The University of the South Pacific (USP) hosted the 2023 board meeting of the Pacific Islands Universities Research Network (PIURN). Professor Pal Ahluwalia, President of USP and Professor Catherine Ris, President of the University of New Caledonia (UNC), co-presidents of PIURN, welcomed the member universities of the consortium on April 4, 2023 at USP. The Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the National University of Samoa, the National University of Vanuatu, the National University of Fiji, the University of Fiji, the National University of the Solomon Islands, the University of Papua New Guinea, Divine Word University, PNG Unitech and Pacific Adventist University met in person for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
This meeting provided an opportunity to review the remarkable achievements of PIURN since its inception in 2013, prepare for the 5th PIURN Conference hosted by the USP Cook Islands Campus (4-6 July 2023) and discuss the future of the network
PIURN board members reiterated their commitment to strengthening academic and research collaborations between the 14 member universities, with a joint PIURN call for research projects. They also discussed the vision of the network, the regional strategy to adopt and the key activities to develop to strengthen the PIURN.
PIURN is now recognized as an important player in the Pacific region. It has demonstrated its ability to act as a catalyst for the emergence of joint university projects of regional interest and has succeeded in obtaining significant research grants. The bi-annual PIURN conferences have enabled member universities to intensify the dynamic of collaboration between researchers and to promote the work of postgraduate students.
A reception was hosted on Monday, April 3 by the French Ambassador, His Excellency François-Xavier Léger, to welcome delegates to the 2023 PIURN Board Meeting and Professor Ahluwalia hosted the closing dinner at Pacific Fusion, showcasing the work of USP students from Pacific Technical and Further Education: Pacific TAFE.