Solomons academic says deals needed for new university

Transcript

A Solomon Islands expatriate says the country's first university will have to offer attractive deals if it wants academics like himself, who are working overseas, to return.

The Pro-chancellor of the new Solomon Islands National University is appealing to academics from the Solomons who are working in universities abroad to consider returning to work for the new institution.

An Associate Professor of the Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Hawaii, Dr Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka, says there are alternative ways for expats to contribute to the new institution.

KABUTAULAKA: A lot of us who are working in the places that we're working have developed a career either on tenure track positions or have long-term commitments to these places. That, however, does not mean that we cannot contribute to the Solomon Islands National University. We can, especially given the kind of technologies that we have. People can still be able to interact with students and faculty at the new university without having to be there physically.

INTERVIEWER: Now, the university obviously is in its early days and it still has limited courses. What do you think needs to be done for it to be a successful university?

KABUTAULAKA: A number of things. This is not a complaint, but I just want to note here that in the initial discussions of setting up the university, I was never consulted. I was never asked my opinions of the university and how to go about establishing it. And from talking to Solomon Islander colleagues who work in universities in Australia and New Zealand in particular, not too many of us were consulted. And it's rather sad that after everything has been established, they then come back and ask us to go back to the Solomons.

INTERVIEWER: Just going back to the appeal for expats to teach at the university, do you know of anyone who might consider returning?

KABUTAULAKA: Honestly, I haven't heard. I know that there are one or two Solomon Islanders who are returning home, but not to teach at university. But the other thing about getting us back to the Solomons is I think there are more creative ways to do that and a lot of us who work overseas usually have sabbatical. So rather than saying to people, we want you to come back and work permanently in the Solomons, you come up with a programme that says, okay, those Solomon Islanders who are teaching in different places, let's work out when you have sabbaticals. And we will offer you a package, so that you spend your sabbatical with the Solomon Islands National University. In that way, the Solomon Islands government does not have a full-time commitment to provide these people with an expensive package, but rather provide periods of time that they can come and spend at the Solomon Islands National University and contribute to the academic programs over there. So it's a much cheaper way of doing it and also a more creative way.