Five winners have been awarded the first edition of the Scientific Research Award for their research in the field of social insurance by the Public authority for Social Insurance (PASI).

A ceremony was hosted by Dr. Hilal bin Ali Al-Hinai, Secretary-General of The Research Council, at the Sheraton Hotel on Tuesday evening to honour the researchers.

There were 25 research projects, 15 of which were in the category of doctoral and master’s researchers, and 10 for bachelor and university students.

The topics of the research included insurance services, pension benefits and the role of the media in spreading the culture of social insurance, in addition to the role of social insurance in overall economic development and sustainability.

Other projects looked at laws and regulations of social insurance systems, and investments in social insurance and pension systems.

Dr. Badriyah Al Shamakhi and Dr. Lina won first place for their research, entitled “Extending Social Protection coverage to Self Employed for their economic development”, while Dr. Nadia Al Amri came in second place with her research, “Demographic imbalances in the Sultanate of Oman and its effects on the permanence of a pension fund”.

In the category of researchers of bachelor and university students, Thamna Al Mamari won first place for her study, “Satisfaction of beneficiaries with insurance services in the Sultanate of Oman”, followed by Zakria Al Sadi for his research, entitled National Project for Safety and Health Occupational, while Abdullah Al Harthi and Ali Al Amri won third place with their study, called Adequacy of work compensation and Impact on partially Disabled Employees in the Sultanate of Oman.

Faisal bin Abdullah Al Farsi, Chairman of the Award’s Supervisory Committee, said in a speech at the announcement ceremony, “The knowledge gap in the social insurance fields and the philosophy of managing social insurance and retirement systems is a major challenge to support the development and improvement pursued by pension funds and social insurance in the Sultanate, to ensure social protection of the individual, the family and the community through highly efficient, comprehensive and sustainable insurance systems.” Dr. Faisal Al Farsi said that the initiative received an international certificate of merit, with a special tribute from the International Social Security Association (ISSA) on October 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.