Community engagements being done by the University of Fiji seek to strengthen relations with the Lomolomo and Lawaki villages, says Vice- Chancellor Prof Prem Misir.
These relations, he said, are not only for the purpose of getting students but also to strengthen bonding between the University and the villages.
“To secure this bonding, we have to understand each other’s culture, not to tolerate the culture but to understand it and appreciate it,” said Prof Misir.
He added that the engagements were also done for building community awareness of the University’s roles as a tertiary institute.
“We went to these villages to advise them on the roles played by the University, not only as an institution for providing higher education, but also how the University played a role in the community and how it would benefit them” he said.
He explained that the initiative was part of the knowledge-based development framework which incorporated internationalization, academic collaboration and inter-disciplinary frameworks together with community engagements.
Vice-Chancellor also said that the University had good international relations with various universities around the world as part of the internationalization framework and the free bus initiative was part of the academic-industry collaboration framework.
The community engagement programs were activated in Lomolomo Village on 21st November and Lawaki on November 10th 2016.
The strategic plan- The Global Path to Academic Excellence and Building a Knowledge-Based Society 2017-2021, encompasses the importance of community engagement toward the betterment of the University as well as the communities themselves.
