PNGUoT Vice Chancellor’s Speech

Distinguished guests, faculty, students, alumni, partners, friends, and fellow citizens of Papua New Guinea, good evening and welcome.

Today, as our beloved nation marks 50 years of independence, we gather under the powerful national theme: “Celebrate our history, inspire our future.” This is more than a slogan. It is a solemn call to remembrance and renewal. To celebrate our past is to honor the courage, sacrifices, and wisdom that carried us here. To inspire the future is to look forward with conviction, discipline, and hope. Without the past, there is no present. Without the present, no future.

In this spirit of reflection and vision, I proudly share with you the story of our institution — the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNGUoT) — a story inseparably woven into the story of our nation.

Our Beginnings

Our journey began on 26 May 1965, when this institution was established by an Act of the House of Assembly. Born out of the Curie Commission of Higher Education, it was first called the Papua New Guinea Institute of Higher Technical Education. At that time, Papua New Guinea was still an Australian Territory, but the vision was bold: to produce technically skilled manpower for a young and aspiring nation.

In 1970, it became the Papua New Guinea Institute of Technology. By August 1973, it was transformed into a full-fledged University.

The first intake of students studied Civil Engineering and Surveying at Waigani, Port Moresby. By 1968, the Institute relocated to its permanent home here in Lae. New disciplines soon followed: Accountancy and Business Studies, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Architecture, Building Technology, and Planning.

From those humble beginnings of 31 pioneers, PNGUoT today serves more than 3,800 students annually across 13 academic schools, spanning Agriculture, Forestry, Applied Sciences, Applied Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, Architecture and Construction Management, Civil, Mechanical, Mining, Electrical and Communication Engineering, Surveying and Land Studies, Business Studies, and Communication & Development Studies.

Leadership and Legacy

Leadership has always been the cornerstone of PNGUoT.

• Our first Director, Dr. W. E. Duncanson, and early Council Chairs such as Sir Herbert Watkins and Dr. J. A. L. Matheson, laid a foundation of discipline, quality, and service.

• In 1976, Sir Alkan Tololo became our first national Chancellor. By 1982, Dr. Mosley Moramoro became the first PNG national Vice Chancellor.

• Over the decades, able and patriotic leaders—Mr. Phillip Stagg, Sir Nagora Bogan, Dame Jean Kekedo, and now Mr. Sam Koim—have carried the baton.
• We remember with deep respect Professors Siaguru and Baloiloi, Dr. Kaiulo, and others who gave their intellect and passion to this institution.
• We honor both expatriate pioneers and national academics—Torres, Sam, Kobal, Boeha, and many more—who kept the flame of scholarship alive.

Challenges and Resilience

Like our nation, PNGUoT has endured its share of storms. The late 1980s and 1990s brought economic hardship, loss of expatriate staff, and shrinking resources. Yet the University did not abandon its mission. Expatriates lent their expertise, but it was the unwavering loyalty and resilience of our national staff that carried this institution through. I pause tonight to honor their faith, their strength, and their sacrifice — through crises such as the 1991 student strike, when PNGUoT closed for a year but emerged stronger.

And let us not forget the unsung heroes — technical staff, secretaries, janitors, and gardeners like Misti, Lopai, Sparka, and Betty. They kept the heartbeat of PNGUoT alive. Their service reminds us that universities are not built only on lectures and laboratories, but also on the sweat, devotion, and humble labor of ordinary men and women.

A Legacy Rooted in People

This Golden Jubilee is not only a celebration of leaders and academics, but also of our parents, guardians, and communities who believed in us, sacrificed for us, and gave us the chance to serve our nation. Tonight, when I mention surnames like Maino, Gena, Bomoteng, Sali, Yosi, Kobal and many more. I do so to honor the countless families who gave sons and daughters to the service of knowledge and nationhood.

Looking Ahead: Inspiring the Future

In recent years, PNGUoT has undergone renewal. With discipline, prudent management, and a bold vision, we have restored stability and repositioned ourselves on the global Stage.

We celebrate milestones that give us confidence for the future:

1. Accreditation of all engineering programs by Engineers Australia under the The Washington Accord is a mark of international quality.

2. Six consecutive years of unqualified financial audits, demonstrating good governance.
3. Rising research capacity, with a renewed drive to expand global collaborations.
4. Organizational reforms emphasizing digital learning, industry relevance, and diversification of programs.

5. New infrastructure, including a modern dining hall and other vital campus facilities.
6. Restoration of peace, order, beauty, and cleanliness across the campus.

Our non-engineering programs are also being benchmarked to global standards. The journey to world-class status is ongoing, but the foundations are now firm.

A Call to Celebrate and Commit

Around the world, higher education drives national progress. For Papua New Guinea, PNGUoT must remain the beating heart of development — our knowledge hub, our research engine, our intellectual capital.

As we celebrate 50 years of independence, we recall that in the Biblical Golden Jubilee, it was a time of restoration, renewal, and fresh beginnings. So too, for us, this anniversary must be a moment to reflect, reset, and recommit.

Before 1975, our colonial friends taught us what to do. Since then, we have tried to chart our own path. At 50 years, we can look back honestly: we know where we went wrong, we know where we went right, and we know what must be done to improve our standards of living. Now is the time to launch forward with confidence. We are Papua New Guineans. We can and we will build a wise, healthy, wealthy and fair country.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge with gratitude:

• The founding fathers of our nation, whose vision birthed independence.
• The pioneers of PNGUoT, who laid our foundations.
• The leaders—Vice Chancellors, Chancellors, and Council members who guided us through challenges.
• The faculty, staff, students, and alumni, who embody our mission.
• And above all, the people of Papua New Guinea, for whom we exist and to whom we owe our service.

Conclusion

As we celebrate our nation’s Golden Jubilee and PNGUoT’s 60th Anniversary, let us recommit to our shared purpose. Under our University’s sub-theme “Advancing National Development through Science and Technology” we affirm that PNGUoT is and must remain a pillar of nation-building.

Let us inspire our young people to dream, to create, and to lead. Let us strengthen PNGUoT as a hub of innovation and a beacon of hope. Let us celebrate our past with pride, and let us step boldly into the future — united, inspired, and determined.

Happy 50th Independence Anniversary. May PNGUoT rise with our nation, as both its brain and its heartbeat.

 

Professor Ora Renagi OL

Vice Chancellor