University of Fiji

Coordinates: 17°40′7.35″S 177°24′28.87″E / 17.6687083°S 177.4080194°E / -17.6687083; 177.4080194
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The University of Fiji
MottoFlexible, Innovative, Affordable, Contemporary, Futuristic
Type
Vice-Chancellor
Professor Sushila Chang
Location,
Websitewww.unifiji.ac.fj/

The University of Fiji is a university based in Saweni, Lautoka, Fiji. It was established in December 2004 under academic leadership of the Fiji Institute of Applied Studies and financial sponsorship of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, a Hindu religious organization dedicated to education." On 14 February 2016, the Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB) signed a 99-year lease with the university for the 5-hectare property, for which the university paid F$100,000. The university agreed in return to provide two scholarships annually for the children of landowners.[2]

The University of Fiji honoured its first graduates in 2008. Fiji's President

the largest ethnic minority
.

Courses and departments

The university offers courses up to postgraduate level in the following fields:

Information Technology, Mathematics, Language and Literature, Fijian Language and Culture, Medicine, Law, and Hindi Language and Culture.[3]

It includes six "Centres of Excellence", namely a Centre for Indigenous Studies (CIS), a Centre for International and Regional Affairs (CIRA), the Gandhi-Tappoo Centre for Writing, Ethics and Peace Studies (WEPS), a Centre for Diasporic Studies (CDS), a Centre for Gender Research (CGR), and a Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development.[3]

University finance and administration

The university is governed by the University of Fiji Council. In addition to the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, stakeholders include the

to appoint representatives to the Council.

Benefactors include the India-Fiji Festival Committee, which on 16 February 2006 donated F$10,000 to the university for the tertiary education of underprivileged students.

The University of Fiji has signed a

Vice-Chancellor
Rajesh Chandra said on 26 May 2005 that the agreement would effectively link the University of Fiji with international academic networks and would help ensure the quality of instruction.

Future plans and goals

The Fiji Times quoted Professor Chandra on 16 February 2006 as saying that making higher education available to underprivileged communities would lead to equitable development, which would foster social and political stability in the long run.

Professor Chandra announced plans on 6 March to establish a medical school, and said that if donors could be found, the university would set up another campus in the northern island of Vanua Levu. The medical school, to be called the Dr Umanand Prasad School of Medicine, is the brainchild of Dr. Umanand Prasad, a native of Labasa who has invested F$1 million for a medical school in his home country, after thirty years abroad. It has been operational since March 2008.[4]

Notes and references

External links

17°40′7.35″S 177°24′28.87″E / 17.6687083°S 177.4080194°E / -17.6687083; 177.4080194