COVID-19

USP achieves high ranking for Crisis Management

June 11, 2021 4:47 pm

[Source: Supplied]

The University of the South Pacific is punching above its weight against some of the biggest institutions around the world.

This comes as USP has been ranked 11th in Crisis Management amongst the Top 100 Universities in the World Universities Real Impact (WURI) Ranking System.

This achievement was officially cited in a virtual conference by Professor Emeritus of Seoul National University and Founding Director of the WURI ranking, Moon, Hwy- Chang early this morning.

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WURI is the latest university ranking system established in 2020 and was developed by the Organising Committee of the Second Conference of the Hanseatic League of Universities.

USP entered in the category of Crisis Management and provided the details of how it has responded to COVID-19 in 2020, where the Fiji campus, in particular, was under pressure to ensure its students and staff were protected as the pandemic ravaged the world.

Its submission was titled Continuity of Education amidst COVID-19 Pandemic and was submitted in December 2020.

USP’s Acting Vice-Chancellor and President, Dr Giulio Pāunga, says USP was extremely pleased and proud to be included amongst the best Universities in the world in ensuring the continuity of learning and teaching in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

He says this worldwide recognition is a great and timely gift, received during one of the most challenging periods in the University’s history.

He says this is not just the University’s achievement but a proud moment for the entire region.

Paying tribute to the staff, Dr Paunga thanked all staff who rose to the occasion, successfully responding to the challenges and ensuring that the University performed as well as other bigger and well-resourced universities around the world.

Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), Professor Jito Vanualailai and his team was spec9iafially thanked for effectively developing the successful submission to WURI.

Professor Vanualailai says the success of the premier institution is due to its time-tested experience in offering courses in blended mode for over 30 years, which has also seen the development and advancement of crucial support sections such as the Information Technology Services and the Centre of Flexible Learning.

With Fiji again being under attack from the second wave of COVID-19, Professor Vanualailai says that going forward, as long as the world continues to be enveloped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the University will use its newly acquired experience in responding effectively to COVID 19 to continue to offer its high-quality academic programmes online and ensure the continuity and reach of education to all students in all its member countries.