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UH Mānoa Interim Chancellor David Lassner signing an agreement via teleconference with USP Vice Chancellor and President Rajesh Chandra.

The 30-year relationship between the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva, Fiji continues to grow with the signing of a new agreement designed to foster future collaboration between the two institutions in areas of learning, teaching and research, including joint initiatives related to climate change as well as other issues of concern to Pacific Islands.

A companion agreement on student exchange was also signed allowing up to three exchange students from each university to participate on an annual basis. That number may be expanded by mutual agreement.

Both agreements have the strong support of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies.

The agreements were signed by UH Mānoa Interim Chancellor David Lassner and USP Vice Chancellor and President Rajesh Chandra during a during a ceremony seen live via fiber optic and internet technology at UH Mānoa’s Information Technology Center on November 7.

Lassner said over the years the premiere universities in the Pacific have shared a common passion in trying to connect in order to transform research and education.

“I think the more we can encourage our institutions to collaborate electronically with these infrastructures that we’ve spent significant time, money and effort to construct, this represents the future of collaboration in our ability to enhance our research and education missions,” Lassner said.

Chandra said USP is equally enthusiastic about the agreements citing the the good history both institutions have in working together.

“We are very, very pleased to have a signing of both the student exchange agreement, where, as I said, we have a long history and the general MOU, which is really something both of us felt we ought to have, given the fact that we are both oceanic universities,” Chandra said.

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