Page 37 - IB April 2018

Indepth

outside Fiji to join USP - now there are few communities during the break to help out want to suggest, if you can, to make
academics on the Laucala Campus from with all kinds of community projects. We it the number one institution in the
outside Fiji teaching here at Laucala. We don’t do this anymore. region?
also had a gender policy that encouraged
the promotion of women to senior position - Access to USP courses and programmes Professor Thaman: It is already the No.1
at USP. Currently we have two full profes- is much better now, with internet and higher education institution. It just needs now to
sors who are women. This is not good online learning. But we still have a lot of re-claim its Pacificness - to focus more on Pasifika
enough. students out in the rural areas and distant things - Pacific cultures, people, languages and
islands who do not have internet. They are knowledge systems. After all if we do not focus/
teach/research our own spaces and places - who
- The STAR project greatly changed the cur- not able to access our courses. will?
riculum of USP. Courses and programmes I can go on, but enough said.
were deleted for no good reason other
than because some consultants decided IB: What are some of the things IB: You have shared about your jour-
they were not viable or not necessary. We about USP that makes it so unique or ney as an academic and at USP. Can
you tell us more about yourself, as
lost whole programmes for example BA different from the rest of the institu- a poet, a wife, a mum and a Pacific
in Expressive Arts and important courses tions around the world? Islander?
like Curriculum Development programmes
that were devised to serve the needs of our Professor Thaman: Its regional nature; its
region. They were replaced with courses staff and student profiles. Its commitment to Professor Thaman: I cannot really answer
this question. You need to ask my husband and
that were important for overseas accredita- regional cooperation and its innovativeness children, students, friends etc - all of whom have
tion. We used to value field work and had because of the need for it to stay useful and supported me all the way. I couldn’t do the things
budgets for these. Today we have to justify relevant to the communities that send stu- that I have done without them and without my late
taking students away from their computers dents here. These are not ideals but realities mother, who came to Fiji to help me look after the
and out in the field before funding can be for USP and by and large, USP has delivered. children. There are also many people - colleagues,
obtained. friends and students (past and present) - who have
IB: USP has been around 50 years. facilitated much of my academic as well as creative
- Our students used to go out to different What are some of the things you journey. I owe all of them a great debt.

TRADE MARK CAUTIONARY NOTICE IN
MICRONESIA, PALAU, and NORTHERN MARIANAS ISLANDS

Hyatt International Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, United States of America, with an address of 71
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that it claims proprietorship of the trade mark

in relation to services for providing food and drink, including restaurant, bar, and cocktail lounge services;
temporary accommodation; services relating to hotels, resorts; residential services including providing
residential accommodations; travel agency services for the reservation of hotel accommodations;
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Hyatt International Corporation can be contacted care of their address for service:

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Islands Business, April 2018 37