Nelka Sriwarnasinghe has been serving as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Agro-technology at the University of Colombo Institute for Agro-technology and Rural Sciences (UCIARS), Weligatta, Hambantota, since 2010. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Honours) from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, in 2010. She later earned a Master of Agriculture Economics and Development from the same faculty in 2016 and subsequently completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, specializing in Biotechnology and Mutation Breeding, with a research focus on gamma irradiation of ornamental plants.
She commenced her professional career in 2010 as an Assistant Course Coordinator at UCIARS and was appointed as a Course Coordinator and Assistant Lecturer in 2011. From 2011 to 2013, she coordinated the Diploma and Higher Diploma in Agro-technology programmes, delivered through a blended learning approach to support the farming community across Sri Lanka.
Since 2010, Dr. Nelka Sriwarnasinghe has actively engaged in research spanning blended learning in agricultural education, adult farmer education, agronomy, horticulture, floriculture and landscaping, biotechnology, and mutation breeding using gamma irradiation. Her research interests focus on the application of innovative technologies to enhance agricultural productivity and the improvement of ornamental plants through mutation breeding.