Author: Manaini Rokotuivuna

Governance is not only important for institutions but for self as well says coordinator of University Wide Programmes at UniFiji, Sandhiya Goundar.

“Governance and policy making is an important aspect of the proper running of a country, but one must not forget that self governance is equally, if not more, important,” she said.

She added that studying Post Graduate Diploma and Masters in Governance and Public Policy at UniFiji helps students make critical decisions in policy making in the new era.

“Studying Post Graduate Diploma and Masters in Governance and Public Policy at UniFiji helps students develop practical knowledge, high level research skills and a critical, enquiring approach to questions of governance and policy development in the new millennium,” she said.

She further elaborated that students would be exposed to various governance policies which would help them understand how the society operates.

“Students will be exposed to leading thinkers and debates in the public, private and community sectors, and will develop capacities to enhance effectiveness in the workplace and gain a better understanding of the way governments operate as well as the major public issues confronting our society,” said Goundar.

She also explained that studying the governance programmes helped upgrade qualifications of people not only in the social science sector but the civil sector as well.

“The programmes help upgrade qualifications and public sector as well as the private and community sectors are constantly looking for people with qualifications in public policy making hence there are a lot of prospects for better jobs and promotions in the future,” said Goundar.

The University Wide programme is still open for registrations and all a person needs to apply is a social science background or years of experience in public policy making.

Registrations are on-going at the Saweni and Suva Campuses.

 

The University of Fiji is offering a unique programme; a first ever in Fiji, the Masters Degree in Renewable Energy Management (REM), the coming year.

Vice Chancellor Professor Prem Misir said that the programme would perhaps make people realize the true consequences of climate change surrounding Fiji and the Pacific.

“We believe that in terms of the climate change issues that are encircling all of us, that this would be a breath of fresh air for Fiji and would perhaps entice and make people more aware of some of the detrimental consequences of climate change,” he said.

Priyatma Singh of the School of Science and Technology said that the programme had great scope because Fiji was swiftly moving towards improving its energy security and contributing  effectively to mitigating climate change through a robust portfolio of locally available renewable energy resources.

“This programme is expected to develop local capacity so that Fijians are highly qualified to be able to implement and manage renewable energy projects in Fiji and the region,” she said.

She added that the University of Fiji is encouraging individuals with a keen interest in renewable energy and renewable energy management to enroll in the programme as renewable energy is vital to a sustainable and energy secure future.

The course would be offered in the face to face mode and is available to Bachelor of Science graduates with backgrounds in Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science and Engineering. Students with extensive industrial experience are also eligible and are encouraged to apply.

The programme which is accredited by the Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC)through its Committee for Accreditation of University Qualifications (CAUQ) was part of the Renewable Energy in the Pacific Islands; Developing Skills and Capacity (EPIC) project.

The Department of Science at the University of Fiji conducted the project in collaboration with the University of Alicante, Spain and the University of Papua New Guinea.

 

The University of Fiji, from this year, will be offering the MBBS programme in its Suva Campus as well.

The programme, which falls under the Umanand Prasad School of Medicine (UPSM), would be a 6-year long Bachelors programme.

Vice Chancellor Professor Prem Misir said that Fiji has a shortage of doctors and government is trying to fill the vacancies for 326 doctors.

“In order to meet the patients’ needs in the society across Fiji, the government is trying to create Locum Doctors because there is a shortage of doctors. Hence Suva campus becomes very beneficial, very fruitful and productive for Fiji as whole for its people and the government of Fiji in that we are trying to add our two cent’s worth to provide more doctors. By opening up the branch campus in Suva we will be registering about 105 medical school applicants every year to fill the vacuum,” he said.

UPSM Dean, Dr Abhijit Gogoi said that the response of the expansion has been favourable and both parents and students have accepted it with open arms.

“Right now we are enrolling students for the Saweni Campus (75) and we are also giving some extra offer letters. Once our enrolling is finished, we will give options to our students that those who want to shift to Suva, they can go to Suva and those who want to remain in Saweni can do so,” said Dr Gogoi.

He explained that there was some confusion among students relating to their graduation and clinical rotation during the final few years of their programme.

“Those students who move to Suva campus will be able to graduate from the Suva campus, they need not return to the Saweni campus even for their clinical rotation. The clinical rotation that starts from year 4, will be in the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) and other peripheral division hospitals,” he said.

The University will be enrolling 25 students in MBBS programme in the Suva campus this year, but there are plans to increase this number in the coming years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 21^st November and Lawaki on November 10^{th 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.

 

The Department of Education at UniFiji is very well positioned to offer holistic curricula, which provide experiences that empower students to graduate with skills relevant to the needs of Fiji, says Associate Professor Charles Kivunja of The University of New England.

In a letter to the Vice Chancellor Professor Prem Misir, Dr Kivunja said, “The curricula align well with the accreditation of the Fiji Higher Education Commission, where relevant, and fully meet the Fiji Qualifications Framework and requirements specified by the University of Fiji.”

He also said that he was pleased to see some essential skills such as ICT literacy as part of the program because these were essential skills for successful work in the 21^st century.

“I was pleased to see a number of programs include units that teach critical thinking and problem solving skills, interpersonal skills, ICT literacy, entrepreneurial skills, awareness of global issues and consciousness to environmental issues, as these graduate attributes are part of the skills essential for successful work and cohabitation of the 21^st century,” explained Dr Kivunja.

Dr Wahab Ali, the Dean of The School of Humanities and Arts, said that the external reviews were done to see the validity of the programmes in the Fiji context and he was very pleased with the results.

“I am really pleased with the comments as we always ensure that our students get the best in content and learning experiences,” he said.

He encouraged students aspiring and current educational leaders to enrol in the program and become better and well qualified leaders.

“The Master of Educational Leadership is an innovative, practice-focused and research –based postgraduate degree that prepares teachers and school administrators for leadership positions in schools and other educational institutions. It provides practising teachers with the theoretical understandings and practical skills needed to make a difference to the quality of education in their current and future workplaces,” said Dr Ali.

Associate Professor Charles Kivunja is a member of the Learning and Teaching team. He is Course Coordinator of the Master of Teaching (Primary) Award and Leader of the Learning and Research Network.

His research interests lie in foundational theories of learning, teaching and assessment (pedagogy), including multigrade pedagogy, and educational leadership, and he has supervised several doctoral theses to successful completion in these areas.