More than ten thousand (10,000) students attended The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Open Day 2018 at the main Laucala Campus in Suva, Fiji.
This year USP saw schools attending from as far as Levuka that were also present for the official opening ceremony along
with St Joseph Secondary School, Suva Muslim College and Vunimono High School.
Taniela Waqa, Year 13 student of Lelean Memorial School stated that he would definitely choose USP and was interested in
pursuing a Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology and Chemistry.
“I am very excited to be here today as I am a final year secondary school student and am able to witness what USP has to
offer for young school leavers like us,” he shared.
Luisa Bitu, Year 13 student of St Joseph Secondary School in Suva said it was amazing to witness what the faculties and
schools had in store.
“There are so many programmes and courses on offer and we are thankful for the opportunity to be here in order to choose
our career paths wisely,” she said.
She said it was her first time at USP and she would definitely love to return and study.
“I am not too sure what I would like to do right now but the atmosphere is so electrifying and I love the diversity
about this place,” she explained.
Ms Bitu added that following their tours around the Campus she would be in a better position to choose which field she
would like to pursue as she would have gathered enough information.
USP’s three Faculties, Pacific TAFE and many Schools and Institutes provided first-hand information to prospective
students about their various programmes and courses.
Staff at the Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) booth said students got the opportunity to view their various innovative displays such as patents which featured
the community element in them.
FSTE’s students and graduates are well known for ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to innovations and research addressing
the needs of the USP member countries in the Pacific region. Some of the innovations which were on display included the
Braille Eye Slate to teach children with disabilities; the Eye Cane; and a GSM-based early flood warning & monitoring system;
For the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE), Mr Kapil Nadan, First Year Experience Coordinator said they received an overwhelming response from students who
were interested in their programmes.
According to Mr Nadan, this year the Faculty used more digital means of showing students their career pathways.
Mr Joseva Veresi, First Year Experience Coordinator for the Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) said the booths this year were more colourful and attractive.
“I believe the turnout from students this year was much more and there was huge interest from prospective students,” he
said.
According to Mr Veresi, FBE partnered with industry representatives to make the encounter with students more interactive
and interesting.
Pacific TAFE, a strategically amalgamated and integrated learning and teaching section which offers high quality skills
based qualifications, were also on hand to receive students. Pacific TAFE also offers Foundation & Preliminary programmes through its three (3) Colleges namely College of Business, Tourism & Hospitality, College of Arts and Humanities and College of Science, Technology and Environment.
The Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Board (TSLB) were also on hand to supply information to the current and potential
students including all interested individuals, on scholarship and loans schemes provided by the Fijian Government as
well those which are provided through donor funded schemes.