Aminath Riyaz is a senior academic and educator with over two decades of experience in higher education in the Maldives. Aminath’s work spans teaching, curriculum development, and academic leadership, with particular expertise in research methodology, academic writing, information literacy, and Dhivehi language and culture. She has played a key role in developing undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes at MNU, and is deeply committed to building research capacity and ethical scholarly practice among students and early-career academics. Her research interests include cultural identity and globalisation, media and information literacy, language policy, and the impact of digital and AI technologies on information-seeking behaviour. She is also actively involved in initiatives that bridge academic scholarship with community engagement and national development.
Aminath is a recipient of awards for research, teaching excellence, and student experience, and continues to contribute to regional and international academic collaboration.

Doctor of Philosophy (Media, Culture & Creative Arts), Curtin University, Western Australia, 2018
Master of Philosophy (Media & Information), Curtin University, 2010
Master of Dhivehi Language & Culture, The Maldives National University, 2024
Master of Commerce (Information & Library Management), University of New South Wales, Australia, 2021

• Information Behaviour and Literacy
• Artificial Intelligence in Society and Education
• Digital Transformation of Information Services
• Algorithmic Literacy and Digital Citizenship
• Sociolinguistics and the Dhivehi Language
• Social Values and Social Policy

• Algorithmic Literacy & Information Service Providers,
Principal Investigator, MNU Research Grant,
2025-2026
• AI and Health Information Literacy: A study exploring the perceived usefulness, and readiness among women in South Asia,
Co-Investigator, Institute for Information Literacy at Purdue [IILP] research grant, October 2024 to September 2026.
• Determinants of Happiness in the Homeless and Beggar Community in Medan City: Understanding Subjective Well-Being Based on Values, Social Support, and Structural Vulnerability,
Co-Investigator, University of North Sumatra, International Research Network (IRN) scheme,
2025 to 2026
• Dhivehi Glossary Project,
Co-Investigator, MNU Research Grant, 2025-2026
• World Values Survey – Wave 7,
Principal Investigator, MNU Research Grant,
2020 to 2023
• Values in Crisis Survey – Wave 2,
Principal Investigator, UNDP funded project,
2021 to 2022
Status:
• Project name: Values in Crisis Survey – Wave 1,
Principal Investigator, UNDP funded project,
2020 to 2021
• Continuing Professional Development for LIS Professionals,
Co-Investigator, 2019-2021

Higher Degree by Research Thesis
• Mriyam Ihusana. Enacting Key Competencies in the Maldivian National Curriculum: From Policy Expectations to Classroom Practice, PhD in Education (Co-Supervisor). Ongoing 2026…
• Ahmed Hashim. Translanguaging in Higher Education Policy Directive PhD in Applied Linguistics, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Ongoing 2025…
• Azeeza Afeef. Clause Structure of Dhivehi Language. PhD in Applied Linguistics, The Maldives National University. (Principal Supervisor). Ongoing 2020…
• Aminath Zahir. Dhivehi Language Policy, PhD in Applied Linguistics, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2025
• Azeeza Afeef. Finite & Nonfinite Verbs: Dhivehi Corpus Linguistics, PhD Foundation Dissertation, (Principal Supervisor). The Maldives National University. Completed in 2019.

Master’s Dissertation
• Zahuna Ahmed. Improving Elderly Access to E-Government in the Maldives: Factors and Policy Implications. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2025.
• Aishath Afa. A Critical Analysis of the Extent of Gender Inequality in Childcare Practices and Parental Leave Policies in Maldives. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2022.
• Naaz Abdulla. Impact of Social Media on the Academic Performance of Teenagers in the Maldives. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2022.
• Aishath Isha. Access, Awareness and Transparency: Examining Public Perception of the Right to Information in Maldives. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Political Science & International Affairs, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2024.
• Masha Mohamed. Post-divorce Challenges Faced by Men in the Maldives: An Exploratory Study. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2022
• Fathimath Eema Hussain. An Exploratory Study on the Maternity Leave Policy and Normative Discrimination in the Greater Male’ Region. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2021
• Aminath Shazra. Parental Divorce as a Predictor of Attachment Styles in Children’s Adult Intimate Relationships: Evidence from the Maldives. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2021
• Fathimath Hussain. Screen Dependence of Children: Associated Behavioural Factors. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2020
• Fathimath Ahmed. Causes for divorce in the Maldives, from a socio-economic perspective. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2020
• Shifza Aboobakuru. Relationship between stress and coping mechanism of divorced women in Maldives. (Dissertation). Master of Arts in Social Policy, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2019
• Nasma Abdul-Muhsin. Interpretation of Orientalism in the Dhivehi Translation by Baadeege Mohamed Ahmed Didi of “Alfi Lailaa Va Lailaa” (Dissertation). . (Dissertation). Master of Dhivehi Language & Culture, The Maldives National University, (Principal Supervisor). Completed in 2018

• Research methodology
• Information literacy
• Infopreneurship
• Academic skills
• Information organisation & retrieval
• Library & Information society
• Politics of culture & identity
• Sociolinguistics

• Riyaz, A., Zahir, A., Ibrahim, Z. (2025). Language Decay: A Qualitative Study of Challenges in Intergenerational Transmission of Dhivehi. (2025). The Maldives National Journal of Research, 13(Special Issue), 110-137.
• Afeef, A., Riyaz, A. & Gnanadesikann, A. (2025). The Structure of Finite Verb Clauses in Dhivehi Complex Sentences: A Corpus Analysis. The Maldives National Journal of Research, 13(Special Issue), 138-160.
• Zahir, A. & Riyaz, A. (2024). ދިވެހިބަސް [Expanding and updating the Dhivehi language corpus: Challenges and issues]. The Maldives National Journal of Research, 12(Special Issue), 99-123. https://doi.org/10.62338/ta60f413
• Riyaz, A., Hashim, A., Mohamed, F. G. (2024). މީޔާރު ދިވެހިބަހާއި މަލިކު ބަހުރުވަ [Comparative historical dialectology of standard Dhivehi and the Maliku dalect (Mahl language): Insights from corpus analysis]. The Maldives National Journal of Research, 12(Special Issue), 124-149. https://doi.org/10.62338/y4sdb819
• Mohamed, M. & Riyaz, A. (2024). Post-divorce challenges faced by men in the Maldives: An exploratory study. The Maldives National Journal of Research, 12(2), 19-42.
• Hussain, E., & Riyaz, A. (2023). An exploratory study on the maternity leave policy and normative discrimination in the greater Male’ region. Journal of Advanced Research in Women’s Studies, 1(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.33422/jarws.v1i1.424
• Moosa, S., Riyaz, A., Abdul-Raheem, R., Musthafa, H. S., & Naeem, A. Z. (2021). Social value orientations and public confidence in institutions: A young democracy under the imprint of COVID-19. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 3(2), 28-43.
• De Alwis, G., Riyaz, A., Majid, S. & Prabu, N. (2022). Library employees’ perspective of capacity building through continuing professional development (CPD) in the Republic of Maldives. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 63(2), 126-152. 10.3138/jelis-2020-0002.
• Riyaz, A. Musthafa, H. S., Abdul-Raheem, R., & Moosa, S. (2020). Survey sampling in the time of social distancing: Experiences from a quantitative research in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The Maldives National Journal of Research, 8(1), 169 192.
• Riyaz, A. (2017). An investigation into the ‘I can Google it’ information seeking behaviour of the academic community and the implications for the delivery of academic library services for developing countries. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 66(2), 180-
• Riyaz, A., & Smith, K. (2012). Information Culture in the Maldives. In A. Spink & D. Singh (Eds.), Library and information science trends and research: Asia-Oceania (pp.173-202). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.

• Editor of Maldives National Journal of Research, 2022 to date
• Reviewer for ASIS&T annual conference, 2020, 2021,2022, 2023, 2024, 2024, 2025, 2026
• Program Committee member. Research Applications in Information and Library Studies (RAILS) conference, for 18-20 November 2024, Perth, Australia.
• Conference Committee Member. Seventeenth International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries, Granada, Spain, 4-5 July 2019.
• Program Committee for the Multidisciplinary International Conference hosted by MNU (Theveli), 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023. Male’, Maldives National University
• Committee member for the MQA Maldives Referencing Guide
• Honorary Reviewer of “College Libraries (WBCLA)” (http://www.wbcla.org.in/publication/journal/) (ISSN 0972-1975).
• Associate Editor, Maldives Journal of Health Sciences 2003.

• WAPOR conference 2025, Japan. https://access.wapor.org/program-WAP2025.php
• WAPOR conference 2023, Melbourne, Australia
• Theveli conference, 2024, 2025, 2026
• Invited Speaker: Preserving Mahl dialect and Dhivehi language: Digitising and indexing documents of Maldives and Minicoy. G20 Library Summit: Connecting Nations for Knowledge and Cultural Heritage, 7-9 February 2024, University of Pondicherry, Puducherry, India. (7 February 2024)
• Keynote Speech: Supporting Professional Development: Paying it Forward. Academic Holhuashi: Colloquium 2025 / by Maldives Australia Alumni Association
Theme: Contribution to the Maldives from Alumni (19 July 2025)
• Invited Speaker at IATLIS 2021. https://sites.google.com/view/iatliscuconference/home

• International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), Professional member 2025
• Council member of Maldives Library Association (2018 to date)
• World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR). National representative, 2022-2023
• Association for Information Science and Technology – South Asia Chapter. Country Representative 2019, 2020, 2021; & member 2026

• Best Overall Academic Employee Award, 2025, The Maldives National University
• Enhancing Student Experience Award of 2025, The Maldives National University
• Long Service Award, 2025, The Maldives National University
• Outstanding Paper Award, Theveli International Conference, 2024, 2025
• 2019. Emerging Scholar Award 2019. Common Ground Research Networks. The International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries
• 2013. Curtin International Postgraduate Research Scholarship
• 2011 Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship, Library of Congress
• 2009 Maggie Exon Award for academic achievement in conduct and completion of a higher degree by research thesis
• Australian Leadership Award (2007)

– Coordinator of Annual Professional Development Workshop on Library & Information Services. An international outreach event organised for BA-LIM students, alumni, and LIS community. (2023 to 2026)
– Coordinator of Newly introduced [International] Faculty Development Programme 2026
– Technical Advisory for the Rapid Livelihood Assessment to understand the impact of COVID-19 crisis in the Maldives (2020)
– Consultancy for the Maldives Education Sector Analysis, Ministry of Education (2018)