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PhD and Master’s students at the University of the South Pacific are celebrating the return of their supervisor Dr. Tamara Osborne.

Her reinstatement has renewed momentum in their research.

PhD student Bindiya Rashni says the move has revitalized the Biology department and restored confidence among postgraduate students.

She adds that even during Dr. Osborne’s absence, the group supported one another and she continued supervising from home and in the lab to keep work on track.

“There’s a huge change in one, uplifting of the spirits of PhD students we are pushing towards our completion stage. It’s a very positive environment for us at biology. The best part is our molecular lab is functioning very well and we have progressed to nanopore sequencing stages and this is actually a big uplifting for biological science and working on Pacific Island species as well.”

Another PhD student Mere Yabaki described last year as a time of testing and resilience. She says the disruption strengthened the students’ determination to succeed.

“But I think it was a time to testing for us and I think I’m proud to say that a lot of her students were quite resilient and quite we sort of supported each other and helped each other through that time and we were sort of hopeful that she would come back to the university while we were still studying and doing our research.”

Dr Osborne was removed from the university system in November last year by the previous leadership, pausing the research of about 12 postgraduate students.

Her return allows students to continue their projects in a positive environment with clearer direction.

Students have expressed strong confidence in USP’s current interim governing team.

Rashni adds that they hope future leaders will uphold Pacific values, maintain ethical standards and put student interests first.

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