Thousands of students across Fiji flocked to The University of the South Pacific (USP) Open Day last Friday at their campuses in Laucala, Lautoka and Labasa.
Each campus had student ambassadors to take prospective students, teachers, parents and guardians on tour through the displays from six disciplines across the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics (SAFE), School of Business and Management (SBM), School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics (STEMP), School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences (SAGEONS), School of Law and Social Science (SoLaSS), Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD) and Pacific Technical and Further Education (Pacific TAFE).
The students took part in quizzes, an exploration activity during the Open Day tour; there were also prospective career paths shared with students interested in various fields of study.
Speaking to the media at the 2023 Vodafone USP Open Day in Suva, USP Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Pal Ahluwalia said it’s just such a joy to just see the buzz around the campus.
“The fact that so many prospective students come on the back of some fantastic news yesterday that USP, for the third year in a row, was ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, he added.
Professor Ahluwalia highlighted that “The rankings not only confirm USP’s excellence but also tell us where our weaknesses are and where we have to improve, this is something that USP has been using these rankings for, is to find where we need to make significant changes and we’ve been continuously making it.”
He said the focus of the regional university and focus of his leadership has been entirely on being a student-centric University.
“My entire senior management team is focused on that as well. We’re about making sure that students are placed first and that students get quality education. And when they come to a ranked university like ours, they do get that they get that cutting edge research that our people are doing and that research is then brought into the classroom so that there is no real confusion about what they’re learning is some of the best programs available anywhere in the world,” Professor Ahluwalia added.
The USP Application Hub set up for the Open Day was busy with students wanting to submit their applications for 2024.
Meanwhile, secondary school teachers who were among their students were also keen to find out more programmes they would be able to pursue at USP.
From Vatukoula, Nilsen College Assistant Principal Mrs Marica Meo said she and her two colleagues travelled to Suva with Year 13 students to find out more about the programmes offered and also have their students submit their applications at the Application Hub.
“The three of us teachers have been in the field for almost 20 years and we are here with our students to find out more about how we can pursue further studies,” she shared.
The 2023 Vodafone USP Open Day has been a success with over 10,000 students from over 117 schools visiting the three main campuses in Laucala, Lautoka and Labasa.
