6th PIURN Conference Pacific Universities to PNGUoT
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology was proud to host the 6th Pacific Islands Universities Regional Network (PIURN) Conference with close to 200 delegates from across the Pacific Region, Australia and New Zealand.
PNGUoT Vice Chancellor Professor Ora Renagi said the presence of all academics, and researchers in Lae last week was a powerful demonstration of what regional collaboration in higher education and research can achieve.
Professor Renagi said the theme, ‘Harnessing technologies for the safe and sustainable development of the Pacific’ was timely and relevant, encompassing the topics on the impacts of climate change, food security, digital connectivity, energy access, and resilient infrastructure.
“Our region stands at a critical cross road. It is through research that is grounded in local knowledge and enabled by global technology, that we can chart a sustainable path forward.”
“As universities, we are not merely centres of learning, we are instruments of national development. The research papers presented reflect a noble purpose… They are ideas with the potential to transform societies, empower communities and safeguard the future.”
The PIURN conference brought together academics and researchers from 15 universities across the Pacific and Papua New Guinea.
PIURN Coordinator, Mathilde Souchon said they were happy to have brought the PIURN conference here to Papua New Guinea.
“It’s very timely as we are going towards the celebration of the 50th independence anniversary of the country and with and because we have six member universities of Papua New Guinea a part of the consortium,” Ms. Souchon added.
PIURN Co-Chairs, University of South Pacific (USP) Vice Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia and President of the University of New Caledonia Professor Catherine Ris congratulated PNGUoT for taking up the challenge of hosting this growing, regional conference.
PIURN was established in 2013 with a goal to promote closer and meaningful collaboration among researchers in the consortium, and to collectively empower the Pacific Universities to become key contributors to finding solutions for challenges facing the region.
Ms. Souchon said through regional academic initiatives, they hope to strengthen collaboration and foster this really important ties between all the Pacific region.
The three-day conference had presentations, three roundtable discussions, two plenary sessions and close to 170 scientific presentations.
The 6th PIURN conference was sponsored by the French Embassy of PNG, Australia Awards,Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Australian Aid, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Konrad Audenauer Stiftung, Fonds Pacifique, Vodafone, and Theodist Limited.
The 7th PIURN conference will be hosted in Fiji.
