Smart Learning at the University of the South Pacific

Greetings from the the IEEE 7th International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) in Wollongong where staff of the University of the South Pacific (UPS) are discussing "Smart Learning in the Pacific: Design of New
Pedagogical Tools". USP is multi-nationals with students who have studied under different school systems. They have ab "early warning system" which extracts data from their Moodle Learning Management System to indicate which students are struggling. They also use Big Blue Button (BBB), for synchronous webinars. Students are tested online for English skills and those who don't score well are automatically signed up of a support course.

Challenges at USP include limited bandwidth to some Pacific countries (something being addressed by the Australian Government funded fibre optic cable to the Solomon Islands). A major focus of USP is teacher training. I will be speaking on "Blended Learning for the Indo-Pacific" later in the conference.

"Smart learning ecosystems leverage on state-of-the-art tools and technologies to help students learn better with Information Communication Technologies (ICT). The ubiquity, innovations and advancements of ICT have transformed pedagogies and approaches to content facilitation and delivery in higher education worldwide, the Pacific region being no exception. The paper essays a number of learning and support tools designed in-house or adopted (or outsourced) recently by a higher education institution in the Pacific contributing to the smart learning ecosystem. The institution has integrated these ICT driven tools to its academic and support programmes, and more recently the in-country science programmes introduced in its member countries. The strengths and challenges from the implementation of these new adaptive tools are highlighted with recommendations to the wider academic populace."

Pacific regionalism and higher education

Greetings from ANU where Professor Rajesh Chandra, Vice-Chancellor, The University of the South Pacific (USP), is speaking on "Pacific regionalism and higher education".

Professor Chandra is here for high level consultations with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT).


Professor Chandra argued that USP was at the center of development in the Pacific region. He pointed out that the new Framework for Pacific Regionalism (FPR) allows for involvement by non-government organizations and the private sector. The professor pointed out the importance of e-leaning and cyber- security.

Professor Chandra pointed out that USP has decades of experience working on regional issues, not just national ones. USP has 14 campuses in 12 countries, with 30,000 students. He listed the seven Strategic Research Themes:

1. Economic Growth, Regional Cooperation & Integration for Sustainable Pacific Economies
2. Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change
3. Government, Public Policy and Social Cohesion
4. Human Capacity Building & Leadership
5. ICT & Knowledge Economy
6. Pacific Cultures and Societies
7. Pacific Ocean & Natural Resources

Professor Chandra pointed out that half their students are studying using flexible learning. In addition USP offers Skills Based Qualifications through Pacific Technical And Further Education (Pacific TAFE). Professor Chandra emphasized that Pacific TAFE does not depend on government funding.

Pacific TAFE is also interesting as it appears to be based on the Australian vocational system. As an example, the Pacific TAFE program "Certificate IV in Professional Training, Assessment & Evaluation" appears similar to the Australian "Certificate IV in Training and Assessment". The Pacific TAFE program is quality assured by Sydney TAFE, in Australia. The Pacific TAFE certificate articulates to a"Diploma in Non-formal Education" at USP, but I am not sure what "non-formal education" is: perhaps the same as workplace learning (such as for apprentices)?

There is a USP/ANU Memorandum of Understanding. It will be interesting to see if the two institutions collaborate on on-line programs and courses.

There is a Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF) 2009-2015. This included a SSE 3: TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING (TVET) Goal "Ensuring that learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes." and SSE 5: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT : IN -SERVICE EDUCATION AND PRE - SERVICE EDUCATION OF TEACHERS, but with no specific agreed targets. Also there is a CROSS - CUTTING THEME 4: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) to "Develop a Global Partnership for Development ... In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication technologies.". It is not clear if anything was achieved as a result of the framework and there appears to be no replacement plan. Such frameworks, I suggest, are of little practical value and may hinder development. The best way universities can assist with development is to focus on their expertise: research what should be done and then educate people to go out and do it.

One point Professor Chandra did not mention is that USP's Bachelor of Net-centric Computing and Bachelor of Software Engineering were accredited by the Australian Computer Society in December 2015.


An interesting question from the audience was if USP might cooperate with India on education. Professor Chandra was generally positive on the idea. He suggested the most useful action would be more satellite coverage of the Pacific.

University of the South Pacific IT Degrees Accredited

The Australian Computer Society has accredited the Bachelor of Net-centric Computing and Bachelor of Software Engineering programs of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. These are reported to be the only non-Australian institutions accredited.

eLearning in the Developing World

Continuing my browsing of the shelves of the ADFA Library, I came across "Reconsidering Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World: Meeting Students' Learning Needs"  by David Kember (Routledge, 2007). This traces the development of distance university education in developing nations, especially as it relates to the UK Open University Model. This is very much a personal account with the author having experience in education in Hong Kong, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fuji and the UK. While written in the relatively early days of Internet education, the principles are still very applicable today's MOOCs. The University of the South Pacific provides an interesting model, being an institution run in cooperation by twelve nations, spread across a significant portion of the world. Many will find it surprising that the model of distance education made world famous by Open University UK was largely derived from what is called the "Armidale model" at University of New England, Australia. The experience of the University of South Africa, with an unsuccessful attempt at placing computers in schools for distance education, provides a lessen in the risks of technological optimism.