Inter-Institutional Development Scheme (IIDS) 2023/24 Exercise
  1. The overall quality of the proposals improved in this round of exercise. The topics / themes of proposed conferences were timely, addressing areas of recent concerns. In most cases, organised plans for the conduct of the conferences were presented. In some proposals, internationally renowned speakers would be invited.

  2. For the weaker proposals, a general weakness was that the outcome of the conferences being proposed was not clearly explained. PIs were advised to provide more elaborations on how the proposed conferences would enhance the research capabilities of the institution and its faculty members.

  3. To ensure idea exchanges at the conferences be focused and thus generating more usable implications / take-home messages, PIs were advised to state more specific scopes within the overall themes, demonstrate a strong understanding of the targeted audience and provide an estimated number of paper presentations. PIs were encouraged to include a clear review process of paper submission (including acceptance criteria) in the applications.

  4. More elaboration on the roles of the collaborating partners should be included. PIs were advised to consider partnering with other institutions with complementary expertise and including a clearer plan for sustainability beyond the conference. Institutions might consider managing their respective developmental plans and aligning their research strengths in order to formulate a better strategy for their future applications.

  5. Technology made it possible to organise high quality conferences in hybrid mode (i.e. online presentations by internationally renowned speakers and physical presence of local participants), which was more cost effective. PIs were advised to consider hybrid conferences in future where more international speakers could be invited to interact with local academics which would bring in more diverse perspectives. Budget requests should be reasonable. Printed programme handbooks or proceedings could be replaced by soft copies to reduce resources request.