Villa College Concludes 2024 International Conference on Social Research and Innovation

Villa College’s Institute for Research and Innovation (IRI) has celebrated the conclusion of the 2024 International Conference on Social Research and Innovation (ICSRI). 

Held annually, this year’s conference took place from June 8 with the theme “Innovations for Sustainability: Forging the Path Ahead.”

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The event attracted considerable participation, with over 53 abstracts submitted by international participants, Maldivian students, and researchers. Presentations covered a wide range of topics across eight different fields, complemented by four keynote speeches and five panel discussions.

Recognition was given to outstanding contributions, with awards for the best research paper and best presenters. The Best Research Paper award went to Mariyam Nuha and Dr. Aishath Shanura for their study on the “Effects of Encouragement on Cognitive Performance of an Abstract Reasoning Task.”

Best Presenter Awards were distributed in two categories:

• Career Researcher Category: Dr. Ismail Nizam, Dr. Ahmed Shahid, Dr. Damith Gangodawilage
• Novice Category: Fathimath Lamya Imthiyaz, Lyernisha Franglin, Batool Zahoor

The conference also included a ceremony where 10 applicants were considered for research grants, nine of whom were awarded. The recipients and their research proposals are as follows:

• Ms. Lyernisha S R, Dr. C.Seldev Christopher, Ms. Fernisha S R – Medical Image Processing for Early Detection of Cancer: A Machine Learning Approach
• Uza. Asna Ahmed, Dr. Deepti Khubalkar, Dr. Shilpa Sharma, Mr. Amish Abdullah, Dr. Tajudeen Sanni, Uz. Shahim Saleem – Analyzing the Sustainability and Adoption of Eco-Friendly Public Toilets in India and Maldives to Build Sustainable Future.
• Mr. Moosa Mohamed Manik, Mr. Margret Vijay, Ms. Mano, Priya Vijayan, Dr. Wammidh H.Talib – Development and Validation of a Nursing Assessment Item Bank for Optimized Computer Adaptive Testing through Psychometric Analysis
• Dr. Tajudeen Sanni, Ms. Elizabeth Nwarueze, Dr Ibraheem Sulley, Mr. Amish Abdullah, Uza. Asna Ahmed – Enhancing Sustainable Marine Tourism through Participatory Marine Spatial Planning in the Maldives
• Ms. Fathimath Saeed, Ms. Mariyam Azlifa – Enhancing Science Education in Maldives through Open Educational Resources
• Mr. Amish Abdullah, Dr. Sukhvinder Singh, Dr. Ahmar Afaq, Uza. Asna Ahmed, Dr. Tajudeen Sanni, Uz. Shahim Saleem, Mr. Jimmy Jose – Persons with Disabilities’ Inclusivity and Accessibility to Tourism Sector in Maldives: An Analysis of Maldivian Legislative Framework, Policies and Practices.
• Uz. Shahim Saleem, Mr. Hamza Khan, Mr. Amish Abdullah, Uza. Asna Ahmed, Dr. Tajudeen Sanni – Intellectual Property in The Maldives and Sustainable Development Goals: A Comparative and Situational Analysis of Legislations and Policies
• Dr. Byju K.P.M, Ms. Aishath Thashkeel, Ms. Nuzuha Nizam – Investigating the Impact of Organizational Environment and Employees’ Ability to Transfer Knowledge and Skills on Employee Job Performance

In his closing remarks, Villa College Vice Rector Dr. Ali Najeeb highlighted ICSRI as a significant platform for showcasing research aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

He emphasised the increasing importance of social science research and expressed a desire for future conferences to include collaborative efforts with industry partners. Dr. Najeeb also noted the college’s commitment to enhancing the dissemination of research outputs.