Mrs. T.Cavitha
Senior Lecturer Gr.II
B.A. [Hons](Jaffna), M.Phil (University of Sri Jayewardenepura)
cavitha@univ.jfn.ac.lk
Academic Profile
Activities
Admin Roles
Awards
Publications
Teaching
Academic Profile
Mrs. T.Cavitha
B.A(Hons.) in Geography, University of Jaffna
M.Phil. (University of Sri Jayewardenepura)
- Master of Philosophy (MPhil) with the effective date of 3rd October 2022 at Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.
- Dissertation: “Sustainability of undeserved settlements based on livelihood assets: A Spatial Study of Jaffna Municipality & its Urban Fringe”
- Medium: English
- BA (Hons) in Geography with the effective date of 13th July 2015 at Department of Geography, University of Jaffna.
- Class: First Class GPA: 3.87
- Dissertation: “Impact Assessment of Community Based Rural Water supply and Sanitation project “(A Special reference to Mathagal East –Jaffna District)
Activities
Professional contribution
Contribution to National Development
- Participated as a Chief Examiner for the Advanced Level Geography Examinations – 2023 (2024).
- Participated as a Chief Examiner for the Advanced Level Geography Examinations – 2024 (2025).
Contribution to Regional Development
- Contributed to the institutions of Jaffna Municipal Council, Nallur Pradeshiya Sabah, Jaffna District Secretariat, Jaffna and Nallur Divisional Secretariat, Urban Development Authority, National Housing Development Authority, Sri Lanka Railway Department, Coastal Conservation and Coastal Resources Management, Excise Department, Grama Niladhari Divisions by providing database, research findings & recommendations related with the underserved settlements & its sustainable development in Jaffna Municipality & its Urban Fringe
Contribution to Department Development
- Contribute to the development/ revision of the units of Urban Geography, Economic Geography, Regional Planning and Development and Geography of Sri Lanka of syllabi of B.A (Hons) and B.A of the degree programmes of the Geography study programme (2017/2018), Department of Geography, University of Jaffna.
- Minutes writer for staff meetings at Department of Geography, University of Jaffna since 1st of January 2020 – 31st December 2021; 6th January 2025 to date.
Memberships and positions held
- Life Member of The Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) since 2024.
- Executive Committee Member of the Sri Lanka Association of Geographers (SLAG) from 3rd February 2020 – 29th October 2021.
- Member of the Social Service Club, Interact Club, Girl Guide Movement.
Resource person of the work shop
- “Climate Change” at Vocational Training Centre of iLead (A Programme of Aide -et – Action) Jaffna on 21st January 2020.
Participation in the work shops
- Participated in a webinar on “Developing research proposals for HDR placement at an International University” for Early-career researchers (ECRs), who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. at international universities on 6th February 2023, via a digital platform, organized by the Staff Development Center (SDC) of the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- Participated the workshop on “A Conversation about Publication Ethics and Why this will be Crucial for Your Science Career” organized in line with the 7th International Conference on Climate Change 2023 on 10th January 2023.
- Participated in Pre-COP27 global youth summit organized by ENCORE club during 16, 23 &30th October 2022.
- Participated in a workshop organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura on “How to Use Styles to Format your Thesis with “MS Word”, and Do Proper Academic Referencing?” on 24th August 2022.
- Participated in a webinar organized by the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka in association with Emerald Publishing. The session was conducted by Prof. Steve H. Hanke and moderated by Prof. Dewasiri N. Jayantha on “Economic Crises in Sri Lanka and the Way Forward” on 12th August 2022.
- Participated in the work shop of “How to conduct Qualitative Research Project” on 20th November 2021 organized by the PhD programme in Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
- Participated in the work shop of “The factors to be considered while choosing International Universities for their Higher Degree by Research (HDR)” on 19th November 2021 organized by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna.
- Participated in the “Training workshop on SPSS for Data Analysis” on 11th – 14th October 2021 by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna.
- Participated in the work shop of “Statistics and Data Analysis” on 23rd and 24th September 2021 by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna.
- Participated in the workshop organized by Oxford University Press on 4th August 2021 on “Research Basics with University Press Scholarship Online – Citations”.
- Participated in the work shop of “Literature review: What you need to know” on 15th July 2021 by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna.
- Participated in the six days work shop on “Climate change and energy efficiency for sustainable development” organized by department of civil engineering University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka in collaboration with BECK in June 2021.
- Participated in the workshop on “Sri Lanka Qualification Framework, Problem Based Learning, and Socio-emotional Learning and Soft-skill Development for all Academic Staff” organized by ELTA-ELSE, Faculty Development Project, AHEAD, Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna on 1st and 2nd February 2020
- Participated in the workshop on “Curriculum Development” organized by ELTA-ELSE, Faculty Development Project, AHEAD, Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna on 23rd and 24th November 2019
- Participated in the “Horizon 2020 Info Day: Funding opportunities for cooperation between Sri Lanka and Europe through Horizon 2020” on Wednesday, 23rd October 2019 Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- Participated in the workshop on “Research Methodologies” organized by Regional Centre for Strategic Studies on 8th & 9th October 2019 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
- Participated in the “Jaffna Youth to Business Forum” 2013 held at Faculty of Arts, University Teaching modules: Undergraduate Teaching of Jaffna on 20th July 2013.
- Participated in the “Soft Skills Workshops” at the University of Jaffna on 13-15th March 2013.
Participation in the Conferences
- Coordinator of the secession of Geography and Regional Planning in the 4th undergraduate research symposium (URSA) organized by faculty of Arts on 22nd January 2025.
- Coordinator of the secession of Environment, economy and policy planning and development in the 1st undergraduate research symposium (URSA) organized by faculty of Arts with the financial assistance of AHEAD project on 10th December 2022.
- Participated in the National Geographic Conference on 29th October 2021 organized by the Department of Geography, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and in collaboration with Sri Lanka Association of Geographers.
- Participated in the Malaysia Urban Forum held on 6 -8th September 2021.
- Participated in the JUICE conference held on 18-19th December, 2014 organized by University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Certificate programmes
- Certificate Course on Research Methodology and Scientific Writing organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka (2022)
- Certificate course in “English for the academic staff” organized by the Staff Development Center of the University of Jaffna, in collaboration with the Department of English Language Teaching (2021)
- Certificate Course on “Research Methodology and Scientific Writing” organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka (2020).
- Research Programme organized by the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka in association with Emerald Publishing and Gulf Medical University, on “Writing Impactful Research (WIR)” (22nd April 2021 – 05th August 2021).
- The pilot course titled “Governance of Natural Resources” offered by the Department of Urban and Rural development of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (2nd to 6th March 2020).
- Induction Program for Academic Staff at Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna (Effective Date 30th September 2018).
- Certificate Course in Professional English –The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala (2014)
- Diploma in Fluent English Course at DMI International English College, Jaffna (2012).
- Diploma in Pre-Press Desktop Publishing at DMI Computer Education, Jaffna (2012).
- Diploma in PC Application at DMI Computer Education, Jaffna (2010).
- Three months course in English Language Skills at English Language Teaching Unit of St. John’s College, Jaffna (2015).
Admin Roles
Awards
Awards, Scholarships & Fellowship
- Awarded the star user certificate by the Oxford University Press – 2021
- Sivagamy Murugesar Memorial Scholarship is awarded for being the best student in Geography at the Special degree final examination in Arts -2013
- Sellathurai Balachandran Memorial Gold Medal is awarded for being the best student in Geography at the Special degree final examination in Arts -2013
- Somasundaram Selvanayagam Memorial Gold Medal is awarded for being the best student in Geography at the Special degree final examination in Arts -2013
- University Prize for the best performance in Geography at the third examination in Arts – 2012
- L Jeyasingham Memorial scholarship for being the best student in the second examination in Arts -2011
- University Prize for the best performance in Geography at the second-year examination in Arts – 2011
- Awarded by the Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund
Publications
Publications (Journal)
- Cavitha Balachandran. (2023). “Urban Tourism: Designing a Tourism Space in the Post-war City Context for Sustainability”. Journal of Asian Geography 2 (2), 1-14. https://ejournal.usm.my/jag/article/view/4544
- Cavitha Balachandran and TMSPK Thennakoon. (2023). “Influence of Locational Characteristics on the Sustainability of Underserved Settlements in Jaffna Municipality and its Urban Fringe”. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 10 (1), 35-57. https://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/ijms/article/view/6291
- Cavitha Balachandran and TMSPK Thennakoon. (2023). “Housing Deprivations in the Underserved Settlements of Jaffna Municipality and Its Urban Fringe Using Slum Severity Index”. Vidyodaya Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 8 (1), 201-227. https://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/vjhss/article/view/6260
- Cavitha Balachandran and TMSPK Thennakoon. (2021). “The COVID 19 Pandemic and the Urban Vulnerable Communities: A Case Study of Coastal Underserved Dwellers of Jaffna Municipality, Sri Lanka”. Acta Scientific Neurology 4 (10), 16-31. https://actascientific.com/ASNE/ASNE-04-0433.php
- Cavitha Balachandran and Ushanthini Rajasekaram. (2020).” Solid Waste Management Approaches in Trincomalee Urban Council Area”. Vidyodaya Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura 5(1), 19-35. https://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/vjhss/article/view/4440
Conference Presentations
- Kalshika Kanakaraj and Cavitha Thiliepan. (2025). “Spatio -Temporal Changes of Urban Green Space – A Special Reference to Rathnapura Municipal Council”. 4th Undergraduate Research Symposium in Arts – 2024, University of Jaffna.
- Cavitha Balachandran. (2022). “Urban Tourism: Designing a Tourism Space in the Post-War City Context for Sustainability”. The International Conference on Society, Space, and Environment (ICSSE), Universiti Sains Malaysia.
- Cavitha Balachandran and TMSPK Thennakoon. (2019). “Impact of Human Activities on Kuruvikkadu Birding Site in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka”. The 6th International Conference on Multi-disciplinary approaches, Graduate Studies of University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
- Cavitha Balachandran and Gayathree Srikandavel. (2019). “Mapping Dialects for translation: A Preliminary Study” The Symposium on English Language Teaching – University of Jaffna.
- Cavitha Balachandran and Ushanthini Rajasekaram. (2018). “Sustainable Management and Its challenges: Special Reference to Kokkilai Bird Sanctuary”. The 3rd International research conference organized by Trincomalee campus, Eastern University in partnership with the Eastern Provincial council and UN volunteers Sri Lanka.
- Cavitha Balachandran (2018) “Participation and Voice of Women in Community-Based Organization (A special reference to Mathagal East Rural Water Supply)”. The 4th World Conference on Women’s Studies, The International Institute of Knowledge Management, Sri Lanka.
- Cavitha Balachandran (2017) “Assessment of Women Participation in the Community Based Rural Water supply and Sanitation project”. The Twenty Second Annual Conference and International Seminar (Association of Third World Studies South Asia Chapter) held at the Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna.
- Cavitha Balachandran and Piratheepa Vipulan. (2016). “Impact Assessment of Community Based Rural Water supply and Sanitation project “(A Special reference to Mathagal East – Jaffna District). The 4th International Conference of Eastern University.
Articles in books and magazines
- “Boundary disputes between South Asian countries”- Geo Politics Book (Department of Geography-Jaffna University) 2024.
- “Land use planning steps” – Jaffna Geographer Magazine (2016)
- “Boundary disputes between South Asian countries”- Geo Politics Book (Department of Geography-Jaffna University) 2014.
Teaching
Teaching modules:
Undergraduate Teaching
New Syllabus BA– Department of Geography
GYC 21013: Cartography and Geographic Information Systems
PNC 31013: Research Methods in Planning
GYC 31023: Research Methods in Geography
GYC 32013: Geography of Sri Lanka
BA (Hons) – Department of Geography
GYCH 21043: Urban Geography
GYCH 22043: Economic Geography
PNCH 21033: Regional Development & Planning
PNCH 31023: Urban Planning and Development
GYCH 41053: Regional Planning and Development
Old Syllabus
AGYC 21033: Economic Geography
AGYC 22043: World Regional Geography
AGYC 31043: Urban Geography
AGYC 41043: Physical and Human Environment – Sri Lanka
AGYC 42023: Geography of Social Welfare
Centre for Open and Distance Learning
Fundamentals of Cartography
Economic Geography
Research Interests
Urban Development, Planning and Management
Regional Planning and Development
Economic Development
Social Studies