The Department of Statistics of University of Sri Jayewardenepura organized an enriching educational field visit to the Regional Rice Research & Development Centre (RRDC) in Bombuwala. This immersive experience highlighted the department’s dedication to delivering practical education that strengthens students’ understanding of statistical principles in authentic environments.
The purpose of this visit was to illustrate how experimental designs are used in real-world scenarios, supplementing the curriculum in STA 3172/ASP 4522 Advanced Design of Experiments. The trip took place on August 12, 2024, with the help of Dr. Pradeepa De Silva, Additional Director and Principal Agriculture Scientist (Rice Breeding), who thoughtfully planned the program from the very beginning. Mrs. Deepika Weerasinghe, the Deputy Director (Research), was an instrumental figure in coordinating the activities on-site, making sure that everything went smoothly. Dr. Wasana Wijesuriya, a retired Principal Research Officer at the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, was the key figure that helped the department make the first connection with the institute. She was the first point of contact and played a key role in building the collaboration.
Both Dr. Manjula Withnawasam and Dr. Geethika Rupasinghe, Assistant Directors of Agriculture (Research), took responsibility for leading the sessions. This visit became an amazing learning experience for the third-year undergraduates who took part, as it clearly showed how different experimental designs are utilized in real life. Some of the designs that were witnessed by the students included a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), a Split-Plot Design, and even an Augmented RCBD. These ideas went beyond what was taught in the standard lectures and offered fresh insights. As the students saw these designs being used in rice cultivation trials, the abstract ideas and methods they learned in class were converted into real, practical things in the field.
The facilitators encouraged active engagement through intriguing discussions on experiment layout, treatment allocation, and block management, elevating the experience far beyond passive viewing. Thanks to this enriching experience, engaging discussions and questions arose among the students, and the answers to said questions resulted in a deeper understanding of experimental designs that highlighted the broad applications of statistics in agriculture and beyond. With these practical insights, students can now approach their academic work with a more applied perspective.
