Dr Udugampola brings more than two decades of experience in financial regulation, criminal justice, financial crime law, and governance to the University. She currently serves as a Supervising Associate at the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is also an Adjunct Professor at
Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice. She previously spent 16 years with the New York State Department of Financial Services, with her academic and professional work spanning financial crime and fraud, anti-money-laundering law, regulatory compliance, illicit financial flows, artificial intelligence and financial crime, financial inclusion, financial literacy, and emerging regulatory risks.
Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at the UFS, said, “I warmly welcome Dr Kishani Udugampola to the University of the Free State, where global expertise and local insight converge to advance scholarship and societal impact. Financial crime is a global challenge that requires transdisciplinary solutions. Advancing understanding of illicit financial flows, financial inclusion, and emerging technologies is essential to building more just and resilient societies. This collaboration strengthens our capacity to generate knowledge that matters.”
Taking financial crime beyond the classroom
Rather than limiting her time at the UFS to academic discussions, Dr Udugampola hopes to connect students with the institutions and professionals who deal with financial crime in practice. “I am particularly interested in creating opportunities for students to move beyond the traditional classroom and engage with real-world institutions and practitioners,” she said. “Connecting students with organisations such as diplomatic missions, financial intelligence and regulatory institutions, international organisations, law enforcement and compliance professionals, and academic partners can help position UFS as a hub for interdisciplinary and international learning in financial crime and governance.”
One opportunity already being explored is a longer-term student initiative with the
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners South Africa. The proposed initiative would expose students to practitioners and experts working in areas such as financial literacy, financial crime prevention, illicit financial flows, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence, while also introducing them to possible international career pathways.
The intention is to create something that extends beyond individual seminars or events. Dr Udugampola hopes such a platform could give students opportunities to engage with both South African and United States institutions, develop practical skills, and encounter perspectives that may not ordinarily form part of their classroom experience.
That practical focus also connects with Dr Udugampola’s existing work in financial literacy and community engagement. Her professional and academic interests extend beyond financial crime as a regulatory concern to questions about how financial systems affect communities, economic development, and vulnerable groups.
The South African context is particularly important to the exchange. Dr Udugampola wants to deepen her understanding of how financial crime, development, and governance intersect in the country, and she hopes to use that understanding to inform research that brings South African scholars and students into wider international conversations.
“South Africa provides a particularly valuable environment for examining these issues, and I hope that the work undertaken during my visit can contribute to research collaborations that continue after the Fulbright period and involve UFS scholars and students as active contributors.”
The scope for such collaboration extends beyond the immediate visit. Dr Udugampola’s existing international networks include universities, regulators, law-enforcement agencies, and professional practitioners in the United States, South Africa, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Potential areas of future collaboration include joint and comparative research, guest lectures, student exchanges, collaborative publications, international conferences, and cross-border research networks.
For the Faculty of Law, these possibilities align with the University’s strategic emphasis on academic excellence, impact, collaborative innovation, and global integration. Prof Kamga said Dr Udugampola’s work also brings together disciplines that are increasingly important to understanding complex financial crimes. “Her research cuts across the intersection of financial crime, illicit financial flows, financial inclusion, and human rights, and is transdisciplinary in nature,” he said.
The value of the visit, however, will ultimately be measured by what remains after January 2027. “I would like my visit to leave behind relationships, research collaborations, student opportunities, and institutional platforms that are sustainable beyond my time at UFS,” Dr Udugampola said.
For students and researchers in particular, that could mean that an international academic exchange is experienced not only through a visiting scholar’s seminars, but through new research relationships, access to professional expertise, and opportunities to participate in conversations about financial crime that extend well beyond the University.
“This exchange exemplifies how global engagement enriches teaching, strengthens research and broadens student horizons,” Prof Reddy concluded. “The intersection of law, technology, ethics, and governance will define many of tomorrow’s challenges. Sustainable research collaborations create lasting value. I am excited about the opportunities this partnership can unlock well beyond the Fulbright visit.”