Uni Produces Specialists, Innovative Graduates to Meet Employment Demands
Professor Sharma AM assures stakeholders CEST moving in the right direction.
The Fiji National University (FNU) is committed to producing specialist and innovative graduates with a passion to contribute towards the nation’s economic development.
This was reaffirmed by FNU Council member, Professor Dharmendra Sharma AM, during a recent school, industry and stakeholders meeting organised by the College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST).
The multi-stakeholder meeting is an on-going initiative that aims to strengthen collaboration, encourage industry input, provide students with greater exposure to meet industry leaders and discuss their projects and career prospects.
Speaking to those present, Professor Sharma said FNU had made significant progress
in the past nine years and would continuously upgrade its delivery of quality learning, teaching and research capabilities to industry standards.
“It is very humbling being here and seeing the support and turnout of the staff and students of the College as well as The University of the South Pacific (USP) and industry representatives,” he said. “This shows the commitment to the common cause we share, which is education and our commitment to shape our futures through education, research and impact. Representatives from USP, Energy Fiji Limited (EFL), Flour Mills of Fiji (FMF) Foods Limited, Poly Products, Vinod Patel Fiji Ltd, Walesi, Ministry of Education, FINTEL, and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) were present at the talanoa session at Derrick Campus.
Professor Sharma, who is currently the chair of University Academic Board and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Canberra (UC), said being appointed an FNU Council member provided him the opportunity to collaborate with the college in his areas of expertise.
“I have a particular interest to contributing to shaping our graduates to be trained in the areas of the expertise, to be innovative and develop leadership skills and be able to create jobs rather than just seeking jobs. They would add wisdom to the knowledge base and the passion that we already collectively have in Fiji,” said the Australia-based academic
CEST Acting Dean, Salabogi Mavoa, said the college was also privileged to have hosted an experienced academic such as Professor Sharma who had an excellent understanding about the tertiary education in the country, the nations need and how these could be formulated to ensure success for both FNU and the country.
Similar meetings are scheduled fortnightly in the coming months for the various engineering disciplines.