Prof. Gamlath started his academic career in Sociology and turned to professional social work later after specific overseas training, including BSW, and completing PGdip and PhD in International Social Work and Social Development. He possesses a substantial level of experience as a professional social work practitioner across public, private and community sectors, in addition to his long experience in academia as an educator and in the industry as a qualified trainer and assessor. Prof. Gamlath is the founder of the new Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree programme at the University of Peradeniya. It is a landmark initiative as it is the first of its kind in the country’s university system, which includes 16 universities. In addition to the BSW, he has initiated Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work (PGdip) and Master of Social Work (MSw) degree programmes in the Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (PGIHS) at the University of Peradeniya. He continues to focus on and promote “research-informed practice and practice-informed research perspectives” as his mission in his professional social work education, practice and research. Some of his work in the field of generic social work has been widely published both nationally and internationally. He is actively involved in a number of national and international professional associations and networks, and currently contributes with international consulting editorial tasks to several international periodic publications in the field of professional social work education and practice. Prof. Gamlath identifies himself as a fully qualified and substantially experienced social work educator and practitioner in the country.
