Rate My Professor Aparna Samaraweera

Dr. Aparna Samaraweera is a Lecturer in the School of Civil Engineering and Construction, College of Engineering and Information Technology at Adelaide University. She earned a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying and a PhD in Construction Management. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Data Science, is a passed finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA-UK), and possesses a Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education. Before entering academia, she worked as a Quantity Surveyor in the Sri Lankan construction industry, engaging in private and public sector projects with construction and consultancy firms. Notably, she contributed as a resource person to the validation of curricula and competency standards for the quantity surveying profession by the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority, Sri Lanka. This industry experience informs her teaching and research in construction management.

Dr. Samaraweera's research interests center on the sociology of the built environment, with a focus on cultural dynamics in construction project management, technology adoption, cross-cultural project team management, post-disaster reconstruction, and waste management. She examines behavioral patterns of construction participants to predict and improve professional practices. Recent work emphasizes gender equity and the well-being of female workers in the Australian construction industry, addressing cultural and structural barriers to women's participation and advancement. Her contributions include significant grants and awards, such as the National Association of Women in Construction International Women’s Day Scholarship 2023 (AUD 20,000) for improving gender parity, Mates in Construction Scholarship (2024-2027), Highly Commended Paper Award at the World Construction Symposium 2023, Early Career Academic Grant 2017 from the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and Outstanding Research Performance Award 2017 from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Key publications feature 'Modeling Psychosocial Hazards Affecting Professional Construction Employees: ISM-MICMAC Approach' (2026, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, with M.K.C.S. Wijewickrama, G.A. Tennakoon, N. Chileshe), 'Prevention of Suicides in the Construction Industry: A State-of-the-Art Review' (2024, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management), 'Construction 4.0 Technologies and Applications: A Systematic Literature Review' (2023, Construction Innovation, with L. Statsenko, J. Bakhshi, N. Chileshe), 'Organisational BIM Maturity Models and Their Applications' (2023, Architectural Engineering and Design Management), and 'Strategies for Sustainable Irrigation System Management' (2023, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management). These works advance understanding of construction culture, supply chain resilience, worker mental health, and inclusive practices in the field.