Progress report for
Norway-Pacific Joint Chair of Oceans and Climate Change
Achievement at a glance
The position as Chair was advertised 1 August 2018 with a closing date of 30 September 2018. An initial meeting to screen applicants was held in Suva in November 2018 with representatives from both universities (University of the South Pacific - USP and University of Bergen - UiB). A selection committee was then formed. Following shortlisting and interviews, Skype meetings between the two universities, and further communication in the selection committee, the Chair was offered in April 2019 to Professor Elisabeth Holland, who took office on 1 July.Professor Holland (hereafter the Chair) has presented the Partnership to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tuvalu (August 2019) and to the Pacific Islands Development Forum Meeting in Nadi, Fiji (August 2019).
The Partnership has also been presented to the PSIDS group of Ambassadors at the United Nations, and to the UN Mission and National Government of Norway.
Two PhD candidates have been recruited and appointed (one in Suva, one in Bergen). The UiB PhD was recruited from the USP.
The Partnership has been implemented to manage the involvement of both universities in two university consortiums under the UNESCO International Association of Universities and its Sustainable Development Network: The IAU-SD SDG 13 Consortium (chaired by the University of the West Indies - UWI, and including amoing its partners both the USP and UiB), and the IAU-SD SDG14 Consortium (chaired by the UiB)
Challenges faced in implementation
The process of signing the necessary agreements (involving, for the University of the South Pacific, a system of 12 member countries, whose acceptance for implementation of the Commitment had to be secured through the annual Council Meeting) was protracted beyond the expected time horizon, since no such Joint Chair had been implemented by other of the two universities before.Owing to such delays, an agreement on the Principles governing the partnership was signed in January 2018, somewhat later than intended. Similarly, following additional paperwork at the USP the post was not advertised until 1 July 2018, a year after the Commitment was announced. However, all is now back on track, including the appointment of 2 directly attached PhD candidates (one at each university).
Beneficiaries
USP and UiB, Pacific Islands Regional Organisations, Pacific Islands Missions at the United Nations. This will be elaborated shortly after meetings with the Chair in Bergen 1-11 September 2019.