Higher Education Technology: Maldives - Dheeba Moosa
The video discusses the evolution of a higher education technology in the Maldives over the past decade, highlighting strong government and community support as critical factors. Significant budget allocations and policies ensure accessibility for all, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goal of “Education for All” by 2030. Despite unique geographical challenges, with over 1,200 islands, technological integration has enabled access to education across remote areas. However, resistance to advanced technology remains, particularly among higher education faculty, as revealed during the COVID-19 transition to remote learning. Encouragingly, the crisis underscored the potential for technological adoption, prompting initiatives like a partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning to enhance technology-enabled learning. While progress has been made, ongoing efforts are needed to fully modernize the system and support remote learners effectively.
This video is part of the Center’s series on Higher Education. The series fosters cooperation between universities and other institutions of learning through the exchange of ideas, expertise, and best practices.
Speaker Biography
Dheeba Moosa is an assistant professor at the Islamic University of Maldives (IUM). She has held several prominent leadership roles, including deputy vice chancellor (Research and Innovation) at IUM from 2019 to 2023, where she oversaw, promoted, and facilitated all research activities, and supervised various centers and departments. Previously, she served as the dean of the Center for Research and Publication at IUM (2015-2019) and as the director of the Center for Language Support at Villa College.
Dr. Moosa’s educational background is in TESOL, linguistics, and qualitative research. With over 20 years of experience in education and higher education, she has taught English language, linguistics, and research methods at various levels. She has contributed to the formulation of the Higher Education Master Plan, particularly the quality assurance chapter, and has published numerous academic articles and book chapters on quality assurance in higher education and women in higher education. Additionally, Dr. Moosa has led several large-scale research projects funded by external agencies and NGOs, including the UNDP, HDC, and Society for Health Education (SHE). She played a key role in establishing IUM’s first academic journal and served as its editor until 2019.
