UNIFIJI COURSES TO BE REVIEWED
I will be going out and talking to industries to find out how our programmes are fulfilling their needs, similarly with the Government and how we can improve with what we are doing: new Vice-Chancellor
Ablueprint must be drawn to determine industry demand sectors to produce graduates equipped with skills to suit the respective sectors.
This comment was made by the University of Fiji’s new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sushila Chang, yesterday during a press conference at the Saweni , Lautoka, campus.
Prior to joining the University four days ago, Ms Chang was employed at Cardiff Metropolitan University, in the United Kingdom as Deputy ViceChancellor Academic and has 30 years of experience in the education sector.
Hope for possible employment stints
Ms Chang said she wanted to provide students with possible employment stints overseas after graduating. “The industry plays a very important role in the life of the university so I will be going out and talking to industries to find out how our programmes are fulfilling their needs, similarly with the Government and how we can improve with what we are doing,” she said
“If we can get companies overseas, I think I can try and get them to take our students, so be it. We will do that as well. I think if we work on the UK and Australia, because we are also Commonwealth, our education system is reasonably similar to them, as long as we get our act together, we should be able to get accreditation .” She said discussions with relevant stakeholders would be underway to implement work placements for target recruitment sectors.
“This is why its important for my colleagues and I to speak to the Ministry of Economy and see what their manpower needs are so we have to work closely with them. It’s not based on what we think is right, but the what the nation needs and similarly if they inform us about potential employment in a certain sector because of the industry, we will also go and speak to that industry and ask them what skills they need,” she said.
Need to prioritise
She said polices would be reviewed critically.
“We have to prioritise, we can’t do everything. We have a very good strategic plan, but we have to have short term and long-term goals. The short term goals with me would be looking at student engagement and also student retention, but along with that we have to look at the programmes we have,” Ms Chang said.
She said she hoped to forge partnerships with donor agencies to build a students hostel for those travelling from afar.
“The problem is funding, but definitely that’s on the radar that would be very useful, but we have to think about that because it is not cheap. “I am happy to talk about it and the students are unique in the sense that they come from communities slightly less well-off then elsewhere so we have to help them, these are bright students.”
Meanwhile, Mrs Chang will be travelling to various University of Fiji Campuses around the country in the coming weeks.
Background
Ms Chang has extensive experience in higher education, having held numerous senior positions internationally including at the University of Queensland, Australia, Griffith University, Australia, the Singapore University of Technology and Design and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore. She holds a Bachelors in Science (Honours) in Biology from the University of London, a PhD in Cellular Biology and Toxicology from The University of Paris VII and a graduate certificate in Intellectual Property Law from The National University of Singapore. She has worked with Nestle SA and was the co-founder of two research start-up companies in aquaculture and was also President of the Singapore Association of Microbiology and Biotechnology for six terms Mrs Chang maintains industry and professional body memberships including the Board of the International Life Sciences Organisation, which she chaired from, 2010-2012 and remains a trustee.