NT KURIOCITY
M.E.S. Vasant Joshi College of Arts & Commerce, Vasco in collaboration with its IQAC and RDI Cell, hosted an International Conference on ‘Innovations in Social Sciences: Interventions, Challenges & Future Trends’. Held in hybrid mode, the event had academicians, researchers, and students from India and abroad.
Chief guest professor M.K. Janarthanam praised the college’s focus on research and shared details about schemes offered by the Goa State Research Foundation.
Keynote speaker professor Lakshmi Subramanian spoke on the marginalisation of social sciences and the ethical concerns of technology in academia.
President of the function, Lalita Joshi, highlighted rapid societal changes and the importance of meaningful dialogue.
A conference book featuring select papers was released.
This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘The Future of Social Sciences in the Contemporary World’, moderated by professor Divya Singhal from the Goa Institute of Management. The panel featured academics including professor Solano Jose Savio Da Silva (Political Science, BITS Pilani), professor Pranab Mukhopadhyay (Economics, Goa University), professor R.P. Pradhan (International Relations, BITS Pilani), and Subramanian. Discussions covered relevance, technological integration, and
critical thinking.
Vipul Mathur from IIM Kolkata spoke on AI in research, urging its use as a tool to support, not replace, human intellect.
International speakers from Malaysia, Bangladesh, the UK, and Afghanistan shared perspectives on education, sustainability, gender equity, and agriculture.
Post-lunch, the conference had parallel paper presentation sessions across three tracks: Psychology & Sociology, Economics & Commerce, and Tourism & Environment. A total of 55 papers were presented, exploring topics such as mental health, environmental literacy, digital behaviour, green finance, AI in academia, and social inclusion. These sessions were chaired by professors Janet Fernandes, Seema Rath, and Nandkumar N. Sawant.
