The Australia Pacific Islands Business Council along with The Australia Fiji and the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Councils has entered an informal arrangement with the Journalism Programme of the Fiji headquartered University of the South Pacific (USP) for its students to contribute editorially to the business councils’ newsletters.
Students of the journalism programme will contribute business stories based on topics of interest for Australian and Pacific Islands businesses to be published in the newsletters. The students’ work will be guided by the programme’s staff.
Speaking to the Business Councils’ Communications and Partnerships Strategist Dev Nadkarni, Head of USP’s Journalism Programme Associate Professor Dr Shailendra Bahadur Singh said, “The USP Journalism Programme happy to collaborate. We are very pleased with this arrangement. Business and the economy are important news beats. This is an opportunity for our students to focus in this area and sharpen their skills and knowledge. This is going to be an interesting learning experience for them.”
Mr Nadkarni is a former senior lecturer and head of the programme, and Dr Singh’s former colleague.
Commencing in Suva in 1988 through Commonwealth funding, the USP Journalism programme, initially with a modest number of students, has evolved into a significant contributor to the Pacific and beyond, boasting hundreds of graduates engaged in diverse media and communication roles around the Pacific and beyond.
When the programme was initiated, it encountered scepticism from some USP academics who questioned the place of journalism in a university setting. However, a pivotal turn occurred in 1993 when an infusion of funds from the French government breathed new life into the programme, elevating it to a BA double-major degree and enhancing its academic standing.
