Strengthening Sri Lanka\u2019s research and innovation sector is essential for achieving long-term economic prosperity, according to Prof Ashoka Jayawira Bandara, an inventor and academic who holds eleven world patents for new discoveries. Currently, based in the United Kingdom, Prof. Bandara is engaged in research across several institutions including Kingston University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at a special discussion with the Daily News<\/em> recently, Prof. Bandara stressed that research-driven innovation has been a major factor behind the economic success of many developed nations and should become a national priority in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He noted that countries with strong economies invest heavily in research across sectors such as industry, technology, science and agriculture, enabling them to create new knowledge and transform it into commercially viable products and services. According to him, Sri Lanka can similarly accelerate economic growth by converting local inventions and innovations into marketable consumer goods and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prof. Bandara emphasized the need to cultivate a research culture at all levels of education, including schools, universities and higher education institutions. He said that encouraging research and creative thinking among young people would help generate new discoveries capable of contributing to national development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Highlighting past efforts to promote innovation, he recalled the role played by organizations such as the New Inventors\u2019 Society in supporting inventors and encouraging the development of new products. These initiatives, he said, led to the introduction of several innovative products with economic potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Prof. Bandara pointed out that Sri Lanka still lacks a comprehensive mechanism to transform many of these innovations into commercially successful ventures. He stressed the importance of establishing a formal system that can provide inventors with the financial support, technical guidance and market access needed to bring their creations to consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also called on the government and relevant institutions to play a more active role in supporting researchers and innovators, noting that such assistance is crucial for turning scientific discoveries into economic opportunities. Drawing parallels with global history, Prof. Bandara observed that Western nations achieved significant economic advancement through the Industrial Revolution by investing in research, technology and innovation. He said Sri Lanka could follow a similar path by strengthening its research ecosystem and fostering innovation-led growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prof. Bandara expressed confidence that a stronger focus on research and development would not only lead to new discoveries but also create industries, generate employment and enhance the country\u2019s competitiveness, ultimately contributing to sustainable economic prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: Daily News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Strengthening Sri Lanka\u2019s research and innovation sector is essential for achieving long-term economic prosperity, according…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6005"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6007,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6005\/revisions\/6007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economictimes.lk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}