By Dr. Chandana Jayalat

This article is to honor the yeoman service Professor Chitra Weddikkara rendered in the promotion and regulation of the Profession of Quantity Surveying in Sri Lanka. The Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sri Lanka is scheduled to be held at JAIC Hilton Residencies in Colombo on 30th March 2012 where she will wish many happy returns to all its members.

Affably known as Chitra amongst her peer contemporaries, Professor Chitra Weddikkara has been an internationally renowned academic and professional in the discipline of Architecture and Quantity Surveying. In Sri Lanka, she has been instrumental in bringing about a new dimension in education, training, and research sectors in both the disciplines well over a period of 35 years. She is a professor of building economics, chartered architect, chartered quantity surveyor, an external examiner, a mentor, and an administrator.

Born as the eldest daughter in a family of five children in Negombo, with a strict disciplinary family background, her primary education started at the Ave Maria Convent in Negombo. For secondary education, she entered into the Good Shepherd College in Kotahena, Colombo. Qualified in Architecture in the year 1975, she subsequently acquired a Bachelor of Applied Science in Quantity Surveying from Curtain University of Technology, Master of Science (Building Studies), and Ph.D. in Dispute Resolution, College of Law, Murdoch University.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK, Member of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (A.I.Q.S), Fellow of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sri Lanka (IQSSL), Fellow of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (S.L.I.A), Member of the Institute of Project Managers (IPMSL), Member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (R.A.I.A), Associate Member of the Australian Institute of Builders (A.I.O.B), and an Associate Member of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators.

After several years working in Australia, she came to work in the Department of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa, as a part time lecturer in 1983. With the untimely demise of late Professor H.P. Siri Caldera, she was invited to take over the position of Head of Department of Building Economics, which was known to be critical for the uninterrupted function of then the newly started four years honors degree course in Quantity Surveying. It was far back in 1987 when there were no local lecturers academically qualified in Quantity Surveying. The Department had only a single Pentium 2 desktop with one expatriate lecturer. Amidst challenges surrounded her efforts in the pursuit of funds, staff and studentships, she could successfully establish an exclusive theme for the Department of Building Economics of the University of Moratuwa. Her diplomacy, focus and forbearance built up over the years of association with academic and industry personnel helped accomplish her desires. Her five year strategic plan to function the B.Sc QS degree course included lobbying professors and lecturers specialized in the field of Quantity Surveying through various universities and funding agencies such as College of Estate Management at the University of Reading, British Council, Common Wealth Fund, British Volunteer Service Organization (BVSO), Australian Volunteer Service Organization (AVSO), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), to name a few.

As a result, a couple of expatriate lecturers came in and started filling up key important positions that the Department of Building Economics was otherwise suffering. At a time only a handful of clients knew what Quantity Surveying really meant, the first ever public awareness event was taken place on 7 December 1990 at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel with participation of a large gathering including then the Minister of Higher Education, Hon Lalith Athulathmudali. The Vice Chancellor, Professor G.T.F de Silva sending a message quoted that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Following the dark years of 1988/89, the Department had only Mr. Michael Hancock from Britain. With the anticipated departure of Mr. Hancock, students were getting worried and used to meet me with numerous complaints. Since August this year following assumption of duties by Mrs. Chitra Weddikkara as Head of the Department, students are now coming to me to organize various activities like the present function. This is obviously due to the dedicated leadership of Mrs. WeddikkaraƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

It should also be noted that driving force behind new degree courses namely B.Sc in Facilities Management, M.Sc in Project Management and M.Sc in Law and Dispute Resolution in Construction is none other than Professor Chitra Weddikkara. In this manner, the Department of Building Economics became the pioneer institute to offer such courses in the university network. Her academic direction could earn accreditation among the world reputable professional bodies. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS), Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sri Lanka (IQSSL) and Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) have already conferred their full accreditation to B.Sc Quantity Surveying degree course at the University of Moratuwa.

Professor Chitra WeddikkaraƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s scheme on the development of international links has always been a pretty obvious fact of life. Curriculum development with British Council, visiting professors programme with Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka, programme with James Cook University in exchange of staff and students for Masters Programme, support from Bath University, external examiners from Greenwich University, links with Common Wealth Technical Corporation (CWTC) are all because of her strategic firmness. The Building Economics and Management Research Unit (BEMRU) is again such initiative to engage in number of industry research for the World Bank and for the Red Cross and some corporate clients. It is a known fact amongst then the undergraduates that none of these achievements would have been possible without her direction in the right sense. Indeed, this academic ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”explosionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is apparently because she at once is an academician with a properly assorted captivating inclination in the industry- an unusual combination in any area of science.

Being widely traveled in the Europe, Americas, Australasia and the Middle Eastern countries, she is a frequent guest speaker at construction related professional venues. She was a senior lecturer at the University of Western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Recently, the University of West Indies conferred an honorary visiting professorship on attachment to the Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management, Faculty of Engineering, St Augustine. Professor Chitra WeddikkaraƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s research interests are in dispute resolution, whole life costing, value and risk management, cost modeling, multi-criteria decision making, construction auditing, insurance claims, and due diligence. She has supervised, moderated and published over hundred research papers, technical articles and dissertations.

In administrative functions, she is the former Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa. She has been a Member of the Senate, Member of By-Laws committee, Member of the Library Committee, Member of Faculty Board, Faculty of Architecture, Member in the Engineering and Architectural Council of University Grants Commission, Member of Curriculum and Evaluation Committee of the Faculty of Architecture, Member of the Board of Higher Degrees at the Faculty of Architecture, and Member of the standing committee on examination offences. Also, she is the Former Chairman of the Board of Architectural Education at the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA), a founding council member of the Chamber of Construction Industry, a founding member of International Institute for Infrastructure Renewal and Reconstruction, a Member of the Advisory Board for Construction and Engineering Services, former Board Member of the Institute of Construction, Training and Development (ICTAD), Chairperson of the RICS chapter in Sri Lanka, and Member of Constitution Board of RICS, Advisor for the Council of the Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB), Director of the Green Council in Sri Lanka and overseas representative of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors.

She was also the Congress Chair of the 15th Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors international conference recently held in Colombo. Hosting of such event is the first time since the establishment of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sri Lanka some 25 years ago. As a splendid opportunity to exchange and network with other fellow members of the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors, this conference became a rendezvous ground for Sri Lankan quantity surveyors to share the best practices around the Asia Pacific region and enhance cooperation and synergy between and among the fellow member institutes from 14 countries.

Professor Chitra Weddikkkara was also amongst the handful of peer colleagues in the pursuit of legal recognition towards the IQSSL, the result of which is the Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sri Lanka Act No 20 of 2007. The Act not only conferred the Institute the statutory status as a chartered body but also elevated the Institute to the unique position of being the only Chartered professional body solely representing the Quantity Surveying professionals with a pool of over 1000 membership. As per article 13 of the Act, those who become Associate members after rigorous examination procedure and viva voce are designated as Chartered Quantity Surveyor and is considered in no hesitation to be a landmark moment of truth in the entire history of Quantity Surveying in Sri Lanka. With her forward looking initiative, the IQSSL has grown into a formidable force in Sri Lankan construction industry and predominantly, the members have been working towards best value for money and dispute free project delivery in most volatile industrial atmospheres. Trained to draft, interpret and administer intricate commercial, contractual and technical issues, today the IQSSL members have been equipped with necessary technical and managerial know-how to essentially operate in a broader field of construction.

Amongst the prestige assignments Professor Chitra Weddikkara in capacity of a consultant were the Ramada Renaissance hotel in Sri Lanka, Housing complex at Colombo-8 for Dart Express, Air Lanka peacock lounge at Bandaranaike Airport, Katunayake, Deer Park hotel at Giritale, New Zealand milk product factory & office at Biyagama, Ella rest house at Ella, South East University at Oluvil, Mendis apartments at Colombo-7, Renuka city hotel at Colombo-3, Crescat development, Bank of Ceylon Kandy, Ceylinco development projects, in addition to cost assessment on insurance claims related to the Hotel Intercontinental, Liberty Plaza (for Colombo Lands), and Medhufushi Island Resort at Mulaku Atoll, Republic of Maldives. Her latest professional inputs can be seen with the upcoming Lotus Tower project in Colombo where the concept and preliminary design is by local architects including the expertise of Professor Chitra Weddikkara.

The contribution by Professor Chitra Weddikkara to the domestic construction industry in general and to the Quantity Surveying profession in particular is significant, enormous and priceless. Her achievements over the last 35 years are the achievements bestowed upon a generation yet to be born.