, he was entrusted with the responsibility of developing the Marine Engineering programme for the National Diploma in Technology (NDT). Thanks to his efforts, young students from all walks of life got equal opportunity in maritime studies, which at the time, was limited only to the Colombo elite. Dr Piyasiri was a key figure in developing the NDT Marine Engineering programme and later the NDT Nautical Studies programme. This, he achieved through working in close collaboration with all stakeholders in the Maritime Sector in Sri Lanka. To this date, he is one person well respected by all in this sector. With his efforts in developing the Marine and Nautical engineering diploma programmes he was promoted to the grade of Senior Lecturer in 1991. As a lecturer, he is characterized by an uncanny ability to impart knowledge so that the students develop a lifelong liking towards what he teaches.
His capacity as an engineer, a planner, and an administrator was identified by the UGC and recognized in the educational spheres. Thus from 1999, he was mostly out of the Department because his services were sought after by the government authorities. For a brief period, Dr Piyasiri served as the Acting Director of Technician Studies of the University of Moratuwa, looking after all the NDT programmes before he was appointed as the Director General (DG) of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE). He held this post for two years from January 1999 until January 2001. Through his efficient management style, he was able to raise the standard of the affiliated institutes and their programmes. After the tenure as the DG of SLIATE, on his return to the University, he was the obvious choice for the Post of Director of the newly formed Institute of Technology of the University of Moratuwa (ITUM). He worked in this post from May 2001 until April 2004 and guided the ITUM through the transitional period amidst resistance from the students of both engineering and NDT programmes. Dr Piyasiri handed over the ITUM in year 2004 to his successor as a strong and stable institution.
His tenure at the Department of Mechanical Engineering after handing over the ITUM to his successor was short. Again, his services were needed by the Government when he was appointed as the DG of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) in June 2004. He held this position for over 07 years. He was able to bring vast changes to the Technical Education sector through his long-sighted planning. Formulation and introduction of the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) system is one of his significant contributions that brought the entire Technical Education system under one framework for the first time in Sri Lanka. He returned to the Department of Mechanical Engineering in December 2011. However, he was continuously involved in various national-level committees working on educational reforms. One of Dr Piyasiri’s striking engagements was to develop the Sri Lanka Qualification Framework (SLQF) to bring all educational qualifications under one umbrella.
Dr Piyasiri reached the pinnacle of his career when he was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) in January 2013. As the Vice Chancellor, he was able to streamline the academic processes within the university and raise the standard of the degree programmes offered and paved the way for the institution to earn recognition. At the same time, with his efforts, UNIVOTEC was able to adopt the UGC salary scales for its employees ensuring an influx of a competent set of resource personnel that ultimately helped the university to grow to its present status. There, he completed his full term of three years as the Vice Chancellor and ensured smooth sailing for his successor.
The department over the years had the guidance from a person meticulous in his approach towards work, a person who is methodical to the core, a person who is humble and quiet, yet objective, a person who never ran behind monetary benefits, and a family man, and last but not least, a person who has immensely contributed towards the development of the department and the education system.