Abhaya Induruwa

2019 - LEARN Founder Award for proposing, designing and implementing academic and research networking, and pioneering Internet in Sri Lanka

2017 - Sri Lanka Telecom Zero-One Lifetime Achievement Award for exceptional contribution to the digital arena

Prof Induruwa served on the Internet Hall of Fame Advisory Board from 2016 until 2018. He serves as a Member of the General Assembly of the European Cybercrime Education and Training Group (ECTEG) of the Europol. In 2018 he served as an Expert on Cybercrime to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on their Education for Justice (E4J) project. In 2019 he served as an Expert to the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BelSPO) to evaluate project proposals under BRAIN-BE 2.0 (Belgian Research Action Through Interdisciplinary Networks).

2015 - Internet Pioneers Award of the Internet Society-Sri Lanka (ISOC-LK) Chapter celebrating 20 years of Internet in Sri Lanka

In recognition of his signal contribution to the growth, connectivity, and use of the Internet in Sri Lanka, and for pioneering LEARN - the first IP WAN in Sri Lanka - Professor Induruwa was inducted to the Internet Hall of Fame 2014, an honorary lifetime achievement award administered by the Internet Society. Recognising his significant contribution to the development of networking and Internet in Sri Lanka Professor Induruwa was honoured by the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter with an Internet Pioneers Award at the celebration of 20 years of Internet in Sri Lanka in June 2015. For his exceptional contribution to the digital arena Prof Induruwa received a Life Time Achievement Award from Sri Lanka Telecom in June 2017. In October 2019, at the 30th anniversary celebrations of LEARN, he received the LEARN Founder Award from H E Maithripala Sirisena, the President of Sri Lanka, for proposing in 1989 the conceptual design for an academic and research network in Sri Lanka, and implementing the same between 1990-1995, finally connecting to the Internet in 1996.

2014 - Internet Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award of the Internet Society (ISOC) for pioneering IP networking and Internet in Sri Lanka

2004 - Honorary Fellow of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka recognizing the distinguished services to the ICT education and ICT profession in Sri Lanka

Professor Induruwa is a founding member of the Internet Society (ISOC - Kobe, 1992) and a member of the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter. He is a contributing author to the Asia Internet History project.

In 1989 he pioneered and served as the Principal Investigator of project LEARN (Lanka Education and Research Network), which he developed into the academic Internet in Sri Lanka . He obtained funds from the Sri Lankan government and other well wishers, commissioned staff and resources, provided technical and managerial leadership, and led the project LEARN to completion in 1995. He also administered the .LK domain since its first registration in 1990 until 1998.

Professor Induruwa founded the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Moratuwa in 1985, the first and the only department of its kind in a Sri Lankan university, and served as its Head until 1998.

Professor Induruwa is a founding member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (1976). In recognition of his services to computer education and IT industry in Sri Lanka the Honorary Fellowship of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka was conferred on him in 2003.

After spending three years of his early primary education at Kahagolla Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Diyatalawa, he was admitted to Nalanda College, Colombo from where he proceeded to the University of Sri Lanka, Katubedda Campus. He is the first student to graduate with a First Class Honours degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering since the inception of the University of Sri Lanka, Katubedda Campus, and is the recipient of the Prof Om Prakash Kulshreshtha award for the Best Electrical and Electronic Engineering student in 1975. In September 1976 he proceeded to Imperial College London and in January 1980 he was awarded PhD from the University of London for his research on Computer Simulation Techniques in Power Systems Planning. His research supervisor was Emeritus Professor Brian J. Cory.