Page 37 - IB June 2019

Indepth

I have had so many former USP staff write to me and say, you keen on working on is something called the industrial PhD. What
know professor, how can we contribute to the university. We do I mean about the industrial PhD is that we do not have enough
not want any money; we want to help in your quest to make this PhDs in the region. I want the industries to fund PhDs and as I
a world class university. I think that there is a lot of goodwill said it’s part of the R&D for every F$1 they put in they get F$2.5
amongst our alumni, not just our alumni, but we have people back in tax credits, so those are industrial PhDs, which means
who have taught here for a very short time but have become very our students will work half the time in the industries and half
attached to the Pacific. the time with the university and they will work on trying to solve
real world problems.
IB: What are your views about academic freedom,
allowing critical thinking for university staff and IB: USP is a regional university, owned by 12 islands
students? in the Pacific. Are you concerned that many of these
islands like Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Ahluwalia: If you read our graduate attributes, if you read Vanuatu have set-up or about to establish their own
our staff attributes at their core, they all have a substance that national universities?
universities must be the backroom of critical thinking. We do have
what I would call the public intellectual culture at USP and I have Ahluwalia: I think what we need is a vibrant higher education
not in any way tried to persuade people from speaking out in any sector. I mean I am really pleased to have a national university
way. But I think with rights comes responsibilities and that is a in Fiji, FNU and then we have the University of Fiji, because I do
critical thing. As a journalist you would know that we all know not want just USP to be good, but I want the whole sector to be
what the limits are within which we operate and you know that good because competition keeps us on our toes. In fact I think
we have to respect those limits. we will be very complacent if we do not have any competition.
In our countries where we have multiple campuses, as you said
IB: That is exactly the reasoning given by the previ- that even Vanuatu wants to start its own and it is our job to help
ous administration to stop academics from speak- them where we can, to build capacity but at the same time it is
ing out: also healthy for us that there is competition. You know we are not
a monopoly and I think a healthy high education sector means it
Ahluwalia: I don’t think I have been faced with a challenge yet is good for all in the region. We don’t want just one university. It
for me to tell anybody anything. You know I am a pretty outspo- also means that USP has to become the cream in the milk if we
ken person myself, but with outspokenness, I also mean what I put it that way. It has to rise above and really demonstrate that
said, with rights comes responsibilities. You should also know you it has the reality to live up to its 50-year-old status and I have
have responsibilities to where you live, responsibilities to what no doubt that we will do that, no doubt that we are performing
you are doing. So it is not my intention to gag anybody, but of
course people will need to respect that they live in a country and
that they must respect the laws of that country and those things
must be taken in to account and every single person who is an Trade Mark Cautionary Notice in Palau,
academic knows what those limits are and they operate within Micronesia and Marshall Islands
those boundaries. Of course the university is also the place where
we want people of different countries with different perspectives
to be able to debate in an open manner and so far, I have not seen Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd., a company duly organized
any indication that we are not allowing that to happen. under the laws of Japan 23-1, Azumabashi 1-chome,
Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan does hereby provide notice that it
IB: What are your thoughts about research, do you claims proprietorship of the trade mark
think USP should do more?

Ahluwalia: Absolutely, I think we will do a lot more, as we bring
in more people, as we build more capacity and also as our own
academics develop, research is not something where overnight
you can start doing it. It takes time. You have to build momentum,
we have some world class people and they are already doing good
things, so we also have a lot of junior staff that will need to be Classes 32 & 33
nurtured, we really need to help them in the sciences. We have
to really make sure that they are part of projects that they really Goods
work with mentors and get themselves published, because 32: Beers; non alcoholic beverages
not only do we need quality, we also need quantity, be- 33: Alcoholic beverages (except beers)
cause both things are important when we go into global
ranking. You cannot have one without the other.
You know I want to thank the Fiji Government.
The Fiji Government has introduced tax credits for DAVIES COLLISON CAVE PTY LTD
research and development, and for every F$1 that 255 Elizabeth Street
a company invests, there is F$2.5 given in tax Sydney
credit. It is a no-brainer for industries to work New South Wales 2000
with USP, to get the best solutions. AUSTRALIA
One other thing in that front that I am very

Islands Business, June 2019 37