I am Dr. Lakshman Wimalasena, an assistant professor specialising in human resource management at Edinburgh Business School (EBS), within the School of Social Sciences at Heriot Watt University.

I am part of the HRM group within the Department of Management at EBS, Heriot-Watt University. My teaching responsibilities encompass diversity management at both undergraduate honors and postgraduate levels. Additionally, I presently serve as the first and second supervisor for eight doctoral students. On the administrative front, I chair the Ethics Committee of the Department of Management and also I am a member of the School Disciplinary Board (SDC) within the School of Social Sciences. As an academic, I hold membership in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and contribute to the Centre for Employment, Work, and the Professions (CREWs) research group.

My research interests span several critical areas, including work, digitalisation and social media, gender, EDI (equality, diversity & inequality), and reflexivity in the context of human resource management. My current research projects involve, a co-design intervention to foster occupational identity and progression with a Scottish Public Sector institution to Currently, investigating the gendered impact of working from home, examining casual workers in Sri Lanka’s global apparel industry, and exploring the intersection of social media, digital distraction, and the experiences of rural Sri Lankan women. Additionally, I have a keen interest in critical realism and the morphogenetic approach.

My External Engagement

• REF 2029 External Assessor - Bath Spa University (Appointed in April, 2024)
• Editorial Member – Journal of Critical Realism

Also, I have been invited to review academic papers for the following recognised journals over the last five years:

• Reviewer for Frontiers Sociology online journal – ongoing since 2017
• Reviewer for the Journal of Critical Realism – ongoing since 2017
• Reviewer for the Sociological Review journal – since 2019
• Reviewer for the Journal of Organisation – Since 2019
• Reviewer for the Journal of Management Development – Since 2020

Contribution to University management

 I am a trained ‘Respect Ambassador’, working together with a team of local and international group of members appointed by the Heriot Watt University, a support channel for staff experiencing workplace harassment, bullying and unfair treatment, since 2022.

I am a member of the Heriot Watt University’s Anti Racism Reference Group since July 2023.

Research, Impact & Knowledge Transfer Projects

1. Project Title: Internal Conversations, Occupational Ambitions and Sense of Identity: Working with Lower-Level, Non-Clinical NHS Employees to Effect Career Progress and Challenge Disadvantage (CREWS Seed-corn grant, currently on-going) - Value - £3,728.00
2. Project Title: Personal Reflexivity in Social Research: A Participatory Critical Realist Methodology Workshop for Researching Contemporary Social Dynamics - Small Grant (£2,500) funded jointly by Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) & Scottish Graduate School of Arts & Humanities (SGSAH) under the scheme 'Spring in to Methods' 2022/2023 (Lead Academic - Heriot Watt University) together with Bath Spa University UK, Manchester University UK, KTH Royal Institute of Technology – Sweden, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Australia. 
3. Project Title: Digitalisation of the Academy: Exploring the Nature of Contemporary Digital Labour and Work Intensification among Academics at Scottish Universities – an on-going and work in progress project led by Wimalasena, L. (a one-month internship as well as a pilot study are currently underway, funded by the CREWS in support of a future larger project).
4. Project Title: “Gendered Experiences of working from Home during the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study of Information Technology Professionals in Sri Lanka” - Co-Investigator in the project led by Prof. Lasith Guanwarendena, University of Sri Jayewardenapura Sri Lanka. This application was successful and won a grant of Rs. 1.237 million – internal research grants, and will run for two years from February 2022. http://workfromhome.lk/ 
5. Project Title: Masculinities Matter: Everyday Masculinities of Rural Conflict-Affected Sri Lanka (Archived) - May, 2021 - £196,722.70 - This bid was successful, but the funder withdrew the offer being subjected to UK government funding cuts – Principal Investigator. 
6. Project Title: The forgotten garment workers: life stories of marginalised women in Sri Lanka’s export apparel industry – GCRF Small Grant - June, 2021 – Led by Manchester Metropolitan University in Collaboration with University of Sri Jayewardenapura, Sri Lanka – Bid successful - £5,000 – Co-Investigator 
7. Project Title: Social Media and Distracted Women: An Exploration of the Influence of Facebook(ing) on the Daily Life of Rural Sri Lankan Women. April, 2018, Internal Research Grant. Value – £3,100, Successful. Principal Investigator   

My Doctoral Project: 

Presence of the departed? Meaning of work and the reflexive life journey of postcolonial Sri Lankan agents through the world
available at: http://www.ros.hw.ac.uk/handle/10399/3037 

My Blog: TheMigrantAcademic.Com

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