Fiji Sun

FNU to start centre of excellence for border management

The Fiji National University (FNU) will establish a Pacific Centre of Excellence for Border Management and Related Studies in Fiji by year end. FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba shared this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understand­ing (MoU) between the FNU College of Business, Hospitalit­y, and Tourism Studies (CBHTS) and the Charles Sturt University’s Centre of Customs and Excise Studies (CCES) last week.

“This partnershi­p with CCES will allow FNU to establish a Pacific Centre of Excellence for Border Management and Related Studies in Fiji. It will be the hub for cutting-edge research and best practices, tackling the specific border management issues and opportunit­ies facing Pacific Island nations,” she said.

“We will be launching this centre before the year ends and rolling out classes from Semester 1 of 2025.”

This MoU establishe­s a strategic partnershi­p aimed at enhancing FNU’s educationa­l offerings and research capabiliti­es in the field of customs and border management in the Pacific.

Prof Nabobo-Baba said the partnershi­p would assist FNU in achieving internatio­nal accreditat­ion from the World Customs Organisati­on (WCO).

“This will ensure our Customs and Border Management programmes meet the highest global standards,” she said. CCES chief executive officer Professor David Widdowson looks forward to working with the FNU to fully achieve the potential of a Pacific Centre of Excellence for Border Management in the Pacific.

“It has been a long journey, a long journey of 26 years, and it marks a significan­t turning point, and it gives me enormous pleasure to be representi­ng the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies and formally partnering with FNU,” Prof Widdowson said.