ICSRI Conference underway at Villa College

The International Conference of Social Research and Innovation (ICSRI) Conference is currently underway at Villa College. The conference is an annual event organized by the college.

The conference began yesterday and will come to a close today. It is being held at Villa College's QI Campus. The ICSRI Conference links both national development goals, the UN's sustainable development goals and research, with it being Maldives' largest research conference.

This year's conference is taking place under the slogan of "Synergies of Discovery: Igniting Solutions for the Future". The slogan symbolizes the research that is being done with the help of various industries and technologies and finding solutions to social challenges in places, especially island nations. The conference will look at the importance of research in addressing inclusive development, sustainable development and environmental challenges.

During the opening ceremony of the conference, Villa College Rector Dr. Ahmed Anwar stated that this year's slogan shows the importance of industry research, ideas and the cooperation to find solutions to national and international issues.

Chief guest Australian High Commissioner David Jessup said that the slogan of this conference is an appropriate slogan for the times.

"We need scientific solutions as to what the world and we as people are currently facing such as climate change, digital revolution and social equality, as they are all interconnected. This is why fact-based research and thoughtful debates are so important," said Mr. Jessup.

The conference will have international experts present their papers and panel discussions. The Conference Chair and Villa College Deputy Vice Rector - Research and Innovation, Dr. Mohamed Adil stated that they have introduced an initiative titled "Impact Rooms" this year. The aim of the initiative is to bring researchers, policy makers and industry experts to discuss and bring about practical policies, as stated by Mr. Adil.

Villa College has stated that 166 government and industry participants registered for the conference, along with more than 75 research papers being submitted.

The conference will have 8 categories of research papers being submitted:

The conference will see awards given for "Best Paper" and "Best Presenter". Through the research presented at the conference, facilitate the finding of solutions to social and policy-level needs.

The conference is being held via the cooperation of 24 sponsors, partners and endorsers. There are various government ministries and organizations included as well. 

The ICSRI has been held at Villa College annually since 2016.