Moratuwa academic bags top EU fellowship for architectural heritage research

Dr. Jayasinghe’s awarded project, titled RELiCS, addresses a significant gap in the study of Sri Lanka’s architectural and transcultural heritage. The research will deliver the first comprehensive analysis of lesser-studied nineteenth century missionary architecture in Sri Lanka

Dr. Sagara Jayasinghe, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Integrated Design at the University of Moratuwa, has been awarded the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Global Postdoctoral Fellowship, one of the European Union’s most competitive and internationally respected research grants.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme is the EU’s flagship funding scheme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training, supporting researchers across disciplines and promoting international mobility and interdisciplinary collaboration. Named after the pioneering, twice Nobel Prize–winning scientist Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the programme recognises excellence in research and innovation worldwide.

The 2025 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call drew a record 17,066 applications, with an overall success rate of about 9.6%. Selected fellows represent nearly 80 nationalities and will conduct research in around 45 countries, reflecting the programme’s global reach and competitiveness. The latest call marked the highest number of proposals ever received under any funding action in the EU’s 40-year research and innovation framework.

Dr. Jayasinghe’s awarded project, titled RELiCS, addresses a significant gap in the study of Sri Lanka’s architectural and transcultural heritage. The research will deliver the first comprehensive analysis of lesser-studied nineteenth century missionary architecture in Sri Lanka. These churches, founded mainly by Italian, Spanish, and French congregations, developed outside the better-known Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial ecclesiastical networks that have traditionally dominated scholarship.

The fellowship training will be hosted at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of Pavia in Italy, a historic public university founded in year 1361 and known for its long academic tradition. Dr. Jayasinghe previously completed his PhD in Art History, Heritage, and Restoration at the University of Lisbon, where his doctoral thesis received the highest distinction, summa cum laude. His work has focused extensively on church architecture, missionary networks, and shared built heritage in Sri Lanka.

Academics note that this recognition places Sri Lankan architectural heritage research on a prominent international platform and highlights the growing global interest in South Asian heritage studies.