Vidya Jyothi Professor K.K.Y.W.Perera was the founder and Head of the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering at the University of Moratuwa and its predecessors in 1969. This was the first ever Department of Electronics and Telecom Engineering in a Sri Lankan University, and was formally instituted in 1972 at the formation of the Katubedda Campus of the then University of Sri Lanka. During the formative years of the Katubedda Campus, later to become the University of Moratuwa, Professor Perera has served as the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, and President of the Katubedda Campus.
Prof. Perera has a B.Sc. degree from the University of Ceylon, an M.Sc. from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a PhD from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, Sri Lanka.
Professor K.K.Y.W.Perera also contributed during the formative years of Internet in Sri Lanka as the Chairman of the Computer and Information Technology Council of Sri Lanka (a statutory Board then known as CINTEC) during the period 1992 to 1993). He has also served as the Chairman of many governmental and statutory bodies including, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB.) He was also the President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka.
In 1993, Prof. Perera was awarded the title VIdya Jyothi by the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, an award recognizing outstanding scientific and technological achievements. It is the highest national honour for science in Sri Lanka, and is made for outstanding contribution to the development of the country through dedicated work. Prof. Perera is also the recipient of the Excellence in Engineering Award and the Eminence in Engineering Award of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka in 2006 and 2015 respectively.