Dr. Mapa Thilakarathna obtained his BA and MA in Mass Communication from the University of Kelaniya and he had completed his PhD in the department of communication studies, faculty of Science, University of Pune, India. He held several administrative positions in the university such as head of the department of Mass Communication in 2016. He became the first director of the media unit in the University system in Sri Lanka established in 2007. He worked as a consultant in several national and international institutions. He had carried out several national researches in the field of development communication and health communication. Dr. Mapa Thilakarathna was the first author in Sri Lanka to publish an academic book about public relations in Sinhala medium.