Dr. Iyoma Priyadarshana is an Assistant Professor at the SLIIT Business School whose work focuses on development and public policy. Before entering academia, he gained professional experience working with several national and international organizations, including the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the National Science Foundation (NSF) of Sri Lanka, and the Ministry of Economic Development. These experiences provided him with strong practical exposure to policy design, project management, monitoring and evaluation, education development, and science and technology policy.

Drawing on this professional background, his academic and research work emphasizes evidence-based analysis with practical policy implications. His research interests are centered on public and development policy, with particular focus on education policy, science and technology policy, fiscal policy, foreign aid and aid effectiveness, and agricultural policy. He is especially interested in understanding how public policy can support sustainable development and institutional effectiveness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Dr. Priyadarshana has experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods and has conducted research in areas related to public policy evaluation, development cooperation, and innovation policy. His work aims to bridge academic research and real-world policy practice by producing research that is both theoretically grounded and relevant to policymakers and development practitioners.

• Assistant Professor, SLIIT Business School, 2026 – Present
• Teaching Assistant, KDI School of Public Policy and Management South, 2023-2025
• Visiting Lecturer, American College of Higher Education, 2021-2022
• Scientific Officer, National Science Foundation (NSF) of Sri Lanka, 2018-2022
• Program Officer (Education/TVET), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Sri Lanka Office, 2015-2018
• Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Ministry of Economic Development, Sri Lanka, 2011-2014

• Ph.D. in Development Policy, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, South Korea – 2025.
• M.A. in Development and International Economics, University of Applied Sciences – Berlin (HTW – Berlin), Germany – 2015.
• Masters of Financial Economics (MFE), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka – 2014.
• BSc in Agricultural Technology and Management, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka - 2011

• Global Ambassador's Scholarship, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, South Korea, 2022
• DAAD Young Ambassador to South Asia, 2018 - 2020
• DAAD EPOS Scholarship (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses Programme), Germany, 2014

• Government interventions promoting STEM education in secondary schools in Sri Lanka
• Public and private sector initiatives aimed at improving digital literacy and information technology skills
• Public sector interventions aimed at reducing intermediaries in agricultural value chains.