University of Sri Jayewardenepura Pioneers AI-Enhanced Pedagogy through Faculty-Wide Workshop
In alignment with the University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s vision for academic excellence through digital innovation, a pioneering workshop titled “Beyond ChatGPT: AI for Teaching, Assessments & Research” was successfully conducted on 17th July 2025 at the New Boardroom of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce.
The interactive session was organized by the Staff Development Centre and featured Prof. Hiran Amarasekera, an academic from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, and a renowned advocate for AI in education. The workshop was introduced by Prof. Saman Yapa, Director of the Staff Development Centre, who emphasized the need for empowering academic staff in adapting to emerging technological tools.
The two-hour session drew participation from over 100 academics across various faculties, reflecting a strong institutional commitment to staying ahead in the evolving higher education landscape.
Prof. Amarasekera addressed the accelerating global integration of AI in universities and highlighted the role of educators in guiding students’ AI usage effectively. Drawing examples from leading institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, he introduced the R-A-C-F-Q framework for prompt engineering, enabling faculty to create structured, context-aware, and purpose-driven AI prompts for academic tasks.
The workshop also emphasized a shift from conventional assessments toward AI-enhanced problem-based learning, encouraging faculty to assign real-world roles—such as consultants or analysts—to students within assignments. A live demonstration of an AI-powered prompt generator allowed participants to experience how traditional assignments could be transformed into interactive and engaging tasks.
Participants were introduced to a range of AI tools tailored for academic contexts, including Claude AI, Perplexity, Google Gemini, and NotebookLM, along with discipline-specific solutions for enhancing research, lectures, and administrative efficiency.
Throughout the session, the importance of ethical AI integration was reinforced—addressing data privacy, academic integrity, citation practices, and awareness of potential biases in AI outputs. Prof. Amarasekera reiterated that these tools, when used responsibly, can foster enhanced learning outcomes and greater research productivity.
The workshop served not only as a capacity-building opportunity but also as a strategic milestone in the university’s roadmap toward AI-integrated education. As noted by Prof. Amarasekera, “The universities that embrace AI today will lead higher education tomorrow.”
This event further exemplifies the University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s dedication to technological advancement and ensures that its academic community remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, both locally and globally.
For more information about upcoming Staff Development Centre programs, visit the university website or contact the Staff Development Centre directly.
Contact Information: Prof. Saman Yapa, Director
Staff Development Centre
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
