Dr. Neluka Maduranga Karannagoda

Dr. N. M. Karannagoda currently serves as the Senior Assistant Librarian (Systems and IT) at the Main Library of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. In addition to his key administrative responsibilities, he is an academic deeply involved in postgraduate education. He lectures in Ph.D., MPhil, and Master’s programs at the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Faculty of Management and Finance of the University of Colombo, as well as in the Ph.D. program at the Faculty of Arts. Before joining the University of Colombo, Dr. Karannagoda held academic positions at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University, where he contributed significantly to academic development and research. Dr. Karannagoda holds a B.Sc. Special (Honors) degree in accounting with a minor in Management Information Systems from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management and a Master’s in Public Management from the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration. In 2021, he earned his Ph.D. in Library and Information Science from the IIC University of Technology in Cambodia. A certified business professional, Dr. Karannagoda completed the Professional 1 Stage of the Certified Management Accountancy program in 2008 and is a Certified Business Accountant. His multidisciplinary expertise spans the fields of library science, education, accounting, and public management.

Dr. Karannagoda is a well-recognized academic and researcher. He has authored Eight books, including his first international book published in 2023, several book chapters, and over 20 academic publications in journals and conference proceedings. He serves as a reviewer for an international academic publisher and is an active member of the University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka. He is also a resource person for several national institutions, including the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA), the National Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (NCAS), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), the SAB Campus, the National Institute of Social Development (NISD) and Maharaja Institute of Management (MIM). Furthermore, he contributes internationally as a consultant to universities in Kenya and Niger.

At the University of Colombo, Dr. Karannagoda holds several key roles, including member of the Standing Committee on Quality Assurance, Domain Coordinator for the Library Quality Assurance Cell, ORCID Advocate for Sri Lanka, and a member of the team developing policies on plagiarism and AI for the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo. He is currently leading one national research project: exploring the relationship between playing chess and academic performance among Sri Lankan school children. Also, he is currently leading two university research project: “Trends of online presence and Artificial Intelligence usage in scholarly publications” and “A Comparative Study on the Similarity and AI Detection Rates of Turnitin and Drillbit Software: Evidence from the University of Colombo”. He is also spearheading a project aimed at enhancing research skills among school teachers in Sri Lanka and in the process of completing his 9th Academic book “Libraries from Information Era to AI Era.