283 graduates from the University of Fiji have been reminded that kindness, integrity, compassion, rigorous thinking and true reflection are the human values they are equipped with as they leave.
While speaking at the graduation ceremony at the Saweni Campus today, university Vice Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem says the sphere of influence of the UniFiji is far-reaching, and in a small nation like Fiji, as well as in other island nations that their students come from, their influence can be exponential in effect.
She says their influence is widespread, not just because of the 27,000-plus number of students who have graduated since the university began nearly 20 years ago, but also because of the substance of educational values they provide to each student during the term of their study with them.
She says they are famous for offering a human values foundation in all their programs, from science and technology to Centre for ethical case studies, from medicine and health sciences to law, and from humanities and arts to business and economics.
Professor Shameem says the human values perspective is a uniquely Arya Pratinidhi Sabha philosophy, emanating from ancient Indian Gurukul methodology of learning.
She says they have combined that methodology with drua canoe, symbolizing their voyage in holistic human values education.
The Vice Chancellor says together, these two philosophies give them the brilliant graduates that they have from their unique one-of-a-kind university, highly appreciated by employers and stakeholders such as the courts and medical institutions, as well as the business community generally.
She says they expect their alumni to remember these principles as they go on to achieve success in the rest of their lives outside.
