Commemorating Fifty Years of Excellence in Science Education and Research
The Faculty of Science commenced its academic journey in 1974 with the introduction of courses in Mathematics and Statistics. In 1975, it expanded into the Biological and Physical Sciences with the establishment of five departments: Botany, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, and Zoology.
To commemorate fifty years of Excellence in Science Education and Research, the Faculty’s community/stakeholders — including staff, students, their societies, and alumni associations — have organised a range of celebratory activities. These include the VINGNANAM Research Conference, the Golden Jubilee Celestia Awards Ceremony, STEM education outreach programmes, various sports tournaments, and e-resource development competitions. Furthermore, the Faculty of Science Alumni Association hosted a grand celebration to honour long-serving staff members, bringing together alumni from across the country and around the world, along with current faculty members and distinguished guests.
1.0 Third VINGNANAM Research Conference (VRC)
As part of the Faculty of Science’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations, the third VINGNANAM Research Conference (VRC), held under the auspices of the Jaffna University International Research Conferences (JUICE) series, was a tremendous success. The conference, which brought together esteemed researchers and scholars, including alumni from diverse disciplines, took place on September 6, 2024 at the faculty premises.
2.0 Golden Jubilee Commemorative Events
Organised by the Alumni Association of the Faculty
The Faculty of Science Alumni Association (FoSAA) hosted a grand celebration in honor of the Faculty’s Golden Jubilee, uniting alumni from across the globe, current faculty members, and distinguished guests. The association recognized former deans and academic and non-academic staff who had completed 25 years of service. A 270-page commemorative magazine was published to mark the occasion, featuring biographies of over fifteen distinguished former academics from the faculty.
3.0 Video/Photography competitions
Organised by the Golden Jubilee Committee
The Faculty Board of Science at its 204th meeting, held on September 18, 2024, approved several other key initiatives, including digitalization of faculty records and the promotion of STEAM education in the region. The Centre for Science Education, in collaboration with the Faculty’s Golden Jubilee Committee, organizes the following Video/Photography competitions among the faculty communities, staff/alumni/students.
Guidelines for all these competitions
3.1 Documentary about the Department by the respective students’ Societies/Associations
Documentaries submitted by the Biological Society, Chemical Society, Fisheries Student Society, Mathematics Society, Physics Society, and Zoological Students Association were evaluated by the Department of Media Studies, Faculty of Science. As per their evaluation, the documentary submitted by the students’ Societies/Associations is as follows:
Rank Students’ Society/Association
1 Zoological Students Association, Dept. of Zoology
2 Physics Society, Dept. of Physics
3 Biological Society, Dept. of Botany
The students’ association/society will be honoured with Golden jubilee mementos and certificates.
3.2 The following batch/students will be honoured with Golden Jubilee mementos and certificates for the respective competitions:
- 47th Batch of Faculty (Level 3) – Music video reflecting the students’ life in the faculty and/or hostel
- Ms. Nirmiya Kulatheepan (47th batch) – Short Film reflecting the current social/cultural/economic issues of the individuals and/or society
- Mr. Nuwan Karunathilake – Video clip on future outlook/infrastructure of faculty
- Ms. Akshaya Sashiraj – Video clip on promoting STEM education
Submissions for the following competitions will be recalled, as neither the submitted digital posters nor photographs attained the required marks.
1. Digital poster – Awareness poster on UN Sustainable Development Goals
2. Photograph of the faculty premises
4.0 Golden Jubilee Celestia: Science Weeks – 2025
Organised by the Science Faculty Students
The Golden Jubilee Celestia Awards Ceremony, organised by the Science Faculty Students’ Union, was held on Sunday, 20th July 2025, marking the grand conclusion of Science Weeks 2025. The 47th batch (Level 3) emerged as the overall champions of the event.
This two-week-long celebration featured a wide array of competitions in athletics, games, aesthetics, and cultural activities, with enthusiastic participation from students across all four levels of study. The event commenced with an inaugural cricket match between the academic staff and final-year students on 4th July 2025.
5.0 Outreach Activities to promote STEM education in Northern Province
Organised by the Golden Jubilee Committee
To commemorate 50 years of excellence in Science Education and Research by the Faculty of Science, all student societies within the faculty were invited to submit brief proposals aimed at promoting STEM education in the region. The Golden Jubilee Committee carefully evaluated these proposals for outreach activities and recommended the following initiatives submitted by the respective student societies.
| Name of the Societies & Senior treasurer | Name of the activities | Target group | No. of beneficiaries |
| Biological Society Dr. Ms. J. Tharmila | Biology Education Programme | Grade 7 students from type II schools in Thenmarachchi Zone | 140 |
| Computer Society Dr. T. Kohul | National-level Coding Competition | Undergraduates in computing | 75 |
| Fisheries Science Society Dr. S. Gunnalan | Awareness of Marine Plastic Pollution | Grades 9 to 11 who are studying in difficult areas | 40 |
| Zoological Students’ Association Ms. R. Nithiyagowry | Scientific innovation competition | Grade 10 and 11 students of Northern Province | 75 |
| Chemical Society Dr. Ms. S. Sivanayagi | Chemistry Practical Sessions | Grade 11 students in selected two remote area schools in the Island | 100 |
| Physics Society Prof. M. Thanihaichelvan | School Backyard Physics Lab | Grades 10 & 11 students from Mullaitivu and Mannar (under privilege area) | 300 |
| Mathematical Society Dr. S. Tharshan | Teaching Geometry | Grade 10 school students in the privileged area of Valikamam | 100 |
A total of seven student societies within the faculty received LKR 420,000 (LKR 60,000 per activity) to implement initiatives that promote STEM education in underprivileged areas of the Northern Province over three months, as part of the HRNCET project. The student societies are highly motivated and have been actively organising these activities.
Please find the flyer/banner detailing the outreach activities. A comprehensive report on these activities will be shared through the following link.
Flyers/Banner and report of the outreach activities
For more details, please click here
6.0 Golden Jubilee Sports Carnival
Organised by the Golden Jubilee Committee
The following tournaments were conducted among the faculty staff.
Cricket
As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, a cricket tournament was organised for the permanent staff of the Faculty on 28 September 2025. A total of 42 members expressed their interest in participating, and they were divided into four teams through an open auction process. Professors K. Velayuthamurty and K. Gajapathy, together with Dr. S. Arumairajan and Dr. P. A. Amalraj, kindly volunteered to serve as selectors for each team during the auction.
All matches were played in a 9-a-side, 6-over format. In the first round, each team competed against all others once, and the team securing the highest number of points advanced directly to the finals. The teams ranked second and third played a qualifier match, with the winner earning a place in the finals.
Two umpires and two scores (one for online scoring and one for book scoring) were officiating the matches. CricHeros app was used for online scoring.
Qualifier: FoS Raptors 58/3(6.0) beat FoS Quantus 46/4(6.0)
Finals: Fos Infinite XI strikers 46/1(3.5) beat FoS Raptors 44/2 in (6.0)
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to all those who contributed to the successful conduct of the Cricket Carnival. Special thanks are due to the Dean, Heads, and all Faculty Members for their encouragement and support, as well as to the Golden Jubilee Committee for their invaluable assistance. We are also grateful to the Director and staff of the Physical Education Unit for their cooperation, and to the match officials—R. Vithusanth, D. Sugirthan, K. Thuvarakan, and S. Loysanth—for their dedicated service. Our sincere thanks go to S. Kabilthev, the groundsman, for his excellent work in preparing and maintaining the grounds. We also acknowledge the efforts of V. Christynath for managing the auction process and T. Kokulraj for serving as the auctioneer.
Furthermore, we appreciate the contributions of A. Jeyakanthan, J. Subash, K. Sharmilan, A. Arulnesan, and R. Kartheepan for their support with the arrangements.
Dr R. Prasanthan
Person in Charge, Cricket Carnival
Carrom
Table Tennis
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.