Institute for Research and Innovation 

Institute for Research and Innovation (IRI) is a growth initiative of Villa College to create a research-focussed academic community in the Maldives. The institute is committed to undertake research at the highest quality and seek to meet the world leading standards of excellence in conducting research. In doing so the institute takes necessary actions to ensure that the quality of their research meets the international benchmarks. The institute also seeks to publish their research in leading outlets in the appropriate fields.

The institute works toward bringing together academics of different institutions locally and internationally in creating a research environment as well as disseminating quality research to inform the Maldivian society and beyond. As such, IRI has established joint research collaboration with Heilbronn University, Germany and University of the West of England, UK to undertake joint research projects.

 Main Functions

Aims of IRI  

Core Principles 

§  Conduct research of highest quality 

§  Develop excellent research academic 

§  Have an impact beyond academic excellence  

Supporting Factors 

§  Provide focus on research 

§  Provide the right resources to researchers  

§  Meet the highest standards of integrity 

§  Ensure alignment of research strategy at all levels

PROGRAMMES 

In addition to research development, IRI is also an institute that offers research based postgraduate programmes.

 They are:  

Postgraduate Certificate in Research Studies

Postgraduate Diploma in Research Studies

Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health

Master of Research in Public Health

Research Expertise 

Villa College has over 30 active researchers who have published or presented their studies in conferences. Villa College research team includes 13 full time PhDs more than 20 staff with Masters level qualifications, who are directly involved in teaching and promoting research. 

Fulltime VC staff involved in research (PhD level) 

Dr. Ahmed Anwar

Dr. Ali Najeeb

Dr. Abdulla Sadig 

Dr. Mohamed Adil  

Dr. Ahmed Shahid 

Dr. Ahmed Ali Didi

Dr. Asma Ibrahim

Dr. Mohamed Kinaanath 

Dr. Ahsan Ahmed Jaleel

Dr. Ibrahim Hassan

Dr. Sheema Saeed 

Dr. Subburaj Alagarsamy

Dr. Byju K.P.M 

Multi-disciplinary Research Initiatives

As part of its research initiative strategy, IRI has formed several research groups that are focused on multiple disciplines. These includes: 

§  Education  

§  Business and Tourism 

§  Health 

§  Language 

§  SMART learning 

The main aim of these research groups is to foster a culture of love and interest for research among the college staff and produce quality research through these research initiatives groups. Thus far, these groups have developed research and published their research in internationally recognized journals. 

Relevance of Research to Local environment/ National Interest 

IRI is very keen on undertaking research relevant to national interest. The core objective of IRI is to foster research led policy making. Villa College has undertaken number of research projects of national interest. Some of the research projects include:  

§  Research on justice sector 

§  Research on financial sector of the Maldives  

§  Research on health and wellness of Maldivians  

§  Research on higher education arena of the Maldives 

§  Research on Maldivian environment

International Collaboration in Research 

Villa College has established research collaborations with the following Universities  

§  University of the West of England  

§  Heilbronn University, Germany 

§  Open University Malaysia  

§  University of Tasmania, Australia  

With staff from these Universities, Villa College has undertaken joint research publications and conference participations.

Dedicated Space for Research Support 

IRI has a dedicated office space specifically allocated for students and staff working on research projects.  

All students undertaking research are coordinated through IRI. At IRI, four fully equipped workstations are established for research students to share in addition to common discussion area. IRI also plans to increase the number of work stations as per the developmental plan. Facilities provided here include computer systems, access to internet, online journals and printing facilities. 

Strength and Successes 

Since its establishment in 2012, IRI has achieved success in terms of research activities at international, national and college level: 

§  Locally and internationally, the citation index of staff and students have increase.d  

§  Through our research we have contributed to national policy formulation in the Maldives: 

o   Justice sector  

o   Environmental policy  

o   Higher education  

o   Health sector 

§  Numerous researches has been undertaken by students under our supervision  

§  Effective implementation of policies and practices in public and private organizations 

§  More than 300 research students have completed research projects in areas of national interest

International Conference on Social Research and Innovation (ICSRI 2018)