Contunued from last week
Heminda Jayaweera, Executive Director TRACE / Cofounder 3H said Sri Lanka’s competitive education system is one of the key barriers to innovation. He added that this system has created the wrong mindset – students are taught not to ‘copy,’ but he pointed out that globally, innovation starts with copying something and making it better. Countries around the world have developed by building on existing ideas and improving them.
The education system also promotes individual achievement over teamwork, but real innovation happens when people from different backgrounds collaborate. Jayaweera noted that three software engineers alone can’t create a successful startup. “You need people from various fields like law, business, and technology working together. Unfortunately, this collaborative approach doesn’t exist at school or university levels in Sri Lanka.”
Universities themselves work in isolation, with departments and faculties rarely communicating with each other. Jayaweera suggests that final-year research projects should involve students from different faculties or even different universities, but this rarely happens despite talk about interdisciplinary research.
Jayaweera said that universities should change their primary purpose from graduating students to creating new knowledge that reaches society. Each university should aim to establish 100 startups, and this requires policy-level changes to make it happen.
Government’s solutions
Senior Advisor to the President on Science and Technology Gomika Udugamasooriya identifies a fundamental disconnect in Sri Lanka’s research ecosystem. “Mostly research is happening, but the development part is not really integrated and even the research is scattered.” He emphasised that researchers work under extremely difficult conditions without proper support, and crucially, “after research is done the outcome has not been connected to the economy properly.”
To address this, the government is implementing a centralised administrative system with six interconnected divisions that will handle everything from policy development to commercialisation. He stressed that innovation extends far beyond traditional laboratory work. “Innovation and research involves many different areas ranging from human, social development to art and culture.”
Udugamasooriya said that: “the President has allocated 1 billion Sri Lankan rupees for that initiative from this Budget” to provide gap-filling funding, match completed research with investors, and solve operational problems.
He said the government’s commitment to creating a production economy through value-added products and services derived from properly integrated research and development.
Damith Pallewatte, Managing Director/CEO of Hatton National Bank, highlighted critical barriers preventing Sri Lankan private sector innovation from reaching its full potential. Speaking at the event, Pallewatte acknowledged that while the banking sector has embarked on an innovation journey, the progress has been constrained by fundamental structural and cultural issues.
Pallewatte emphasised that true innovation goes beyond technology adoption. “It is not necessarily the technology that has innovated,” he said, “what the sector has done is it has found solutions for pain points, it has found solutions for problems.” Drawing on advice from Dr. Hans Wijesuriya, he stressed the importance of “minding the gap” – understanding the problem you’re trying to resolve and finding appropriate solutions. The first major obstacle, according to Pallewatte, is the risk-averse nature of regulated industries. “Banks, even for that matter corporates, operate in a well-regulated environment and they as a result tend to be risk averse,” he said. This regulatory framework creates a compliance-first mentality that stifles experimentation. “When you put the risk-averse and the compliance first, innovation doesn’t happen,” Pallewatte noted. “Innovation needs to have a free mind.”
The second and more significant barrier is cultural. Private sector organisations focus on short-term KPIs rather than long-term transformation, making it difficult to justify innovative investments that may only pay off over time. More critically, Pallewatte identified a fundamental “cultural disconnect” where organisations lack the agility and failure tolerance essential for innovation.
“Innovation requires agility, failure tolerance, and mindset change,” he said. “We need to have a culture where we fail fast and move on. We can’t hang on to things.” However, current performance measurement systems penalise failure, creating a fear that prevents experimentation. “If in the KPI structure where your performance is measured, failure is a negative mark, so people have a fear of failure,” Pallewatte said.
Pallewatte emphasised that mindset change represents the most challenging aspect of innovation, particularly for experienced professionals who are “hardcoded to do things in a certain way.” He concluded that successful innovation requires creating a “sandbox where it’s okay to fail but you fail fast and move on.”
Primary and secondary education’s role
There’s no question that primary and secondary education play just as crucial a role as tertiary education in developing a country’s innovation mindset. Sri Lanka’s upcoming educational reforms should make a real difference in fostering this innovative thinking from an early age.
Nalaka Kaluwewa, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Education System Transformation for Innovation Economy outlined during the panel discussion the government’s comprehensive education reform strategy. He emphasised that Sri Lanka has reached “the point of no return” regarding educational transformation. Speaking about the alignment between policy aspirations and implementation readiness, he noted that “from one end we are talking about a country which will be driven by innovation and the innovation-driven economy,” but questioned, “What is the preparedness or what is the strategy we should adapt to make the country ready for this kind of a transformation?”
The reform process, set to launch next year, represents what he described as “not only the curriculum transformation that is education transformation – this is a total paradigm shift.” The current system, which is “more teacher-centric, exam-centric” and focused on “knowledge gathering not skill development,” will be replaced with a learner-centric, module-based approach targeting independent learning capabilities.
Key elements of the transformation include curriculum changes moving from exam-centric to competency-based systems, starting with Grades one and six. The new framework emphasises “critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving” while making “innovation and entrepreneurial skills the main focus of this curriculum transformation.”
Notably, Entrepreneurial Education will be introduced as a separate subject for grade six students, and vocational and technical education will be integrated into the general education system.
The reform also prioritises creating innovation ecosystems at the school level through motivation and mentorship programs, while addressing teacher training to shift educator mindsets toward an innovation culture, he said.
Science and Technology Human Resources Development Project. he Asian Development Bank’s Science and Technology Human Resources Development Project has established modern research facilities and technological infrastructure across Sri Lankan universities, laying the groundwork for academic innovation even while the nation confronted significant economic and social challenges.
Prof. C. S. Lewangamage, Project Director of the Science and Technology Human Resources Development Project elaborated on both the achievements and challenges of this undertaking.
“The project’s most significant achievement has been the establishment of state-of-the-art facilities across multiple universities. Sabaragamuwa University now possesses a well-equipped nanodevice manufacturing and testing facility, while Rajarata University operates an innovation centre called “Pulse,” specifically designed to support startups and partnerships. The University of Kelaniya has developed 39 advanced teaching laboratories and six research centers, with some infrastructure serving as “living laboratories” where students gain hands-on experience.
At the University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s Engineering faculty, an innovation space called “Idea Space” is being established to foster startup development and industry partnerships. The project has also introduced previously unavailable facilities to the country, including specialised testing facilities for civil engineering that represent entirely new capabilities for Sri Lankan academia.
“With these facilities, the staff and students can solve real-world problems,” Prof. Lewangamage said. He said that the infrastructure development has been “the most impactful activity” of the project, creating “state-of-the-art infrastructure” that allows institutions to address real-world challenges.
Overcoming implementation hurdles
However, the project’s journey has not been without significant challenges. Administrative delays emerged as the most substantial obstacle, particularly in finalising international collaborations. Prof. Lewangamage revealed that finalising agreements and obtaining government approval required “more than two and a half years,” forcing the cancellation of some partnerships due to time constraints.
“If you want to spend two and a half years to finalise the agreement… then we don’t have time to do the activities,” he noted, calling for serious attention to these administrative delays that affect not just this project but the entire university system.
The economic crisis compounded these challenges, with several industry partnerships being cancelled or withdrawn as companies struggled with their own financial difficulties. Even in the post-crisis period, Prof. Lewangamage observed that “the environment for the research that with the partnership with industries still remains fragile,” requiring government support to strengthen local industry participation in the innovation ecosystem.
Human Resources, the critical gap
Perhaps the most pressing challenge facing the project’s sustainability is the shortage of human resources. Despite developing world-class facilities, universities lack sufficient academic and technical staff to operate and maintain them effectively. Government recruitment freezes during the crisis have exacerbated this problem, leaving institutions struggling to maximise their new capabilities, he said. Prof. Lewangamage also highlighted the disconnect between infrastructure investment and human resource availability.
Moon Beam example
Prof. Lerwen Liu cited Moon Beam, a Singapore-based startup founded by her postgraduate student Kong Qi Herng, as an example of how mission-driven entrepreneurship can thrive when multiple factors align.
Moon Beam converts waste such as coffee grounds and spent grain into food ingredients for bread and cookies. As Liu explained, Kong “cared about sustainability, “ and wanted to solve the food waste problem. Demonstrating a genuine passion for the mission was foundational.
The startup leveraged Singapore’s university ecosystem support with free lab space, government backing through the Zero Waste 2030 initiative, and strategic partnerships with major clients like Google and Compass Group who use their integrated waste collection and processing service. Liu emphasised that “you got to have sales when you have a company, you can’t just have a mindset and knowledge with no sales,” and “Moon Beam achieved profitability within 2-3 years without venture capital funding, instead relying on foundation support from DBS and Kuma foundations plus government equipment reimbursements of 70 percent.
“ The company’s success stems from what Liu describes as “tapping on the movement, tapping on the infrastructure support of the university, of the government, financing mechanisms and the industry supply chain ecosystem to support their success,” illustrating how startups can thrive by aligning purpose with practical ecosystem advantages and maintaining lean operations until profitability.
Building world-class research parks
Rajendra Mootha, Head of New Initiatives at IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and UGC fellow, has outlined a comprehensive blueprint for establishing successful university-based research parks. These institutions are “of national importance and any growing economy needs them.” Speaking from 14 years of industry experience, Mootha stressed that such facilities must be established as “independent, not-for-profit companies with complete autonomy.”
The key to success lies in creating a “world-class ecosystem where the best of the industry, the best of the faculty, the best of the students and government can work together in pursuit of excellence,” with no compromise on quality.
IIT Madras Research Park now spans 1.6 million square feet with annual revenues of $8 million, housing 125 R&D clients, 13 centres of excellence, and 450 startups including two unicorns, with a combined startup valuation of approximately $5 billion. Starting with just a $10 million government grant and bank loan, the facility has achieved financial sustainability while generating $8 million in annual cash surplus, proving that “this is the best way to do R&D through industry-academia interaction.” He said.
Prof. K. L. Wasantha Kumara, Vice Chairman, the University Grants Commission, outlined both the challenges and opportunities universities face when developing innovation cultures. He acknowledged that, to some extent, the UGC is constrained in addressing certain challenges—particularly those related to capacity building and staffing for innovation initiatives. However, he expressed optimism that these challenges would be addressed at the level of the Prime Minister’s Office, adding that “the government is planning to foster a culture of invention, innovation, commercialisation, and research and development.
Prof.Kumara emphasised that universities can begin transformation internally without waiting for policy changes, suggesting they “can start within your own faculties within your own departments” by embedding “certain degree programs, certain modules or certain courses into the existing curricula.” This bottom-up approach would demonstrate progress and potentially attract more funding opportunities.
The UGC has already initiated key steps, including establishing University Business Links (UBLs) in universities, with the next phase focusing on “giving the supporting system to run this and to make them sustainable.” he said.
The ADB’s Serendipity Knowledge Program concluded with a powerful reminder that “the journey has just begun. With governments implementing effective policies, educational reforms taking hold, and innovative mindsets becoming widespread, this vision will become a reality. With ADB serving as facilitator, the prospects are overwhelmingly positive.
