Australia has been assisting the University since its inception in 1968. Australia has and projects been instrumental through their support for many initiatives undertaken by USP. Their contribution has been in the form of core funding as well as infrastructure development, projects and since 2010 Australian has generously funded the Strategic Plan (2010-2013 & 2013-2018) priorities through partnership arrangements. This strong partnership has transpired into many productive outcomes for the benefit of the University and the people of this region.
The Government of Australia and the University are working towards partnership funding arrangement for the next Strategic Plan for the period 2019-2024.
Some of the key initiatives supported by Australia in the past included:
The University’s partnership with New Zealand like Australia has been a long standing one since the start of the University. New Zealand was amongst the countries that had commissioned the establishment of the University in 1968. It has provided support towards the core budget of the University, which has enabled USP to position itself well to serve the Pacific region with ICT, research, education and regionalism becoming the transformative strategy for the University. The key achievements under each of the Priority Areas of the Strategic Plan has been made possible by the funding support from New Zealand, as their funds are allocated to all of the Priority Areas. They have been funding through partnership arrangements for 3 year duration since 2010 and currently working on the next one.
Some key project initiatives supported by New Zealand include:
Japan has been a generous and long-standing partner of the University in serving the Pacific region, mainly in the areas of ICT, marine, agriculture and research. The Government of Japan continues to support the University in the form of providing technical assistance in the areas of marine resources, ICT and other specific research thematic areas whereby the assistance of key experts under these different areas are funded under the JICA programme and these experts are seconded to the University for a period of one year.
Japan funded the construction of the Japan-Pacific ICT Centre and the Japan-Pacific Multi-Purpose Lecture Theatre at USP, which is the facility that houses the state-of-the-art laboratories for students and staff of the University. These facilities are essential in hosting conferences and exhibitions at the regional level in collaboration with development partners and the regional and international organisations.
Key initiatives of the University supported by Japan include:
The European Union (EU) has been working with the University to address the needs of the Pacific and also to provide sustainable solutions to development challenges such as climate change; renewable energy; education; public administration; gender and other areas faced in the region. Under the EU’s 9th European Development Fund (EDF9), the University implemented the Pacific Regional Initiatives for the Delivery of Basic Education (PRIDE) that enhanced student learning in fifteen Pacific countries by strengthening the capacity of each Ministry of Education (or equivalent) to plan and deliver quality basic education.
The University is working with other Council of the Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP) agencies to develop and implement programmes under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF11) programming based on Pacific Regional Indicative Programme (PRIP). These include (1) Regional Economic Integration (Trade Integration & Private Sector); (2) Fisheries & Marine Coastal Ecosystem; (3) Waste Management; and (4) Public Financial Management, Data and Statistics. In addition to this the University is also working of Intra ACP Project Funding.
Other initiatives of the University supported by the EU include:
The University enjoys very collegial relationship with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and this is exemplified through the history of collaboration as natural partners for the development of the Pacific Islands through investments infrastructure and technical assistance grants for collaborative initiatives and research in areas such as climate change, renewable energy and economic modeling.
USP’s partnership with ADB started in 2009 when the Government of India provided the University a grant of USD 1 million through ADB for Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) on “The Creation of the Pacific Information Superhighway with The University of the South Pacific Network”. This project helped expand USP’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network across its regional campuses through the installation of the i-Direct system. The Technical Assistance resulted in the development of a soft loan proposal to improve access to tertiary education in the Pacific through the development of new campuses in Kiribati and Solomon Islands and improved connectivity of regional campuses. A soft loan of USD 19m from ADB’s Multi-Tranche Financing Facility (MFF) for the Higher Education in the Pacific Investment Programme was approved in mid-2012 to support USP in enhancing access to higher education in its 12 member Pacific Island Countries by improving physical environment and learning programmes.
Tranche 1
Tranche 1 of the project financed the construction of a new 3-storey building (ground floor is open space as additional study area) for new USP Kiribati Campus. The USD 4.975m new Kiribati Campus was officially opened on 3 November 2015. This is a 1,764 square metre building (with an additional 882 square metres open space ground floor) commenced in late 2014, and was funded through an ADB soft loan.
The three storey building comprises four teaching rooms, lecture theatre, library, book shop, video-conference room, computer lab, science lab, an Atoll Research Centre, College of Foundation Studies and Student Academic Services offices, Flexible Learning room and staff offices in the top two floors. The ground floor can be used as an additional study space by students.
Tranche 2
An allocation of USD 15.4 million has been earmarked for the Tranche 2 through ADB soft loan which is for the construction of the new USP Solomon Islands campus. The construction of this new campus is envisaged to include modern teaching facilities, classrooms, an ICT studio, library, science laboratories, student cafeteria, medical center, dormitories, faculty offices, recreational areas and administrative facilities. At the end of July 2015, Solomon Islands Government (SIG) approved the leasing of a 14 acre block of land west of and adjacent to the KGVI School, some 7 kilometers east of Honiara (3 kilometers west of Honiara International Airport). The design of the Campus has been finalised by a USP-recruited architectural consultancy firm. Other related project preparatory works are currently underway and it is envisaged that the project will be completed by mid 2023.
The University and ADB signed a Cooperation Agreement to Strengthen Knowledge Collaboration in July 2017 that focusses in five key areas of interventions are: (i) the development of the new Solomon Islands Campus; (ii) renewable energy initiatives for the greening of USP’s campuses, including Vanuatu, Samoa, RMI, Kiribati, Tonga and Fiji; and (iii) strengthening knowledge collaboration primarily focussing on ADB’s potential contribution towards the University; (iv) the joint organisation of the Pacific Update Conference; (v) and strengthening research collaboration and intervention on economic policy issues through efficient support towards and effective operationalisation of USP’s Centre for Economic Modelling and Policy (CEPM).
The World Bank has assisted the University in strengthening the capacity of ICT regulatory institutions in the participating countries, and enhancing regional collaboration and knowledge sharing on ICT Regulatory issues. The World Bank has funded the Pacific Regional ICT Regulatory Development project (currently on-going) through an IDA regional grant of USD 4.5 million. This grant enables the University to meet the ICT needs of the region by facilitating the transfer of knowledge and technical capacity to and amongst the region’s emerging regulators, and to foster collaboration among these institutions.
This Project funds and assists USP in the following key initiatives:
The Government of United States of America (USA) has provided assistance to the University in the implementation of project initiatives that are closely linked to the priorities of the University’s Strategic Plan. For some of these assistance, the University has been subcontracted to undertake capacity and research related deliverables.
Key projects and initiatives of the University supported by USA are:
The Government of France has supported the University in areas such as research, language, marine biodiversity, environment, art, culture, sustainable development, climate change and renewable energy in the region. France has provided assistance for the establishment of USP’s Journalism Programme and currently supports the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education by providing a French language teacher to the Language Department, as well as being one of the main sponsors of the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies (OCACPS).
The renewable energy projects funded by the French in the past have strengthened USP’s capacity to advance clean energy technologies and contribute towards the sustainable development choices of its member countries.
Specific projects and initiatives of the University funded by the Government of France include:
The Government of India provided the University a grant of USD 1 million through ADB for Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) on “The Creation of the Pacific Information Superhighway with The University of the South Pacific Network”. This project helped expand USP’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network across its regional campuses through the installation of the i-Direct system. The Technical Assistance resulted in the development of a soft loan proposal to improve access to tertiary education in the Pacific through the development of two new campuses in Kiribati and Solomon Islands and improved connectivity of regional campuses.
The Indian Universities and Institutes collaborated on USP’s initiative in the following areas:
People’s Republic of China has assisted USP with the establishment of the Confucius Institute at its main Laucala Campus, which was officially opened in Suva on 6 September 2012. The Confucius Institute at USP was established between USP and the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT). Since the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Laucala Campus, three other Confucius Classrooms have been opened in the Cook Islands, Lautoka and Emalus Campuses. The Chinese Embassy in Vanuatu donated office equipment, including two sets of desktops and air conditions valued to assist in improving the learning environment of the Confucius Classroom at the USP Emalus Campus.
The People’s Republic of China provided USD 1,775,994 in 2017 for extension of the Confucius Institute at Laucala Campus.
It has also supported the project for the establishment of the Francophonie Building at the University’s Emalus Campus, which was completed in 2013.
The Republic of Korea (RoK) has assisted USP in undertaking a comprehensive renewable energy capacity building initiative by providing grant for a project entitled ‘Renewable Energy Generation, Resource Assessment, and Capacity Building Programme for Sustainable Economic Development of the Pacific Island Countries’.
The Government of the Republic of Korea supported the University through the Grant Agreement for Seed Programme for Korean Studies to build and enhance its capacity to teach Korean content in an East Asian history course and courses in relevant disciplines. The funding is for the period 1 July 2014 till 30 June 2017, which is a critical incubation period to stimulate and retain students’ curiosity and interest in Korea to attract them to learn more about Korea at USP, initially at undergraduate level, with a view to extending it to the postgraduate level.
The following initiatives have been supported through Canadian based institutes and partners:
The United Kingdom (UK) has supported USP during its establishment in 1968. The Government of UK had supported USP at the beginning by providing a start-up funding of £1.25 million.
As part of the continuing support, many collaborations have taken place between USP and the Government of UK in the following areas:
The United Nations (UN) has been assisting the University to promote sustainable development of the Pacific region as per the priorities under the USP Strategic Plan and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The assistance from UN has enabled the University to contribute more effectively towards enhancement of the capacities of the Pacific Island countries to deal with development challenges. The University has collaborated with UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and the ILO mainly in the area of youth empowerment, sanitation comprehensive sexual education, climate change, fisheries and research.
Some of the key initiatives and projects supported by UN are as follows:
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) has been providing assistance to USP since 1999, which mainly focused training in corporate governance and private sector development, food technology and climate change. Over the period of 2005 to 2006, Taiwan/ROC has offered scholarships in the Pacific through the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), which included 25 scholarships to USP students.
Key projects and initiatives of the University supported by Taiwan/ROC are: