On 24 April 2026, the Institute of Psychology hosted its first international PhD dissertation defense. It was also the defense of the first graduate of the Start for PhD postgraduate programme, Darshika Thejani Bulathwatta (from the Open University of Sri Lanka).
The dissertation, entitled “Psychosocial Well-being Among Individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Hemodialysis Treatment and Their Caregivers: A Mixed-method Study in Sri Lanka and Poland,” was supervised by Professor Mariola Bidzan and Dr Judyta Borchet.
All members of the examination committee were present: Professor Konrad Janowski (Vizja University in Warsaw), Professor Aleksandra Błachnio (Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz), and Professor Adelinda Araujo Candelas (University of Évora). Representatives from eight countries attended the defense in person, while participants from three additional countries joined online.
It was truly an international PhD defense.
On 14 May 2026, Thejani was awarded the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences in Psychology, with distinction.
Congratulations!
