An opening ceremony was held on 23rd February 2023 at the Faculty Board room, Faculty of Medical Sciences, to celebrate the commencement of the MSc in Immunology program and BSc (Hons) in Human Biology with Specialization in Immunology. These courses are conducted by the Allergy Immunology and Cell Biology Unit and Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine which was established as a part of the Leading University Project for International Cooperation funded by the Ministry of Education, the Republic of Korea, and based on the MoU signed between SungKyunKwan University (SKKU) and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
The ceremony was graced by H.E. Woonjin JEONG, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea; Prof. Sampath Amaratunge, Chairman, University Grants Commission; Prof. Jaeheon Kang, Project Leader, Prof. Taejin Kim, Prof. Kyeongkyu Kim and Prof. Jinhyun Ahn from the SKKU, Prof. Upul Subasinghe, the Act. Vice Chancellor, Deans of FMS, FGS and FDS and other executive staff in the USJ.
The launching of the Sinhala translation of “Your Amazing Immune System” also took place at the same event. This book was translated by Prof. Chandima Jeewandara, Prof. Neelika Malavige, and Prof. Hiran Amarasekara, under the name “ඔබේ ශරීරය ආරක්ෂා කරන විස්මිත ප්රතිශක්තීකරණ පද්ධතිය”. The Ministry of Education, the Republic of Korea, funded the publication of this book as a community project. It will be distributed among all high schools in Sri Lanka for students to refer to it as supplementary reading material in immunology.
Making the event more memorable, Allergy Immunology and Cell Biology Unit (AICBU) launched its website, which will be accessible to the university academics soon and will facilitate sharing of cutting-edge technology for research and provide allergy and immunology-related clinical and educational services to the general public. It will also provide information regarding the study and work opportunities provided through the unit.
