IIHS hosts 14th BioInquirer Annual Academic Sessions

A pioneering Sri Lankan education institute with 16 years in the field, the International Institute of Health Science (IIHS) recently hosted the 14th BioInquirer Annual Academic Sessions and Workshop on 17th and 18th of November 2018.

The BioInquirer forum is a global incubator that arms professionals with knowledge and promotes growth. IIHS typically hosts two BioInquirer forums each year wherein participating professionals are motivated to present their work at a competitive level, with each conference aiming to transform attendees from task-oriented individuals to critical thinkers.

Frequently, evidence-based research generated at virtually every BioInquirer forum has a profound effect on future generations of professionals and academics. In fact, all research topics at this forum surrounds the United Nation›s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely SDG 3 (Good Health), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for Goals).

The theme for 2018’s BioInquirer Annual Academic Sessions was “New Dimension in Health: Creating a Sustainable Healthcare Safety Net for All”. In this case, the Healthcare Safety Net (HSN) has been defined as utilising a provider network that organizes and delivers a significant level of healthcare and other related services to uninsured, underinsured and other vulnerable populations irrespective of their financial circumstances, insurance status or health condition. Ultimately, HSNs must become sustainable to achieve high-quality delivery of care, so public health can be improved without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage.

The Keynote Speaker for the 14th BioInquirer Annual Academic Sessions and Workshop was Dr. Sarath Samarage, Senior Fellow at Institute for Health Policy Sri Lanka, who commented on the measures to be taken to ensure a sustainable Health Safety Net for all Sri Lankans.

Importantly, a number of IIHS’s international partners attended this year’s forum, including representatives from Metropolia Helsinki University of Applied Sciences, Deakin University (Australia) and Peking University (China). Further, there were over 103 publications in the 2018 BioInquirer journal, with 15 research publications submitted from government nursing training schools, which resulted from a Research Roadshow held between 2016 and 2018 that was conducted island-wide at all Nursing Training Schools with over 5,000 reached.

Commenting on 14th BioInquirer Annual Academic Sessions and Workshop, Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe, CEO and Director - Academics at IIHS, stated, “BioInquirer is an incubator where evidence based knowledge is dispersed to the community in the form of Conferences, Research Forums, Community Projects and Workshops. In 2016,

1. Participants at BioInquirer Annual Academic Forum

2. Participants from the Deakin University

3. Participants from Nursing Training School

IIHS aligned with the 17 UN SDGs and since then all research projects have aligned with the goals. Further, in 2018, the final year undergraduate students of IIHS conducted research on vulnerable populations in Sri Lanka. At IIHS, we encourage students to step outside the box and engage in community projects which would align their work with global initiatives towards health and wellbeing.”

As Sri Lanka’s premier International University Learning Center (IULC), IIHS has for 16 years offered programmes ranging from Certificates to PhDs. As a wellrespected IULC, the programmes offered at IIHS are done so in partnership with leading global universities with which IIHS has secured pathway opportunities for students to achieve their international dreams at an affordable price.

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