Two universities in Papua New Guinea will share resources and physical infrastructure to achieve the government’s call for quality of higher education and more access to higher education.
Divine Word University and the PNG University of Technology signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the Madang Campus of DWU to kick off this partnership.
The purpose of the agreement is to enhance the quality of education at both universities, collaborate in exchange research activities, exchange of students and staff.
This will be done through teaching and learning collaboration, combined supervision of postgraduate students, joint research projects and training in enhancing quality of ICT infrastructure, and professional skills development.
DWU President Fr Jan Czuba and Vice Chancellor of Unitech Dr Albert Schram signed the MOA, which was witnessed by Dr Subramaniyam Gopalakrishnan of Unitech and Vice President Academic Professor Pamela Norman of DWU.
Fr Czuba said, ”While it is important to increase access to higher education however at the same time it is important not to compromise the quality of research, learning and teaching At both universities.”
He said, through the sharing of resources and physical infrastructure the universities would be able to enroll more students.
Dr Schram added that Unitech was focused on being ‘part of the solution and not the problem’ and the agreement would assist in finding solutions for quality higher education in PNG.
The agreement between the two universities started out as an initiative by Unitech’s Applied Sciences Department and the Health Sciences Department of DWU to do research On Anti – Malarial Drugs from medicinal plants of PNG in 2013.
The MOA now paves way for other departments from both universities to develop research, exchange of students and staff as well as other academic cooperation initiatives.
By ELLIOT DAWEA
In Madang
Divine Word University
