The Maldives National University (MNU) has opened its 'Theveli' International Conference with 330 research papers. Held annually since 2017, this year marks the ninth edition of the conference.
'Theveli International Conference 2026' was officially inaugurated at a special ceremony held at the auditorium of MNU’s Administrative Centre. First Lady Sajidha Mohamed attended the ceremony as the chief guest.
The conference features sessions involving professors from universities in the Maldives and abroad, internationally renowned researchers, as well as research and findings produced by companies and at the national level.
The conference is scheduled to take place from 17 to 19 August. By the time the deadline for paper submissions closed, a total of 330 papers had been received, marking the highest number of papers ever submitted to a scientific conference of this kind held in the Maldives.
Research papers submitted to this year’s conference include studies from 25 countries outside the Maldives. The areas covered include the environment and climate change; innovation and technology; science and health; global affairs and peace; education; gender equality; economics and markets; and artificial intelligence.
MNU Vice Chancellor Dr Aishath Shehenaz Adam said the Theveli Conference provides students with valuable opportunities to advance knowledge, research and innovation.
“Although the Maldives is a small island nation, the knowledge, research and innovations we produce here can have an impact far beyond our shores and benefit many people in many different ways,” the Vice Chancellor said.
Theveli has been organised annually by the National University since 2017. This year’s conference theme is , “Transformative Innovation in the 21st Century: Science, Technology, and Society”.
As part of this year’s conference, an Undergraduate Student Research Symposium was also held yesterday, specifically for MNU bachelor’s degree students. The National University has also announced that post-conference workshops will be held on 20 August.
The main objective of the conference is to facilitate the development of policies informed by research and to help establish a higher education system in the Maldives that is grounded in scientific knowledge and research.
In addition, MNU aims to become an institution that creates and advances new knowledge, while contributing to the development of a national decision-making system in which important decisions are based on scientific research.