Dr. Akvan Gajanayake
Details
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College: School of PCPM
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Department: School of PCPM
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Campus: City Campus Australia
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akvan.gajanayake@rmit.edu.au
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ORCID: 0000-0003-1405-1776
Open to
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
About
Before joining academia Akvan worked in the not-for-profit sector working in a partnership with the American Red Cross, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Environmental Foundation in setting up integrated waste management systems in disaster affected communities. He also has experience in the manufacturing sector, where he managed waste management and resource recovery strategy for an apparel manufacturer.
Akvan has over a decade of teaching experience in the Management, Economics and Environmental Sustainability disciplines. He has taught at the undergraduate level in multiple Universities across Australia and overseas.
Research fields
- 401105 Life cycle assessment and industrial ecology
- 389902 Ecological economics
- 33 Built environment and design
- 401102 Environmentally sustainable engineering
UN sustainable development goals
- 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Non-academic positions
- Industry experience
- City of Port Phillip
- Victoria, Australia
- 1 Jan 2020 – 31 Dec 2021
- Industry experience
- VicRoads
- Structural Technology and Assets Team
- Kew, Australia
- 1 Jan 2017 – 31 Dec 2018
- Assistant Manager, Environmental Sustainability
- MAS Holdings Pty Ltd
- Environmental Sustainability
- , Sri Lanka
- 1 Jan 2010 – 31 Dec 2015
- Research Officer
- Environmental Foundation Ltd
- , Sri Lanka
- 1 Jan 2005 – 31 Dec 2010
Supervisor projects
- Understanding Key Factors Required for Developing a Circular Business Model for End-of-life Electric Vehicle Lithium Batteries in Australia
- 14 Aug 2023
Teaching interests
Akvan teaches the Circular Economy in the Built Environment postgrad course and is the Course Coordinator for Managenment Fundamentals and Leadership in Project Management
Research interests
Circular economy, sustainable engineering, systems thinking, industrial ecology
Research projects
Systems modelling for a Circular Economy
Can net zero be circular? Understanding policy drivers required to make the net zero economy circular.
Ecosystem mapping of the Circular Economy landscape in Victoria for a project funded by Sustainability Victoria
Techno-economic analysis of alternatives to Expanded Polystyrene Waffle Pods for residential construction projects for City of Casey
Integrating circular principles in an urban educational precinct development project at RMIT
Understanding the resilience of lifelines for regional and rural communities in Australia
Financing Infrastructure for Climate Change Adaptation in Developing East Asia Project of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN
Co-lead of the Policy and Governance workstream of the Circular Economy Researchers Network of Asia-Pacific
