Sri Lankan born Professor knighted in 2026 King’s New Year Honours

Colombo, Dec. 30 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lankan born Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of University of Leicester has been knighted in the 2026 King’s New Year Honours for his inestimable contribution to higher education, particularly in championing inclusion.

Professor Nishan Canagarajah was born and educated in Sri Lanka, before moving to the UK where he received his BA (Hons) and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge in 1989 and 1993. 

He joined the University of Bristol as a research assistant in 1993 and worked in a number of academic roles, serving as the Faculty of Engineering Research Director, Head of Department of Computer Science, Head of Merchant Venturers School of Engineering and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. He became Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise in August 2014.  

Nishan is internationally recognised for his research on signal processing and texture classification. He served on national and international research funding, governance and postgraduate education panels, as well as acting as a technical consultant for Sony, BT, BBC, Orange, Thales, Toshiba and the Met Police. 

"Throughout his distinguished career, Professor Canagarajah has shown an unwavering commitment to education as a force for improving lives and creating a fairer society. As the first minority ethnic Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leicester, in the first plural city in the UK, he has used his influence to give voice to those who are so often overlooked and under-represented and has taken actions to overcome barriers and create opportunities for others, University of Leicester said.