The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in collaboration with the University of Peradeniya announced EU-funded Capacity Building for Higher Education (CBHE) projects for 2020 on 10 September 2020.

The announcement took place at the University of Peradeniya together with 15 other participant institutions.

The EU in Sri Lanka is funding nine capacity-building projects in 2020 through the Erasmus+ programme, which aims to promote the sustainable development of its partners in the field of higher education.

Frank Hess, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation, welcomed the occasion and congratulated all Sri Lankan partners. He also acknowledged the coordinating role played by the University of Peradeniya. He noted that “Education, research, and development are key EU priorities for its external relations with partner countries such as Sri Lanka and that higher education institutions play a key role in advancing societies”. He explained that Erasmus + offers a broad range of funding opportunities which allows university staff, including academic and administrative staff, to benefit from CBHE projects.

Prof. Upul B. Dissanayake, Vice-Chancellor, University of Peradeniya said that the University has thoroughly focused on initiating both Capacity Building and International Credit Mobility (ICM) Programmes with European Universities under both Erasmus Mundus and ERASMUS+. He also added that from 2015 until now, the University of Peradeniya has been a recipient of most of these awards in Sri Lanka, as a partner in many applications that were successful in winning the grants. He also mentioned that as the No.1 Ranked University in Sri Lanka, University of Peradeniya has taken the leading role in a collaborative effort with other Sri Lankan Universities as well in this venture.

Fifteen universities are participating in the EU-funded CBHE projects. They are the University of Moratuwa, University of Ruhuna, Eastern University of Sri Lanka, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, University of Sabaragamuwa, Uva Wellasaa University, University of Colombo, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka Institute of Information and Technology, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association, and the SLT campus.  Two institutions from the Maldives Dhivehiraajeyge Qaumee Univesrity and Villa College are also benefitting from the CBHE Erasmus+ funding.