The HRDC was established, and a training programme was set up to develop teaching skills in lecturers for facilitating learning and skills development in university undergraduates. This course, the Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (CTHE), has been refined over the years with over 1500 lecturers having been trained from all universities across Sri Lanka. As practices for such a course were unknown in Sri Lanka, the HRDC had it benchmarked internationally, accrediting it with the Staff and Educational Association of UK (SEDA), as well as having an experienced educational developer, a Professor of Higher Education from UK, functioning as its External Examiner.
The Human Resource Development Centre is actively involved in developing staff at the University of Colombo Training and Development is available to all staff, which is provided by a partnership of expert trainers.
The Centre provides personal, professional and career development advice and support for all staff, sharing and developing good practice and helping in the development of appropriate support systems. If you would like to arrange Training and Development, please contact the Centre to talk about your particular training requirements.
Mission
The Mission of the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) is “to enhance the quality of academic work undertaken by staff and students within the system of higher education in Sri Lanka, in general, and within the University of Colombo, in particular. To achieve this objective, the HRDC would try to make university teaching/learning more effective, more relevant, student-oriented and of an internationally high standard. It will try to develop skills and competencies necessary for more effective and efficient performance among all members of the staff of the University. It will also do whatever it can for the career development of the staff” (University of Colombo Council Minutes 252/34 p.75). To achieve these, the Staff Development Centre was launched in 1997 as the first SDC in Sri Lanka, due to a need to commence and establish planned staff development in Sri Lankan universities.
In September 2024, it was rebranded as the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC).