OUTGOING chancellor of the University of the South Pacific and President Joji Konrote was farewelled last night the by management and staff of USP after his term came to an end.
In his farewell speech, Mr Konrote said he had noted several significant points during graduation ceremonies that he attended- that there was an increasing number of Pacific Island students and a good number of women graduating which was a positive sign for Pacific Islanders and its women.”
“This is a very good sign for our region.
“More educated minds can only mean improved productivity for our Island Nations.
“It could also mean significant transformations from developing to developed countries where our people are able to improve their socio-economic status and use this as a launchpad for a brighter and promising future.
I also noted that female graduates are gradually outnumbering the males. This is also a positive sign for women in the Pacific,” Mr Konrote said.
“I also noticed that there are numerous competing demands. For the University, one of the demands is to remain relevant to the region’s needs.”
He said issues like climate change and transboarder crimes such as money laundering, drug trafficking, people smuggling, trans-national refugee migration, and illegal fishing, among many others such as Non-Communicable Diseases, will continue to challenge the Pacific region.
“I hope that the University can help provide solutions to these issues through advanced curricula in a broad range of fields from science, technology, law, and humanities, to name a few,” he said.
