IIHS hosts BioInquirer Conference 2020

• Enables continuous professional development by eliminating barriers through the use of technology

IIHS CEO-Founder Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe

Sri Lanka’s pioneer healthcare training provider, the International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS), the role model for Sri Lanka’s education industry hosted the 18th BioInquirer – Annual Research forum on 28 November 2020, under the theme of ‘Transform and Collaborate’.

The BioInquirer research forum is a global incubator that supports knowledge-hungry healthcare and education professionals to publish and gather research knowledge in the healthcare sector in Sri Lanka. At the research forum, the participating professionals were encouraged to present their work at a competitive level, with each conference aiming to transform attendees from task-oriented individuals to critical thinkers.

This year, the BioInquirer research conference focused on encouraging researchers to consider multidisciplinary approaches in healthcare training and education as an area for a wider scope of research. This has been initiated since the multidisciplinary approaches in healthcare and education are considered to be significant components, and thus would provide a wider arena for interested parties. 

This year’s conference was powered by the IIHS Scientific Student Committee which allowed the use of the latest educational technologies and methods to provide an opportunity for continuous professional development whilst eliminating accessibility barriers. No doubt this proved to be an invaluable asset given the change of tides that the world has been experiencing with the breakout of the pandemic. 

Commenting on this year’s conference IIHS CEO/Co-founder Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe added, “We are excited to be hosting the 18th Bio-inquirer Research Forum for the Year 2020 under the theme of ‘Transform & Collaborate’. The speaker lineup is very impressive and we have experienced strong support from our foreign university partners to make this valuable event a success. 

“At IIHS we clearly understand the need to embrace transformation as that will help to propel the healthcare training and education sectors whilst reducing costs and other concerns that can impact negatively,” stated Dr. Kithsiri, elaborating further. 

This is an important event in the IIHS calendar allowing to improve the skills of students and staff as a part of the international university learning centre. This will improve the leadership and teamwork of the students adding immense confidence in them where they can face the global challenges when they become internationally recognised healthcare and education professionals in the future.  

Embracing transformation in healthcare training and education will allow achieving greater heights and will improve multidisciplinary care which is an integrated approach in the field of healthcare. The approach will also create a passion for collaborative learning, increased productivity and efficiency, actively engaged students, teachers and healthcare workers. 

The IIHS BioInquirer supports and conducts knowledge sharing through research, conferences, workshops, and community engagement projects. This is an impressive way of disseminating knowledge in key areas and subjects. IIHS conducts over 30 free workshops annually to support the nursing professionals, nursing students, teachers, and the other sectors. The community research projects will help solve crucial problems in society whilst creating much-needed awareness among the concerned parties. 

Furthermore, IIHS positions itself as an International Collaborator with well-renowned universities such as the University of Aberdeen and Coventry University from the United Kingdom, Deakin University and James Cook University from Australia, Helsinki Metropolia University of applied sciences from Finland, and Open University Malaysia. This will support the concept of a global incubator where IIHS has created a platform for professionals.