Dr. Kalpana Ambepitiya is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management & Finance and Chairperson of the KDU Entrepreneurship Lab at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Sri Lanka. She also serves as Head of the UNESCO Entrepreneurship Education Network (EE-Net) Sri Lanka National Chapter and Director of Studies at the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka. She holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, and has developed a strong academic and professional portfolio in entrepreneurship education, SME development, entrepreneurial ecosystem building, and small business research.

Her research interests include entrepreneurship education, small business marketing, women’s entrepreneurship, sustainability and green entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and enterprise development. Dr. Ambepitiya has contributed extensively to entrepreneurship development through teaching, research, training, mentoring, incubation initiatives, and national and international collaborations.

She has led university-level entrepreneurship initiatives, supported student and SME development programmes, and contributed to research publications, book chapters, conferences, and professional training. She received 2nd Place in the Teaching Excellence Awards at ECIE 2025 in recognition of her contribution to entrepreneurship education. Her work particularly focuses on strengthening entrepreneurship education and fostering sustainable linkages among universities, entrepreneurs, industry, government institutions, and international networks.