Alumni Spotlight: Mr Joeli Logavatu

MR JOELI LOGAVATU | FIJI | BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY, 2001 | MBA, 2008 

A passion for sports, keeping fit at the USP gym and specifically playing rugby, during his school days, brings a melancholy smile to Joeli Logavatu’s face today. While rugby was his passion, becoming an engineer was his dream and that goal helped bring focus to Joeli’s journey at USP, where he pursued a bachelor’s in technology, graduating in 2001.   

Joeli, contrary to conventional IT stereotype, radiates a lot of good humor, boundless optimism, and a can-do adventurous attitude which you cannot help but think, encapsulates the indomitable Pacific spirit that so many of our people have. It is their stories which we are privileged to share in Spotlight and Joeli represents that and so much more. Here is his story. 

While undertaking his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Joeli found part time work as an IT intern within the ITS support team at USP.  This was his first job and eventually became his full-time one, after he graduated in 2001.  

When asked what the turning point in his career was, Joeli says it was essentially when he was given more and more responsibility by his then supervisors, in a short period of time, that he quickly learnt he had to either sink or swim. And swim he did.  

Joeli is currently the IT Regional Coordinator at the University of the South Pacific. While his original academic route was mechanical engineering, many of his courses were in programming as well, so Joeli was always ‘close to computers’ as he puts it.  

The part time role he applied for at USP’s IT department eventually led to more technical involvement, aligned in many ways to his engineering degree. It was an exciting time for Joeli and many others. The USP environment incubated a myriad of career possibilities that might not otherwise have been considered.  

Outside of a 9-month industrial attachment with the Fiji Sugar Cooperation (FSC), the seeds were planted and ideas around an alternative professional pathway were taking place in Joeli’s mind. And it was under the supervision and professional mentorship of USP alumni Kisione Finau (MBA 2007) and Samiuela Fonua (PGD Computing Science 1997 and MBA 2004), that Joeli’s heart became set on pursuing computing and network telecommunications.  

In the last 20+years, Joeli has become a certified Cisco Instructor (Cisco is an American based networking program), completed his MBA and been project lead on a few projects, the most significant he says, was at the Nauru Campus in 2017-2018. During this project, Joeli worked closely with a renown Australian project company in ensuring proper ICT standards, fit the new USP campus and was there from start to finish, taking many learnings and adding to his cache of technical knowledge.  

Joeli extols the principle of teamwork and credits his hard-working dedicated colleagues, who efficiently contributed to the project, leading to the successful launching of IT operations at the campus when it opened in 2018. This launch coincided with the 86th USP Council meeting hosted in Nauru, that year. 

Just like fellow Pacific people, family is a big part of Joeli’s world. The home he’s opened for family to base themselves when in Suva, was expanded after COVID, to offer AirBnB services as well.  

Joeli’s utilized his arsenal of professional knowledge and experience in research, product and servicing, customer expectations and standards of excellence, to build a small business on his property. Small being the operative word as he and his wife’s boutique accommodation and warm Fijian hosting have them rated by AirBnb as “Super hosts”.  

In addition, Joeli is grandfather to a 6 and 5yr old whose daily schedule of school lunches, school drop offs and being present for various school engagements, are an opportunity for Joeli’s domestic project management skills to be honed more.  

And the season is nigh for Joeli to work on his health, keeping fit and staying agile and energetic as a grandfather role demands of him. In Joeli’s words, “I count my blessings everyday”.  

On an end note, it is fair to say that the skills and mental agility that Joeli had, coupled with the right learning environment and people to guide him during the metamorphosis from mechanical engineering to IT networking and telecommunications, is testimony to USP and the type of graduates produced.  

The University of the South Pacific produces Pacific people with both aptitude and attitude, to pivot and succeed and that is to be celebrated. USP alumnus, Joeli Logavatu’s story ought to inspire many others.  

Questions & Answers 

What are your current goals and aspirations? 

My goal is to gain as much knowledge I can in the current field I am in and use this knowledge to develop a vehicle to deliver high standard communication to the Lau group, where such services are needed – I would like to focus on education and the management of the vast ocean resources so that the future of our people’s livelihood is sound.  

How do you see your field evolving in the future?  

It has already and I am very fortunate to be part of a group of people in my field while all these changes are taking place.  

There is internet of everything, meaning, everything you use now is slowly moving towards being accessed over the internet. It is now a borderless environment without any time difference.  

AI takes over when humans go to sleep so for individuals, the person they don’t see on the other side of the line seems to be awake 24/7. There is no need for experts to be physically available in the same location where their assistance is needed, online video conferencing services has thrown that outside the window, no limits to the nature of the work, for example, a surgeon in America is operating on a patient in the war zone of Afghanistan.  

There may be areas where there are no footprints of services, however recently, Starlink have just started to release low earth orbits satellites and as a result, access to the internet on a global scale is endless – the only obstacle now is various governments allowing this network’s presence into their country.  

What does it mean to you to be an alumnus of USP?  

Pacific champions in everything 😊  

What did you take from studying at USP which serves you in good stead today? 

The realization that even the highest professors are indeed from one of our own Pacific country 💪