In January, a group of 10 high-achieving undergraduates from the University of Papua New Guinea’s (UPNG) School of Business & Public Policy - attended a summer school program at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
The summer school program is part of the partnership between the two universities and is aimed at enhancing Business and Public Policy learning for UPNG students, and strengthening the people-to-people links at the tertiary academic level.
Under this partnership ANU academics are attached each year at UPNG to teach economics and public policy subjects to UPNG Business and Public Policy students.
Olivia Kakalave, a public policy management student who is now in her final year of studies was among those who attended the summer school program in January.
She said the partnership has been beneficial for her over the course of her studies and that the summer school program was enlightening.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for students like myself to be exposed to such programs. If we go out and see what it’s like there, when we come back we can make a difference in the field that we are studying,” she said.
Miss Kakalave said this exposure will build capability and boost students’ self-esteem.
“I’m looking forward to coming back and sharing these ideas with our junior students through our association – we can try to disseminate information, give hope to others and motivate them to make a difference.”
The summer school program consists of coursework to improve critical research skills, and extracurricular events which expose students to new ways of thinking and provide opportunities to build networks.
It inspires students, exposes them to new intellectual challenges, and strengthens their critical thinking and academic capabilities.
The ANU-UPNG partnership and the summer school program are supported by the Papua New Guinea – Australia Partnership through the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct.
For further information, including access to related materials, please contact the Australian High Commission media team: +675 7090 0100
Olivia Kakalave (firs from left), Public Policy student at UPNG’s School of Business with lecturer Dek Sum and other School of Business and Public Policy students preparing to travel to Canberra for the ANU-UPNG Summer School Program.