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Interview
Researcher Spotlight: An Interview With Chamode Wijayasekera
Reflections on researching as an undergraduate
As a continuation of earlier articles (1, 2) about sharing research experiences with undergraduates, I had a chat with another friend of mine, Chamode, whom I got to know during my time at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He is currently a Masters of Applied Sciences student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Can you tell me about the research component you had in your curriculum?
In the curriculum of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering of the University of Moratuwa, we have to actively engage in a research project throughout both semesters of the final year. In our time, the success of this project contributed 2 credits to our GPA, but I predict this would be increased in an upcoming curriculum revision due to the importance of research skills not only as an undergraduate module we have to get through, but as a life skill. Many of our academic staff members have also suggested raising this weightage to increase the research output of our department.
Apart from this, enthusiastic students can always walk up to a professor in the department and ask for an opportunity to assist in an…
