About Us
The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) is the only National University which offers a wide range of academic programmes of study through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode.
The flexibility and ease of access of this system has enabled the University to cater to the needs of prospective students from all parts of the country, regardless of their level of formal education, socio-economic background or age. It offers Certificate, Diploma, Degree and Postgraduate Degree programmes in a wide range of disciplines through its five Faculties, namely, Education, Engineering Technology, Health Sciences, Humanities & Social Science and Natural Sciences and the Postgraduate Institute of English (PGIE).
The Open University takes special interest in fostering research and scholarship, and is a pioneer in research in Open and Distance Learning.
About the Event
The International Research Conference of the Open University of Sri Lanka 2026 (IRC-OUSL 2026) will be held on 11th, 12th and 13th of November 2026 as a hybrid conference.
IRC-OUSL 2026 offers a unique forum for academics and researchers both within Sri Lanka and overseas to present and discuss their research findings in a wide range of disciplines. There will be five parallel technical sessions and six panel discussions on 11th, 12th and 13th of November 2026.
The Organizing Committee of IRC-OUSL 2026 is pleased to invite academics and researchers to submit their research findings to be presented at the conference
Session Themes
Abstracts can be submitted under the following themes:
- Open and Distance Learning
- Quality Assurance for Higher Education
- English Language Teaching
- Education
- Engineering and Technology
- Health Sciences
- Life Sciences - Biological Sciences, Agriculture and Forestry
- Physical Sciences
- Environmental Sciences
- Humanities and Social Sciences
- Management
- Law
Monthly Webinars and Workshops
- Workshop 1 (Biological Sciences) - "Introduction To Bioinformatics"
- Workshop 3 (ODL) - "How To Write A Good Abstract"
- Workshop 4 (Environmental Sciences) - "From Idea to Impact : A Practical Guide to Publishing Research Articles "
- Workshop 5 (Education) - "Responsive Curriculum for Future Ready Learners"
- Workshop 6 (Physical Sciences) - “Beyond the Obvious: Reshaping Society Atom by Atom"
‘Adaptive Intelligence: Research pathways for innovation, resilience and impact’
Important Dates
Call for Abstracts & Extended Abstracts
- 15th April 2026 - 15th June 2026
Finding of the Novel research may be submitted for oral presentation at the IRC-OUSL 2026. Submissions should include the extended abstract (for reviewing and publishing)
Download
Guideline for Abstracts/Extended Abstracts Preparation, Template for Abstracts, Template for Extended Abstracts, Guidelines for Oral Presentation, Microsoft CMT conference management sysytem - Guideline for Authors, Author Declaration, Author Checklist
Completed submissions can be made through the Microsoft CMT website
The Microsoft CMT service was used for managing the peer-reviewing process for this conference. This service was provided for free by Microsoft and they bore all expenses, including costs for Azure cloud services as well as for software development and support.
The Author declaration form and Checklist for Authors should be filled after the initial submission of the Extended abstract, through the online system. The completed Author Declaration Form should be either scanned and emailed to dirresearch@ou.ac.lk or posted to
The Director Research,
Research Unit, The Open University of Sri Lanka, PO Box 21, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
Notification of Acceptance of abstracts & extended abstracts
- 01st July 2026
Once accepted, the corresponding authors will be notified by 01st July 2026. The abstract together with reviewer comments will be made available to the authors.
Early Bird Registration
- 01st July 2026 - 15th August 2026
| OUSL Academic/Administrative/Academic support staff and Students | Local Outside Participants | Foreign Participants | |
| Early Bird Registration | Free of Charge | Rs. 2000.00 | US$ 150.00 |
Regular Registration
- 01st September 2026 - 30th September 2026
| OUSL Academic/Administrative/Academic support staff and Students | Local Outside Participants | Foreign Participants | |
| Regular Registration | Free of Charge | Rs. 3000.00 | US$ 200.00 |
Submission of Camera Ready Copy
- 15st September 2026 - 30th September 2026
The deadline of receiving camera–ready copy of the Final Revised abstracts including suggested changes to the abstract will be 30th Sep 2026. No revised abstracts will be accepted after the deadline. These abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.
IRC-OUSL 2026
- 11th, 12th and 13th November 2026
IRC-OUSL 2026 will be held on 11th, 12th, 13th November 2026.