Visiting Faculty
Dr. Sunia Vosikata is a teaching consultant with the Graduate School of Business. He is a regionally trained academic achieving credible qualifications from the following reputable regional institutions: USP (Fiji) – BA (Economics and Management), MBA; University of Waikato (NZ) – MMS (Masters in Management Studies), UNSW (Australia) – PhD Philosophy (Management), PGCert – Higher Teaching (In progress), FULT (Foundation of university learning and teaching.
His PhD thesis was declared to test the influence of social capital and networking ties on HR selection and decision making policies for the Fiji Public Service. In that regards, a key substantive contribution of the thesis for the public service is how social capital and networking ties influence the meritocracy of HR selection and decision. The findings are crucial for developing countries like Fiji and also important for comparable and developed economies.
Qualification Accreditation
Dr Vosikata is a member of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) institution and his most recent qualification (PhD Philosophy (Management) is accredited under the AQF and classified at the highest level of 10: (Graduates at this level will have a systematic and critical understanding of a complex field of learning and specialized research skills for the advancement of learning and/or for professional practice).
Professional Working Experience
Dr. Vosikata has also worked as a lecturer for Central Queensland University (Fiji campus) for 1.5 years, at USP’s School of Management and Public Administration for 7 years, the Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, and has been an Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales@ The Australian Defence Force Academy – UG &PG for 3 ½ years, teaching HRM, Managing People Across Culture and Project Management. Hence, he has taught a diverse crop of students from the South Pacific Islands, NZ, and Australian managers whilst lecturing at Universities in Fiji, NZ, and Australia, hence has extensive experience in consulting current and future managers on contemporary management theories and ideologies.
Dr. Vosikata was also employed by the Fiji Government in the Ministry of Home Affairs & Immigration for almost 22yrs.
Publications
Has published a couple of papers and his publications will continue to grow given that his interests include researching the Pacific Rim and Developing Economies on how Social Capital, Networking Ties and Meritocracy influence the application of Management ideologies and its major sub-functions including HRM, International HRM, Strategic Management, Project Management and Management.
Paper/Book Reviewer
Faifua, D., Vosikata, S., (2012), HR Selection Distortions: A Theoretical Framework for the Fiji Public Service, Journal of US – China Public Administration, 9 (7) pp775 – 790.
Invited by the International Journal of Human Resources Management to review the paper titled: Contributions to the Planning of Human Resources in the Territorial Level on 20/09/16.
Member of the reviewing team for the book titled – Organizational Behaviour: Core Concepts and Application by Wood, Zeffane, Fromholtz and Fitzgerald – published with Wiley Inc – ISBN 0470809515.
Invited by Cengage Inc to review two chapters in the HRM textbook titled, Nankervis 10e for 2018 publication
In that regards, Dr Vosikata is keen to continue as a book reviewer and publisher in the future.
Public Policy Consultant
Dr Vosikata was also contracted as a Performance Appraisal expert by the ADB in 2015 and did some research on the importance of Performance Appraisal Measurement and Job Analysis (JA). Further, he has also consulted and currently reviewing certain South Pacific Island economies’ public sector HR systems, processes, practices and policies and their alignment to the strategic direction and bottom line. In this work, the objective is to identify disconnects and recommend the relevant policy changes as the guided by a rhetorical theoretical framework, given the current organizational characteristic data.
Dr. Sunia Vosikata
Section/Department: Graduate School of Business
Location: Statham Campus
IDD tel. No.: +679 3231395
E-mail: sunia.vosikata@usp.ac.fj
Publications
http://vula.usp.ac.fj/view/creators/Vosikata=3ASunia=3A=3A/
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Professor Arvinder S. Chawla held the position of Vice-Chancellor at RIMT University in Punjab.
With a career spanning over 39 years in the teaching profession, Prof. A.S. Chawla held various leadership positions at Punjabi University, Patiala, and the University of Rwanda. His important assignments at Punjabi University include Dean Academic Affairs (2014-16) Dean Research (2016-17), Registrar (2011-2014) Dean, Colleges Development Council (2010- 2011), Dean Faculty of Business Studies (2008-2010), Head school of management Studies, Dean, Resource Mobilization and Advancement (2007-2017), Director International Students (2015-2017) Director, Centre for Management and Information technology, Mohali. At the University of Rwanda, he was Dean, Faculty of Management Studies (2002-2004) Professor and Head Department of Finance (2000-2002). Besides being a Professor of Management for two decades and holding several administrative positions, he has been a member of all statutory and other administrative bodies of Punjabi University— University Syndicate, Senate, Academic Council, Board of Finance, Board of Planning and Monitoring, University Research Board, Faculty and Board of Studies. He has also been a member of the Senate of Thapar University, Governing Council and Board of management of RBU, Academic Council of LPU, and Member of Board of Studies and Research boards of Kurukshetra University, Himachal Pradesh. University and Guru Nanak Dev University, Member of Managing Board of Human Resource Management Centre of GNDU.
Prof. Chawla has been a member of various Research Project Evaluation Committees and Inspection Committees of AICTE and the National Board of Accreditation, a member of the Expert Committee for Award of Commonwealth Fellowship, and on Editorial and Advisory Boards of several research journals.
In his professional career, he worked as Financial Advisor in a Kenyan Business Conglomerate (1995-1997). He participated in “Making Markets Work” and CPCL at Harvard Business School and was associated with Harvard Business School for coordinating their Executive Education initiative in the East and South African Region. He also coordinated various projects in collaboration with USAID, Ministry of Health – Government of Rwanda.
Prof. Chawla is a widely traveled person. He has been an Adjunct Professor at Wilkes University, USA, and the University of South Pacific, Fiji. He has also been involved with universities in more than two dozen countries (including the USA, Canada, Germany, Scotland, France, China, Singapore, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Ethiopia) for forging academic collaborations.
He has supervised 25 students for Ph. D. degrees, has 65 research papers, and articles published in reputed journals, and authored/edited 11 books. He has also been a member of professional societies and on the board of Directors of Priknit Retails limited and Forward Market Commission in India. He is a training consultant with many government and private organizations in India and had run MDPs for organizations Namely PSEB (now PSPCL), HSEB, NFL, Public sector banks in the areas of leadership, team building, Finance for non-finance executives. Known for his academic and administrative skills Prof. Chawla has walked through his 39 years of professional journey with a positive approach to facing challenges and has always carried people along towards both organizational and individual growth.
Dr. Anirudha Bansod has worked in the Pacific as Group Chief Executive Officer with State-Owned Enterprises. Currently, Dr. Bansod is a board director with Government Tender Board, CVPL, India, GSB, and MBA Advisory board. He is passionate about business growth, reforms in SOE, restructuring, and making loss-making organizations into profit with transformative change management strategies. He completed his master’s in Management from Massey University, New Zealand, and Ph.D. from Western Australia. He is passionate to make others successful in the business domain, especially in climbing the corporate ladder and startup ventures.
Professional Competence:
Organisation Development, Strategy creation, and Implementation Change management, Capacity Building, HR, Operations, Finance; System & Processes development & Implementation, Policy; Reforms to SOEs, Governance, Transformation, Strategic alliances, Finance, Procurement, and Sourcing; 100 % Growth-oriented approach; Drastic Cost Reduction strategies Training, Teaching, Organisation Transformation, Relational Bonds with different stakeholders; Consistent performer with Passion to Succeed + High Drive, Experience in Private + Public + Academic Industries in 6 diverse culture countries. Visited 42 countries.
Dr. Folototo Seve is a Lecturer in Accounting at the School of Accounting, Finance, and Economics (SAFE) and he is based at the Alafua Campus, Samoa. Seve has around 8 years of experience in developing and delivering accounting courses at the undergraduate level at the National University of Samoa before joining USP in 2021. He is currently teaching courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for SAFE, both face to face and online. He also teaches ‘Accounting for Decision Making’ (MBA432) and ‘Finance’ (MBA436) in the MBA programme for the Graduate School of Management.
Seve’s research interests include earnings quality and the financial reporting environment; corporate governance; and accounting education. His work has been published in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy; the Journal of Samoan Studies; and the International Journal of Advances in Computer Science & Its Applications. He co-edited the Proceedings of the Samoa IV Conference, 2018, published by the Centre for Samoan Studies at the National University of Samoa.
Dr. Mohan Sellappa Gounder has been working as a Senior Lecturer at the School of Computing, Information, and Mathematical Sciences, University of the South Pacific, Fiji. Earlier he worked for a university in Saudi Arabia, Universities (Amrita and Karunya) in India, and a software Industry (Infosys Ltd) in India. He has more than 20 years of experience in academics, industry, and research. To his credit, he successfully supervised 6 PhDs, published 3 edited books, 10 book chapters, and more than 50 research papers in reputed international journals and conferences.
He is a Ph.D. in computer science (2009), a Masters’s in Computer Cognition Technology (2002) both from the University of Mysore, and a Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering (1998) from Bharathidasan University., India His areas of research include intelligent computing, machine learning, computer graphics, and vision.
Dr. Mohan organized and served as a program committee member at various International conferences that are published by IEEE, Springer, etc. He is also a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACS. Dr. Mohan evaluates computer science programs of various universities in USA and other countries for their accreditation as a Program Evaluator at ABET. He has a rich experience with online teaching and learning systems as he implemented and enabled students and faculty members with learning management systems at various institutions. Dr. Mohan has developed a curriculum for several bachelor’s and masters programs in India and Saudi Arabia. Currently, he is teaching Information systems and Data science courses at USP. Fiji.
Dr. Peni Fukofuka is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the Australian University of Technology (AUT). Dr. Fukofuka is a consultant with the Graduate School of Business. He teaches Finance and Accounting courses. Dr. Fukofuka holds a Ph.D. from Australian National University, Australia, a Master of Commerce, with merit from the Australian National University, Australia, and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji. His fields of research, include: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, and Management Accounting.
He thoroughly enjoys the network that comes with being in academia. He has been fortunate to teach or collect research data from cities like Canberra, Sydney, very remote Indigenous communities in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Tonga.
Professor 
Venkatesh Mahadevan has over three decades of multinational higher education and industry experience in India, Malaysia, the UK and New Zealand, Fiji with the last 12 years in senior education management in Australia. These roles include Vice-Principal and Dean (Academic Affairs) at Queen Anne School of Management (QASM); Senior Academic Excellence Manager – University Partnerships at the Australian Technical and Management College (ATMC); Head, School of Business at Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT); Deputy Dean (Academic) at Asia Pacific International College (APIC); and Program Head, Swinburne University of Technology (SUT).
Professor Venkatesh is a leader in Management Information Systems (MIS) and higher education teaching and learning enhancement. He has proactively managed the student life cycle, from marketing and recruitment to engagement, progression, and intervention. Venkatesh has gone beyond compliance requirements to assure the quality of academic programs with agencies such as TEQSA, ESOS, ASQA, ACS, AASCB, ACCA, CPA, and EQUIS. His reputation at a national and international level is evident in refereed publications on business information, Information Technology (IT), and the interface with the business. He is currently teaching Operations and Quality Management and Project Management at the University of South Pacific (USP).
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Dr. Mohammad Habibur Rahman
Before joining as Research Affiliate with the Centre on Governance at the University of Ottawa (Canada), Dr. Mohammad Habibur Rahman was a faculty member at several universities including Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (Dubai), University Brunei Darussalam (Brunei), University of South Pacific (Fiji), Lakehead University (Canada) and University of Dhaka (Bangladesh). During his tenure at University Brunei Darussalam, he served the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Policy Studies and the Institute of Policy Studies as Program Leader of Graduate Studies. Dr. Rahman has published in top-ranked scholarly journals. His professional experience also includes advising UNDP and providing consultancy to a range of international agencies, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United States Agency for International Development, Commonwealth Secretariat, and Asia Foundation. Dr. Rahman holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wales, UK, and has two visiting positions – as Senior Fulbright Scholar at Maxwell School of Syracuse University, the USA, and Visiting Fellow at York Centre for Asian Research in York University, Canada.
Mata’afa Dr. Desmond U. Amosa is currently working as a private consultant following his service at the Pacific Islands Centre of Public Administration (PICPA), the National University of Samoa, and the University of the South Pacific (USP). As a private consultant, Mata’afa recently co-led a national study on Domestic Violence in Samoa funded by DFAT through the Samoa Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD). The study is being published by MWCSD in 2017 and is now used as a blueprint for the Government of Samoa’s national strategy to combat family violence. He is currently engaged as a private consultant for the USP Graduate School of Business; National University of Samoa; Samoa Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports; and World Life Fund (WWF).
Before becoming a private consultant, Mata’afa worked as a Regional Adviser for Capacity Development and Training for senior public officials in the region through the Pacific Islands Centre of Public Administration (PICPA) for the last five years. Mata’afa has conducted more than 50 workshops for senior public officials in the region on Project and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E); Public Policy Analysis and Implementation; Public Service Ethics and Decision-Making; and Leadership in the Public Sector.
Mata’afa also served as the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship at the National University of Samoa (NUS) following his service as a Senior Lecturer at the University of the South Pacific.
His main areas of interest in teaching and researching are public policy and administration, public policy monitoring and evaluation; administrative ethics, budgeting, governance, and public sector management. He has published extensively on these subjects in international journals focusing on Pacific Island Countries including Samoa. His latest book published by the Commonwealth Secretariat is on Social Policies in Samoa.
Professor. A B M Shawkat Ali is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, The University of Fiji, Fiji. He is the Founding Director, of the Centre for Smart Technologies, and Dean of the School of Science and Technology, The University of Fiji. He is working as a Founding Director of i-LaB Australia. He has obtained a Ph.D. from Monash University, Australia in the area of Information Systems. He is an IEEE Senior Member and currently working to establish the IEEE Pacific sub-section. His research interests include Computational Intelligence, Big Data, Data Mining, Smart Grid, Cloud Computing, Threat Intelligence, and Biomedical Engineering. He has published more than 150 research papers in international journals and conferences. His h-index is 23. He has also published several book chapters and seven books. His Data Mining book has been considered a textbook in over 30 universities around the world. Dr. Ali has received a few awards including the Vice-Chancellor research excellence award 2014, Top 10 Course Designers, CQUniversity, 2010, Excellence in Supervision Award, CQUniversity, 2007, and the Post Graduation Publication Award, Monash University, 2004.
Dr. Emmanuel Joseph Iyabora is a professional consultant, formerly engaged as the Policy Secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet of Solomon Islands. He also held the position of the United Nations Country Coordination Specialist in the Solomon Islands. He is currently a visiting faculty at the University of the South Pacific’s Graduate School of Business in Suva, Fiji. He devoted 10 years of his work in academia; teaching accounting, finance, management information systems, management accounting, taxation law, and audit and assurance service courses at the University of Fiji, and taught accounting and financial management courses at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.
Emmanuel had spent more than 20 years of work experience in the corporate setting, 10 years of which he had held managerial positions with various institutions and organisations in the Solomon Islands. He is currently a team member of the IOS Partners, Inc. USA Consulting Group providing technical assistance for the Central Bank of Solomon Islands ICT Modernization Roadmap project. He had held the manager finance position of the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund, the manager finance of the Solomon Airlines Ltd, and the manager accounts and information technology at the Central Bank of Solomon Islands. He had also held an advisory position with the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), as the Financial Accounts Advisor for the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) of Solomon Islands, the Business Analyst/Project Coordinator of the SOE reforms at the CBL Practising Accountants, and the General Secretary of SICA Secretariat.
Emmanuel had previously been a member of various Committees, Boards, and Councils in the Solomon Islands: a member of the Civil Registration Legislative Review Taskforce, a member of the Intervention Task Force of Solomon Islands – providing the oversight role for the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, a member of the Executive Steering Committee of the Royal Solomon Islands Police, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Solomon Islands Development Trust, a member of the Gaming & Lotteries Board, and a member of the Council of the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.
Emmanuel completed his PhD from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He holds an MBA and BA (Accounting and Management) from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji; a Diploma in Business Finance from the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education. He is also an associate member of the CPA Australia, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners USA, and the Institute of the Solomon Islands Accountants. Emmanuel’s research areas of interest include corporate governance, financial management, international financial reporting standards, audit reporting, fraud examination, and business influence.
Dr. Luke Forau holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in the field of Economics from the University of New South Wales, Canberra, a Master’s Degree in International and Development Economics from the Australian National, University, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management and Public Administration and Economics from the University of South Pacific. Dr. Forau teaches MBA439- Business Economics at the USP Solomon Island Campus. Dr. Luke Forau is the Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI). He was appointed the Governor on the 1st October 2019 and will hold office for six (6) years. Before that, he was the Deputy Governor, and before that position, he was the Advisor to the Governor’s Office for three years, starting from 2016 to 17th September 2018. He has been with the Central Bank since January 1999 and has also served as the Chief Manager of the Economics, Research & Statistics Department. Dr. Luke Forau is also the current President and Chairman of the Economic Association of Solomon Islands (EASI).