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The launch of Pratīkṣā 07—the nineteenth volume of short stories translated by the final-year students reading Translation Studies at the Department of Linguistics—was held on the 01 April 2025 at the K14 auditorium of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya.

This volume consists of twenty-eight Sinhalese translations of folk stories representing an Indian cultural background.

The keynote speech was delivered by literary scholar and professional translator Mr Chulananda Samaranayake. Dr Sudath Senarath, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities; Rev. Dr Kapugollawe Anandakiththi, the Head of the Department of Linguistics; academic staff members of the Department; parents of the final-year students; and students representing the other batches of Translation Studies also participated.

The event was organized by the Translation Circle of the Department of Linguistics.

The Excellence in Humanities Awards 2024 ceremony, organized by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell of the Faculty of Humanities, took place on 20 December 2024, at the Ven. Prof. Kotahene Sri Pragnakeerthi Thero Memorial Hall (K14) Auditorium. This event, presided over by Senior Prof. Nilanthi de Silva, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, marked the second consecutive year of celebrating the exceptional contributions of faculty members who have enhanced and advanced the field of humanities.

The following three awards were won by the Department of Linguistics:

1. Coordinating Excellence in Humanities 2024: Postgraduate Programmes (Local Category) MA in Linguistics programme

2. Coordinating Excellence in Humanities 2024: Diploma Courses (Local Category) Diploma in Tamil

3. Honorary Service Awards - Emeritus Professor Daya Wickramasinghe

In addition, Dr Vindhya Weerawardhane, a Senior Lecturer attached to the Department of Linguistics, was awarded a Coordination Excellence award in Humanities 2024 for her service rendered as the Coordinator of the Faculty Internal Quality Assurance Cell.

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Kelaniya hosted initial discussions on a proposed institutional collaboration to digitally scan the Mirror Wall at Sigiriya on the 19th of February 2025. The meeting was attended by Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva, Vice Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, and Ven. Dr. Kapugollawe Anandakiththi Thero, Head of the Department of Linguistics, alongside distinguished foreign scholar Dr. Divya Kumar-Dumas, Director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) at New York University (NYU). Also present was Professor Mangala Katugampola at the Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya.

The collaboration, initiated between ISAW’s Sigiriya Spatial and Landscape Data Collaboration (SSLDC), University of Kelaniya, and the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies (KDWT) at the University of Bamberg (Germany), aimed to develop a comprehensive digital scan of sections of the Mirror Wall at Sigiriya. The project will create a complete digital proxy of the Mirror Wall, preserving all of its inscribed graffiti.

This discussion marked the first step in the initiative, and it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the collaborating institutions to formalize the partnership and proceed with the implementation of the project.

The field trip 2025 for the students of Linguistics (Hons) and Translation Studies (Hons) of the Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya was completed on 13 and 14 February 2025.
The primary purpose of the field trip was to study the dialectal differences in the Tamil language used in Bandarawela area.