The Colombo Medical School was founded in 1870 and finally became the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Ceylon. By the 1950s it was realised that this Faculty was unable to produce sufficient medical graduates to meet Sri Lanka’s growing need for doctors. It was decided to start a new Medical school at the Peradeniya Campus of the University of Ceylon. This campus had been built on a Greenfield site near Kandy and had started functioning in 1952. The move to start a new medical school was strongly supported by the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, Sir Nicholas Attygalle, who was previously Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Colombo Medical Faculty.
The Peradeniya Medical School enrolled its first intake of 103 students on January 02, 1962. It was initially an appendage of the Colombo Medical faculty with seconded staff, but became fully independent by 1967, electing its own dean and thereafter managed to make a group of dedicated administrators from the time of the Founder Dean, legendary Prof. Senaka Bibile.
Initially clinicals were conducted at the Kandy Hospital until the Teaching Hospital at Peradeniya was opened in June 1980. Since its formation in 1962, the Peradeniya Medical School has produced well over 6000 doctors since its inception. These doctors are working not only in Sri Lanka but also in many countries around the world including a significant number in Australia. The current intake is about 200 students per year and the Faculty has 16 Departments of study.
The Peradeniya Medical School Alumni Association (PeMSAA) was formed at Peradeniya in 1992 with the objective of assisting the Faculty of Medicine to improve its academic standards and also provide its alumni with a forum for social and academic activities. Its broader objectives are:
To encourage, foster and promote close relations between the School and its alumni and among the alumni themselves.
To assist and support, financially and otherwise, the School and the alumni.
To initiate, assist and support activities which are of interest and benefit to the alumni, and to promote interest of the alumni association in the affairs of the school and to ensure that the programmes are developed for the benefit of the alumni.
To promote close relations between alumni and students of the School and support welfare programmes.
To promote exchange of information between alumni, School and is students.
PeMSAA Australasia was founded in 2008 and it had its inaugural meeting and dinner dance at The Sebel Pier One Hotel, Sydney on September 27th 2008. It was opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir. Since then, we had six PeMSAA Australasia conferences and the 7th Conference is going to be held in Sydney, NSW on 8th and 9th of October 2022.
We invite all Peradeniya alumni who live in Australia and New Zealand to join hands to further strengthen PeMSAA Australasia while maintaining the traditional Peradeniya values and Inspirations.
