Dr. Shavindree Nissanka is an academic and researcher in the field of disaster resilience and the built environment, currently serving in the Department of Quantity Surveying at Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), Sri Lanka. She completed her PhD at the University of Huddersfield, where she was affiliated with the Global Disaster Resilience Centre (GDRC). Her doctoral research focused on the use of financial incentives to promote disaster-resilient housing and climate adaptation within the built environment.

She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Quantity Surveying from the University of Moratuwa. She is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA, CGMA) and has completed professional qualifications with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). In addition, she has completed postgraduate qualifications in higher education and academic practice through the University of Huddersfield.

Dr. Nissanka has extensive experience in international collaborative research and interdisciplinary projects related to disaster resilience, climate adaptation, sustainability, and resilient infrastructure. She served as the Lead Researcher for the Erasmus+ co-funded project BEACON Project (Built Environment Learning for Climate Adaptation), which focused on strengthening climate adaptation education and capacity building within the built environment sector. She has also contributed to several major initiatives led by GDRC and international partners, including the development of disaster-resilient building codes for Sri Lanka, standard operating procedures for the tsunami early warning system in Sri Lanka, resilience-focused professional guidance for built environment practitioners in collaboration with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and research on smart cities, infrastructure resilience, and climate-responsive urban development.

Her research interests include disaster-resilient housing, climate change adaptation, infrastructure resilience, sustainability in construction, resilient real estate and valuation, ESG and sustainability integration, and resilience governance within the built environment. She has presented her research at numerous international conferences and has published in areas such as disaster-resilient properties, resilience integration in sustainable construction, resilient building regulations, climate adaptation in the built environment, and employment and resilience challenges in construction and infrastructure sectors.

Dr. Nissanka is also actively involved in editorial and academic leadership activities. She recently served as a Guest Editor for a special issue on “Climate Change Adaptation in the Built Environment” in the International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment. She is additionally a co-editor of the Springer publication Climate Change Adaptation in the Built Environment: Transdisciplinary and Innovative Learning, which focuses on innovative and transdisciplinary approaches to climate adaptation within the built environment sector.

In recognition of her contributions to sustainability and resilience research, Dr. Shavindree Nissanka was named among the “Women of the Future 50 Rising Stars in ESG” in 2023. She continues to engage in international research collaborations, academic supervision, consultancy, and professional engagement activities aimed at advancing resilience, sustainability, and climate adaptation within the built environment sector.

• PhD in Disaster Resilience (Thesis Submitted to Registry), April 2019- November 2024, PhD title: Financial Incentives as a Strategy to Promote Disaster Resilience in the Housing Sector, Institution: Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield
•  The Higher Education PgCert at the University of Huddersfield, UK (September 2023-August 2025)
• B.Sc. (Hons) in Quantity Surveying from University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka -GPA 3.95 (First Class Hons.) in 2017
• Professional Qualification in Management Accountancy (ACMA, CGMA), in 2018 Associate Member of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants- CIMA UK.

• Finalist at the Financial Accountancy from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) UK in 2018

• ·Listed as one of the Women of the Future 50 rising stars in ESG in 2023:This celebrates female trailblazers and role models aged 35 and under from around the world who are at the forefront of working in ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance. To be selected to be part of this prestigious global list, participants must have made a lasting and positive impact on their organisations, the environment and broader society. Trailblazing PhD researcher joins global list of rising stars - University of Huddersfield Organised by TESCO, PWC and Group m, supported by CNBC, Financial Times, University of Oxford and Said Business School.

• Runners up, International Competition for Imagining Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. :This competition aimed to engage, inspire, and invigorate the young minds and future change makes in the field of disaster resilient infrastructure. The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), launched by the Honourable Prime Minister of India at the Climate Action Summit in New York in 2019, is a multi-stakeholder global partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programs, multilateral development banks, the private sector, academic and knowledge institutions. Award-winning entry is available here: https://y4ri.cdri.world 

• Award for the Most highly commendable paper: In the category of Finance and Risk Management at the International Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS) Conference 2022, University of West of England (UWE), Bristol, United Kingdom on 31 August – 02 September 2022
• Award for the best presentation: At the International Research and Innovation Symposium on Dengue amidst the pandemic: Improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios -2022, Sri Lanka on 16-17th March 2022 under the theme “Complex and interconnected multi-hazard risks: The nature of cascading impacts and relationships”.
• First Runner up of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK (OCTOBER 2020)
• Full Scholarship Award : For Doctoral studies from the University of Huddersfield UK to Conduct Doctoral Studies (MARCH 2019)
• Dean’s List Award of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, for all eight semesters during the four-year degree period for achieving a higher semester grade point average equivalent of more than 3.80.

• Co- Project Lead for the University of Huddersfield Public Engagement Project Saving Your Business from The Next Disaster! - Developing A Localised Business Management Toolkit for Small to Medium Scale Business Enterprises in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. Developing the project concept, applying for the competitive bid for the SEEDs fund, securing the project bid, handling and leading everything from project conceptualisation, planning, designing, implementation and reporting. (Conducted 5 community level public engagement workshops in Sri Lanka on business continuity planning with Small to Medium Scale Business stakeholders) (May 2024- to date).
• Co-project lead for the project “Biomimicry for Flood Resilience: Better Integration of Green and Blue Infrastructure for Restoring the Natural Hydrological Processes within the Built Environment”.  Developing the project concept, handling and leading everything from project conceptualisation to implementation. (January 2024- to date).