Scholars from a wide variety of local and international institutions joined the first virtual international conference organized by the AIIAS Graduate School on November 17-19, 2020. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictions, AIIAS opted to push its events online, providing numerous opportunities for scholars to participate in the event without needing to travel to the physical campus of AIIAS.
The 21st AIIAS iConference focused on topics relating to the theme “Design Thinking in Business, Education, and Public Health”.
“Design thinking, at its core, is a function of the human capacity to learn and the creator’s capacity to innovate. Design thinking connects us to the spark of creativity that the Divine has implanted within us; we have been made in His image with the power to think and to do,” said AIIAS President Ginger Ketting-Weller in her welcome to attendees.
The iConference offered learning opportunities for budding scholars and seasoned experts who presented their research findings throughout the three-day event. Attendees benefited from keynote and plenary sessions, a three-day seminar session, and breakout sessions. The 2019 iConference was made available free of charge.
Keynote session speaker Dr. Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, director of education at the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters in Maryland, USA, presented a study on strengthening and expanding the healthcare ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dr. Andrea Luxton, president of Andrews University in Michigan, USA, discussed the concept of using the Blue Ocean strategy where the mission of higher education institutions can thrive. Meanwhile, Dr. Loren G. Agrey, president of Burman University in Alberta, Canada, spoke about adopting new methods that can be used as powerful opportunities to address student needs and interests in the academic setting.
Unique to this year’s iConference was the three-day seminar session by Dr. John Wesley Taylor V, associate director of education at the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters in Maryland, USA. He presented three topics focused on the various types, examples, and principles of research. In his presentation, he tackled several myths, truths, and half-truths encountered during the research process. He also explained how research is continually significant across disciplines, particularly with Biblical insight and perspectives. Other speakers for breakout sessions included alumni, faculty, and students of AIIAS and guest scholars from higher education institutions in the Philippines.
The iConference is an annual conference organized by the Graduate School of AIIAS, and typically scheduled during the month of November. Visit the AIIAS website and follow us on Facebook for more information about the 22nd iConference to be held in 2021.
