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www.fnu.ac.fj New Skills | Practical Experience | Real Opportunities ANNUAL REPORT 2019 PARLIAMENT OF FIJI PARLIAMENT PAPER NO.63 OF 2020 www.fnu.ac.fj New Skills | Practical Experience | Real Opportunities ANNUAL REPORT 2019 CONTENT 18 20 24 28 36 42 48 54 60 64 66 71 ABOUT FNU Vision Mission CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ACTING CHANCELLOR’S FOREWARD SENIOR MANAGEMENT GROUP VICE-CHANCELLOR’S FOREWARD Key developments in the colleges Key developments in the support sections UNIVERSITY STATISTICS LEARNING AND TEACHING RESEARCH STUDENTS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) FINANCIALS ABOUT FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Fiji National University (FNU) is a public, comprehensive, dual-sector university: • Public: FNU is primarily funded by an annual Fiji Government operating grant and student tuition fees.
Most Fijian students are eligible to cover their tuition fees and living costs by borrowing from the publicly-funded Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Board (TSLB).

FNU is governed by a University Council appointed by the Minister of Education, Heritage and Arts.

• Comprehensive: FNU comprises five colleges, a specialist maritime academy and a national training centre.
It offers a full range of disciplines, including agriculture and veterinary science, business and law, education, engineering and science, and medicine and nursing.

• Dual Sector: FNU offers both sub-degree technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and the full range of higher education qualifications from bachelor’s degrees to doctorates.

Student numbers are fairly evenly split between TVET and higher education programmes.

FNU is the national university of Fiji.


It was established in its current form by the merger of six tertiary government colleges in 2010, but its constituent colleges trace their roots back to the late 19th century.

It currently has 10 major campuses, 2,000+ staff and approximately 20,000 students.

FNU is a registered university with the Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC), which regulates the tertiary education sector in Fiji, and is self-accrediting, in the sense that it has degree-awarding powers.
FNU is a vocational university, educating students to succeed in the labour market and contribute to the economic and social development of the nation.

Its programmes focus on graduate employability.

All programmes are jointly developed in consultation with employers and all students are required to undertake an ‘industrial attachment’ (internship) as part of their graduating requirements.
As a comprehensive university, FNU offers agriculture, business, humanities & education, medicine & nursing and engineering & science.

FNU is a ‘dual sector’ university, offering technical and vocational education and training (TVET) from levels 1-6 and higher education from levels 5-10 (up to doctoral degrees).
At the same time, the University’s graduate profiles emphasise critical thinking and problem-solving, to ensure that graduates are prepared to adapt as ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ transforms the labour market VISION To be recognised as a key driver of Fiji’s economic prosperity.
MISSION To support the economic and social development of Fiji through relevant, high-quality education and training that maximises graduate employability and applied research that has positive societal impact.

“Registered with the Fiji Higher Education Commission as a University under the Higher Education Promulgation 2008.

Registration Certificate Number RC 0050”.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY 2019 COUNCIL Role of the Council The Council’s primary role is to provide policymaking leadership and development of long term strategies for the Fiji National University (FNU) to achieve the objectives of the University, and in doing so, to maintain control over its assets, and establish high standards of ethical behaviour, robust corporate governance and risk management practices and procedures.
The Council shall ensure that Management meets the interests of shareholders and meet the expectations and needs of customers, employees, suppliers and local, regional and international communities as provided for under the enabling decree.

The Council is collectively accountable for maintaining established precedents of corporate governance practices, and all members are responsible for complying with their deemed legal and fiduciary obligations and duty of care.
Dr Chandra joined FNU on 4th April 2019 as the Chancellor and Chair of Council.

He is also the Chairman of the Board of the Sugar Research Institute of Fiji.
Dr Chandra was the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South Pacific (USP) from 2008 to 2018, He is widely credited with turning the fortunes of the USP and all 27 international accreditations of USP and all its 8 innovation patents were achieved during his term as Vice-Chancellor.

Prior to his appointment as Vice-Chancellor and President of USP, Dr Chandra was the Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fiji (UniFiji).
Before that, he had held various other senior positions at USP.

Professor Healey joined FNU in August 2016 as the Vice-Chancellor.

Prior to joining FNU, Prof Healey held senior academic positions at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Canterbury and Manchester Metropolitan University as well as teaching positions at the University of Leicester and Leeds Beckett University.
Prof Healey has served as an Economic Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Belarus and the Deputy Minister for Economy of the Russian Federation.

He managed several multi-national research and economic development projects in different parts of the world.

Ms Burchell has lived and worked in South Africa, Switzerland and the UK before being appointed Permanent Secretary: Youth and Sports in February 2016 and transferred to the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts on 28 January 2018.
She was appointed to the FNU Council in January 2018.
Council Membership Dr Rajesh Chandra Official Member / Chancellor & Chair of Council Prof Nigel Healey Official Member/ Vice-Chancellor Ms Alison Burchell Official Member/ PS for Education Ms Tessa Price Official Member/ Deputy Chancellor & Chair Audit & Risk Committee Prof Dharmendra Sharma Appointed Member Ms Lala Sowane Appointed Member Mr Raymond Prasad Appointed Member In May 2016, Ms Price was the first woman to be appointed to lead ANZ’s Pacific Business working across 11 countries as well as the first female in the role of CEO UDC in 2012.
Ms Price directly reports to the CEO of ANZ New Zealand and currently serves on several ANZ Boards.

Prior to this, Ms Price was Chief of Staff to former CEO of ANZ (Mike Smith) in 2015.

Before joining ANZ, Ms Price worked for the Commonwealth Bank.

Ms Price holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Business Administration - Executive from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
She has also completed the MIT Leadership Program in Boston and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prof Sharma is currently the Chair of University Academic Board and a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of Canberra (UC).

He has been the Dean and Head of School and various senior leadership roles in universities for over twenty-five years and had been made a University Distinguished Professor by UC in 2012.
Prof Sharma’s research background is in the Artificial Intelligence areas of Planning, Data Analytics and Knowledge Discovery.

He has received several competitive research awards and grants.

Prof Sharma is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a Fellow of the South Pacific Computer Society, and a Senior Member of IEEE.
He had completed his PhD from the Australian National University and postgraduate qualifications in Computer Science from the University of New South Wales and postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications in Mathematics and Science from the University of the South Pacific.

Ms Sowane brings over two decades’ experience in the tourism sector, providing valuable insight into the demands of the industry.
She is the director/owner of Pacific Destinations, an inbound tourism operator, and also holds qualifications as an accountant/auditor.

Mr Prasad graduated with Honours from Deakin University, where he earned a BA in Architecture.

He brings over 15 years’ industry experience and will supply the Council with his refined expertise surrounding the demands and requirements of professional services in the construction industry, such as civil and services engineering.
Prof McGrath MB BS (Hons) 1969 University of Sydney, trained as a Physician in ne- phrology and general medicine (FRACP 1975), and obtained Doctorate of Medicine by thesis (‘Hypertension in Haemodialysis Patients’ University of Sydney) in 1978 from studies in Sydney and Oxford UK.

A full-time clinical academic at Monash University, in 2000 he was appointed the first Chair of Vascular Medicine in Australia.
He is the author or co-author of 6 books, 11 book chapters, 226 papers in referred jour- nals and more than 250 abstracts.

He has been invited plenary speaker in international meetings in the UK, France, Japan, China, South Africa.

Dr Veramo has worked at USP, previously teaching in the non-formal education sector.

He has extensive experience consulting for multi-lateral organisations and will bring a berth of insight on non-formal education to the Council.
Dr Emi held several senior medical positions, as a Physician with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services’ (MOHMS) of Fiji for 8 years prior to joining Suva Private Hospi- tal/Re-branded MIOT Private hospital, to work as a Consultant Specialist Physician to date.

She held senior management posts as Medical Director and Ward Manager of the Private Hospital (2015 to 2018).
She was accredited by Global Medical Unit/HOC in Sydney, Australia and New Zealand Immigration Department as a Panel doctor/Specialist to process Immigration Medi- cals for both Countries.

She is a panel doctor for the Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, PNG and South Africa.

Dr Ali stands out as the only Fijian practising accountant with a PhD.

Her thesis was on Development Finance (using FDB as a case study) from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.
She is also a member of the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and the Chair of Women in Business (Fiji).

Prof Barry McGrath Appointed Member Dr Joseph Veramo Appointed Member Dr Penuel Immanuel (aka Emi Mataitoga) Appointed Member Dr Nur Bano Ali Appointed Member F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 10 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Dr Parakrama Dissanayake Appointed Member Dr Dissanayake is the Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Aitken Spence PLC, with effect from 15th March 2019.
Prior to this appointment, he was Secretary to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development.

He was appointed as the first non-British International President of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers U.K. founded in 1911 and Royal Charter conferred in 1920.
Dr Dissanayake has also held positions in the past that include, Chairman – Sri Lanka Ports Authority (two stints), Chairman – Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (Sri Lanka), Board Director Urban Development Authority and Board Director of Ceylon Shipping Corporation.

During the period from June 2004 to May 2017, he served as a Director of Aitken Spence PLC and the Chairman & CEO of its Maritime and Logistics sector.
Prof Naidu is CEO and Managing Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE), and Global Innovation Chair and Director of the Global Centre for Environmental Remediation at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Prof Naidu is a graduate of the University of South Pacific and received his PhD and DSc (via invitation) in soil and environmental science from Massey University, New Zealand.
Prof Ravi Naidu Appointed Member Prior to his appointment to the CRC CARE in 2005, he was Chief Scientist, CSIRO Land and Water Division.

He has authored or co-authored over 700 journal articles and 80 technical publications.

He is also the Chair of the International Committee on Bioavailability and Risk Assessment.

Dr Sharma, after serving as a teacher for more than 46 years across various levels of the education sector, retired from his position as Associate Professor of Education at USP.
He holds a Doctorate in Education from Bristol University, and was formerly a PhD supervisor at FNU and a secondary and primary school teacher, equipping him with a unique perspective on teaching and learning.

Dr Akhila Nand Sharma Appointed Member Mr Devanesh Sharma Appointed Member Mr Sharma is a lawyer of 31 years, having obtained his LLB from Victoria University in Wellington.
He now specialises in all aspects of civil and commercial litigation in Magistrates Court, High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and Industrial Tribunals.

He is a past president of the Fiji Law Society.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 11 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Mr Mohan is a senior international banker with over 40 years of experience in Corporate and Institutional Banking and Consumer Banking.
In his most recent role, Vishnu led Australia New Zealand Bank’s businesses across 12 countries in the Pacific.

While still with ANZ in Fiji he was appointed Chairman of the Public Service Commission by the President of Fiji in May 2015, a position which he still holds.
Upon retirement in April 2016, Mr Mohan was asked by the Fiji Government to assume the Chairmanship of the Board of Directors of The Fiji Sugar Corporation and most recently he was appointed a member of the Fiji National University Council.

Before joining ANZ in 2009, Mr Mohan had a long and successful career with UK’s Standard Chartered Bank.

Mr Jenkins is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors and a Member of the Fiji Institute of Quantity Surveyors.
He worked as a Quantity Surveyor in Wellington from 1962 to 1968 for the NZ Ministry of Works and a private consultancy.

Currently, he is a partner in a Fiji quantity surveying consultancy practice.

His experience in Fiji and surrounding South Pacific countries with many projects have been very broad.

He is President of the Construction Industry Council in Fiji with a desire to education with the Fiji Governments help all practitioners in the industry to grow and be responsible.
Ms Pratibha is an Honours Graduate from the University of Delhi’s Hindu College.

She has worked as a journalist for over 12 years.

She started her career as a cadet journalist at the Daily Post and till recently held the position of Managing Editor News at Fiji’s biggest newspaper, the Fiji Sun.

Ms Pratibha is currently the General Manager Advertising at the Fiji Sun.

Dr Nabalarua is largely an academic career spanning 4 decades at USP, Waikato and FNU.
Teaching at undergraduate levels in fields of indigenous, Mäori and Pacific development, general management, HRM, public sector management, development management, society and culture, postgraduate teaching in development studies with a particular focus on Mäori, Pacific and indigenous development.
On-campus, distance learning, NET course delivery and summer school, executive professional service upskilling for middle to senior managers with Fiji Public Service, developing and delivering niche-specific training for small groups and community-based organisations rural and grassroots women’s empowerment programs and capacity- building initiatives.
Mr Vishnu Mohan Appointed Member Mr Gordon Jenkins Appointed Member Ms Jyoti Pratibha Appointed Member Dr Eci Nabalarua Appointed Member Prof Chelliah is currently Director of HR for Fiji National University.

He was also Acting Dean of College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

His substantive position is Professor in Management at the College of Business, Hospitality, Tourism and Sports at the Fiji National University.
Prior to joining FNU, he was held was academic and management positions at Universities in Australia and New Zealand.

His highest academic qualification is a PhD in Human Resource Management from RMIT University, Australia.

He also holds masters’ degrees in management and business administration from New Zealand universities.

Before joining academia, he held senior management positions in organisations located in the UK, USA, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia.
He has published widely in reputable international management journals.

Prior to joining FNU in 2013, Dr Alam was a Project Fellow at Aligarh Muslim University in India.

He is a member of the Pacific History Association, Indian History of Congress.

He has 15 years of teaching and research experience.
Dr Alam has been serving as Assistant professor at Fiji National University since 2013 and has also served in other capacities such as Head of Department History (2014-2017) and elected council member from 2014-2016 and 2018.

He served as Member of a subcommittee in Physical and Virtual Resources Committee and Human Recourses committee.

Ms Batimoko is a current student, pursuing her Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management & Law.
Attended Lelean Memorial School then to Suva Grammar School and then joined the Matua Programme at Nabua Secondary School in 2016 – 2017.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 12 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Prof John Chelliah Elected Professorial Rep. Dr Mumtaz Alam Elected Non-Professorial Rep. Ms Makereta Batimoko Elected Student Rep. F N U A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 13 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 14 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FNU COUNCIL MEMBERS COUNCIL COMMITTEES The Council committees are mandated to advise the Council on issues pertaining to the respective and specific areas handled by the Committees: • Financial Resources Committee is primarily responsible for considering, reviewing and advising the Council on policy and strategic matters as they relate to Financial Resources.
• Human Resources Committee’s primary role is to advise and make recommendations to the Council on policy and strategic matters as they relate to Human Resources.

• Physical and Virtual Resources Committee’s role is to advise and make recommendations to the Council on policy and strategic matters relating to physical resources, including its information and communications technology.
• Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning Committee’s role is to advise the Council on matters relating to the University’s strategic directions, including short (Corporate Plan) to long term (Strategic Plan) planning for all aspects of the institution, and for ensuring the implementation of the Corporate Governance Policy.
• Audit and Risk Committee’s role is to advise the Council on systems of internal control and financial compliance, accurate external financial reporting, managing the relationships with the University’s external auditors.

And ensuring legal compliances as they relate to the financial affairs of the University.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 15 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FINANCIAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE Role and Responsibilities Role and Responsibilities is primarily The Financial Resources Committee responsible for considering, reviewing and advising the Council on the development and implementation of the University’s Budgetary Plan.
More specifically, the Committee shall: Make recommendations or report to the Council on the following: annual operating and capital budget • annual audited financial statements • • policies related to financial management Monitor and report to the Council on: • the University’s financial performance against targets • development, review and implementation of financial policies and delegations the status of University insurances • • proposals for capital expenditure all financial obligations and loans • The primary role of the Committee is to advise and make recommendations to the Council on policy and strategic planning matters as they relate to Human Resources.
In addition, the Committee shall: • Develop a framework for remuneration and conditions of service of staff other than those in senior management positions; • Develop adequate staff appraisal and staff development systems; • Monitor the appropriateness of staff salary and benefit plans to ensure they are consistent with sound financial management principles; • Give due regard to any relevant legal requirements and employer-employee relations conditions; • Keep under review rules for the conduct, suspension, dismissal or disciplining of staff and procedures for grievance and appeal.
Membership Dr Nur Bano Ali Mr Vishnu Mohan Ms Lala Sowane Ms Makereta Watikeibau Mr Gordon Jenkins Chair Member Member Member Member Membership Mr Vishnu Mohan Mr Devanesh Sharma Ms Tessa Price Dr Penuel Immanuel Dr Joseph Veramu Chair Member Member Member Member F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 16 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE Role and Responsibilities Role and Responsibilities The Committee’s role is to provide a policy framework for the governance of all the University’s physical resources including information and communications technology.
To achieve this, the Committee shall: its The Committee’s key role is to advise the Council on matters relating to setting a strategic direction for the University through short to medium term planning for all aspects of the University.
The Committee shall: • Develop and recommend to the Council a physical resources management plan • Plan to include priorities for capital and ICT development and maintenance; • Develop policy on the use of University sites and facilities to support the University’s objectives; and • Monitor the implementation of the policies on physical resources adopted by the Council and the Committee.
• Consider and make recommendations on any matter of strategy and policy referred to it by the Council or its Executive Committee; • Monitor progress against the University’s Strategic Plan and Corporate Strategies; • Monitor wider developments in Fiji, the Pacific and the world with a view to ensuring that the University continues to benefit from such developments, and • At worst, that the University is not unduly affected adversely by such developments.
Membership Mr Gordon Jenkins Mr Raymond Prasad Dr Joseph Veramu Dr Mumtaz Alam Dr Parakrama Dissanayake Chair Member Member Member Member Membership Dr Rajesh Chandra – Chancellor & Chair of Council Chair Ms Tessa Price – Deputy Chancellor & Chair ARC Dr Nur Bano Ali – Chair FRC Mr Vishnu Mohan – Chair HRC Mr Gordon Jenkins – Chair PVRC Prof Dharmendra Sharma (Co-opted) Member Member Member Member Member F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 17 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 • Assess the impact of non-audit services on audit independence; • Assist in the coordination of internal and external audit activities; • Review the planning and scope of internal and external audit activities; • Ensure that problem areas and irregularities are given prompt and adequate attention and significant problems are resolved in a timely manner; • Review significant and unusual transactions including major period-end adjustments and related-party transactions; • Ensure that all significant audit recommendations have been properly implemented by management; • Ensure that the top management is made aware of all matters of concern which may require its attention, and • Recognise the possibility of management fraud and ensure that effective controls are established to safeguard corporate assets.
AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE Appointment of the Committee The Audit Committee is appointed by the Council and is accountable to the Council.

This committee is assigned the oversight of the financial reporting and auditing process, and the auditor’s major dealings within the Council will be ‘through’ the Audit and Risk Committee.
Roles and Responsibilities The main responsibility of the Audit Committee via delegated authority from the Council is to apply an effective system of internal control and compliance and accurate external financial reporting, fulfilling its legal obligations in that respect, and for managing the relationships with the University’s external auditors.

KPMG and Ernst & Young are currently the Company’s external-external auditors respectively.

At least once a year, KPMG and E&Y must meet the Committee.
The Audit Committee should carry out the following responsibilities: external-internal and • Satisfy itself that the financial report is issued on a timely basis and fairly reflects the entity’s financial position and the result of its operations; • Make recommendations about accounting and disclosure policies and procedures; • Monitor and assess the Council’s inherent and control risk; Membership Ms Tessa Price Dr Nur Bano Ali Mr Devanesh Sharma Prof Dharmendra Sharma Dr Eci Nabalarua Chair Member Member Member Member F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 18 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 ACTING CHANCELLOR’S FOREWORD As Acting Chancellor and Chair of the University Council, it is my pleasure to write this foreword to the 2019 Annual Report.
The University Council is the supreme decision-making body in any university.

The Council’s role is to ensure that the Vice Chancellor and the Senior Management Group manage FNU in the best interests of the University’s stakeholders – students, staff, employers, professional bodies, taxpayers and the Fiji Government.
The Council does this by setting the strategic direction of the University, monitoring the implementation of the strategic plan and approving all major financial decisions and institutional policies.

FNU is a “dual sector” university, offering both technical and vocational education and training (TVET), as well as a comprehensive range of higher education programmes from bachelors to doctoral programmes.
Today, approximately 18,000 students from Fiji and across the Pacific choose from one of the 200+ academic programmes the University offers.

In addition, about 9,000 working people each year upgrade their technical and professional skills by undertaking training in the University’s National Training and Productivity Centre.
To support the Fiji Government’s vision for FNU, the University is investing heavily in its digital and physical infrastructure with the aim of creating a world-class learning environment.

Our campus libraries have been transformed into vibrant “open learning commons”, where students can carry out group work in relaxed surroundings, accessing a growing collection of e-journals and e-books by wi-fi.
We have connected the University’s network to the global telecommunications highway via the Southern Cross Cable to increase broadband speeds and access a range of digital services like videoconferencing.

Through the Government’s F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 19 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 DigitalFIJI initiative, our students can enjoy free, unlimited wifi anywhere on our campuses.
We are developing new flexible and distance-learning programmes, to make it possible for students to study anytime anywhere.

Across our campuses there is also extensive building and renovation work underway as we transform our campuses to meet the needs of 21st century students.

A new gymnasium, a new business school complex and a new three- storey maritime teaching block will all open in Suva in 2020, along with a completely new campus in Labasa to serve the people of the Northern Division.
A new creative arts building and an animal hospital have already been designed and will be built in the years ahead, as part of an exciting ten-year Campus Masterplan.

The University Council is committed to working closely with both stakeholders and the Senior Management Group to build a national university of which all Fijians can be proud.
Tessa Price Acting Chancellor Fiji National University F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 20 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 2019 SENIOR MANAGEMENT GROUP 1 2 8 MR CHANDR ANUJ DIRECTOR ICT MR NIRANJWAN CHETTIAR DIRECTOR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE MR SHALENDRA GOUNDEN DIRECTOR ESTATES AND FACILITIES PROFESSOR MOHINI SINGH PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH) PROFESSOR NIGEL HEALEY VICE-CHANCELLOR PROFESSOR RAM KARAN DEAN, COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM STUDIES PROFESSOR PAUL IJI DEAN, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY DR ECI NABALARUA DEAN, COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION ACTING DEAN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MR SALABOGI MAVOA F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 21 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 PROFESSOR JOHN CHELLIAH ACTING DIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCES MR NILESH PRASAD DIRECTOR FINANCE MR SALABOGI MAVOA ACTING DEAN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DR ISIMELI TAGICAKIVERATA DIRECTOR NATIONAL TRAINING AND PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE DR WILLIAM MAY DEAN, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES MS JENIES MUDILIAR-NATH DIRECTOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSOR JAMES POUNDER PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR (LEARNING AND TEACHING) MS SARITA DEVI UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 22 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 1 5 2 6 1 PROFESSOR NIGEL HEALEY VICE-CHANCELLOR Professor Healey was appointed as Vice- Chancellor of Fiji National University on 1 August 2016.
He has held senior academic positions at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Canterbury and Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as teaching positions at the University of Leicester and Leeds Beckett University.

Professor Healey has served as an Economic Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Belarus and the Deputy Minister of Economy of the Russian Federation and managed a number of multinational economic development projects in different parts of the world.
Professor Healey’s research interests internationalisation of higher are education and higher education policy.

research and the 2 PROFESSOR JAMES POUNDER PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR (LEARNING AND TEACHING) Professor Pounder joined FNU in 2018.

He has held a range of senior posts in academia both in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
The distinguished academic is also a registered Quality Assurance Council Accreditor for the University Grants Committee and a Specialist Accreditor for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications.

Professor Pounder was Director of Teaching and Learning at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, a top 100 university in Asia, prior to moving to Fiji.
3 PROFESSOR MOHINI SINGH PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH) Professor Singh has an illustrious 30- year experience as an academic at Australian universities, where she has held several leadership positions.

Professor Singh has extensive experience with Higher Degree by Research programs and students, and has delivered talks and lectures at a large number of international forums.

Professor Singh currently holds Professorial Fellow and Adjunct Professor positions at a number of international universities.
Professor Singh joined FNU in 2018 and was previously a Professor of Information Systems at RMIT University in Australia.

4 PROFESSOR RAM KARAN DEAN, COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM STUDIES Professor Karan joined the then Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT) in late 2009.
Professor has a wealth of experience having held a range of senior academic positions at The University of the South Pacific (Fiji), University of Waikato (NZ) and University of Ballarat (Aus) where he was the Coordinator of Research Higher Degrees as well as supervisor and co-supervisor of doctoral candidates in Accounting, Management and Marketing.

He also served as the independent member of the Audit Committee of the City of Ballarat for five years.
3 7 4 8 5 PROFESSOR PAUL IJI DEAN, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY Professor Iji joined FNU in 2018 having held positions across a range of institutions including Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria), University of KwaZulu-Natal and University of Pretoria (South Africa), and University of New England (Australia), where he was Coordinator of Higher Degrees by Research of a large school.

He has graduated close to 40 postgraduate students and is currently supervising 4 PhD students.
Professor Iji is on the editorial board of a number of scientific journals and regularly reviews for other journals.

He has published over 300 journal and conference papers.

6 DR ECI NABALARUA DEAN, COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION Dr Eci Nabalarua has an academic career spanning four decades at The University of the South Pacific (Fiji), University of Waikato (NZ) and Fiji National University.
She attained her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), in Political Science and International Relations from the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, Master of Arts in Rural and Social Development (MA in RuralSoc Dev) from University of Reading, United Kingdom and Bachelor of Arts (BA) from The University of the South Pacific.
7 DR WILLIAM MAY DEAN, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES Dr May joined FNU in 2009 from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, where he held senior medical positions and had worked for 14 years.

He also served in various teaching positions at the Fiji School of Medicine and FNU.

Dr May is a member of the Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand, the Fiji Medical Council and Fiji Dental Council.

He chairs the Board of Management of the Fiji Medical and Dental Secretariat.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 23 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 9 13 10 14 11 15 12 16 8 MR SALABOGI MAVOA ACTING DEAN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Mr Mavoa started his career as Technical Assistant with TECAIR Ltd then joined the Fiji Broadcasting Commission (FBC) as Technical Assistant where he spent the next 12 years.

He then joined Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT) in 1989 as an Assistant Lecturer in Broadcast Engineering.
He climbed the ranks and held several key positions in FIT and Fiji National University before being appointed the Acting Dean College of Engineering, Science and Technology in 2015.

9 DR ISIMELI TAGICAKIVERATA DIRECTOR NATIONAL TRAINING AND PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE Dr Tagicakiverata started his career as a secondary school teacher before joining the Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT) as a Research Associate and part time lecturer.

He completed his Doctorate at The University of Newcastle in Australia.
Dr Tagicakiverata rejoined FNU as Chief Research Officer TVET, and later as Acting Director TVET.

In October 2017, he took on the role of Director NTPC and NPO Head for Fiji.

He is a member of FITVETA and IVETA and is the President of PATVET.

He is a current Board Member for the National Employment Centre (NEC) and the Centre for Appropriate Technology and Development (CATD).

He is the APO Alternate Director for Fiji, and a Council Member for the newly established APO Accreditation Council.
10 MS SARITA DEVI UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR Ms Devi was appointed as the Fiji in National University Registrar 2015.

Prior to this, she served in various senior positions in the Academic Office, including Deputy and Assistant Registrar.

Ms Devi has vast experience in teaching at Primary and Tertiary levels, curriculum development and project management.
11 MS JENIES MUDILIAR-NATH DIRECTOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Ms Mudiliar joined FNU in late 2017 with 6 years of Marketing and PR experience in Higher Education across the Pacific.

She is a creative Branding, PR and Communications professional with over 9 years of experience in International Trade and Higher Education sectors.
She has successfully managed and coordinated marketing campaigns and events for the respective companies that she has worked for which included advertising, design, media liaison, public relations, brand building, fund control as well as market research.

12 PROFESSOR JOHN CHELLIAH ACTING DIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCES is the Acting Director Professor Chelliah Human Resources.

He also served as Acting Dean of College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
His substantive position is Professor in Management at the College of Business, Hospitality, and Tourism Studies.

Prior to joining FNU, he held several senior academic and management positions at Universities in Australia and New Zealand.

He holds a PhD in Human Resource Management from RMIT University, Australia and masters degrees in management and business administration from New Zealand universities.
13 MR NILESH PRASAD DIRECTOR FINANCE Mr Prasad in 2018 joined FNU and has previously held senior finance positions at The University of the South Pacific and Coca-Cola Amatil Fiji Limited.

Prasad holds a BA Accounting and Financial Management and Economics and Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accounting from The University of the South Pacific.

14 MR CHANDR ANUJ DIRECTOR ICT Mr Anuj is an IT expert who joined FNU as Director ICT in 2010.
Before this, he held several executive management positions Fiji Limited (TFL).

During his career Mr Anuj has supervised many key projects related to the next generation network (NGN), including optical fibre transmission, microwave, satellite and CDMA wireless broadband systems, VoIP and ADSL, VDSL solutions for Telecommunications in Internet access.

15 MR SHALENDRA GOUNDEN DIRECTOR ESTATES AND FACILITIES Mr Gounden joined FNU in 2017.
He was previously Operations Manager and Acting Director with the Division of Estates and Infrastructure at The University of the South Pacific.

Mr Gounden also worked in various engineering, construction and infrastructure related projects in Fiji and the Pacific.

Mr Gounden is a registered project manager and member of AIPM; has worked with consultants on projects funded by the World Bank.
16 MR NIRANJWAN CHETTIAR DIRECTOR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Mr Niranjwan joined FNU in January 2017 as Manager Projects and later was promoted to Director Capital Projects and Infrastructure.

Prior to joining FNU, Mr Niranjwan was Manager Design and Engineering Services at The University of the South Pacific.

He has worked as an Engineer at the then Ministry of Works, Transport and Public Utilities.

He’s also a Professional Member of the Fiji Institution of Engineers.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 24 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 VICE-CHANCELLOR’S FOREWORD OVERVIEW OF 2019 2019 was a year of two halves.

The first six months continued the pattern seen in the previous two years, with strong enrolment growth, the development of new academic programmes, an increasing focus on research and heavy investment in information and communications teaching (ICT) and new buildings and facilities.
As Table 1 shows, total enrolments measured by headcount for the five colleges grew 6.5% in 2019, continuing the recovery started in 2017.

Expressed in terms of equivalent full-time students (EFTS), the increase was a more modest – and sustainable – at 2.8%.

Nevertheless, 2019 represented a five-year high for EFTS, which were 25.3% above the nadir reached in 2016.
Table 1 Head- count Year- on-Year Change 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 17,011 16,595 16,917 17,525 18,656 -14.3% -2.4% 1.9% 3.6% 6.5% EFTS 10,277 9,754 10,511 11,897 12,226 Year- on-Year Change -16.4% -5.1% 7.8% 13.2% 2.8% F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 25 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 As the University prepared for its 10th anniversary in 2020, the installation of the Banner university management information system, which will move all systems and procedures online and contribute to a major increase in effectiveness and efficiency, continued apace, with the first modules scheduled to go live on 1 January 2020.
Five major construction projects promised to transform the University’s physical infrastructure.

Four of these were funded by Government capital grant: a new greenfield campus in Labasa, a veterinary science complex at Koronivia, a four-storey business school at Nasinu and a three-storey teaching block at Fiji Maritime Academy.

The fifth, a sports complex at Nasinu campus, was funded from FNU’s reserves.
The second half of 2019 was, however, dominated by the slowdown in the Fiji economy and the knock- on impact on tax revenues and the capacity of the Government to fund the University’s operating and capital programmes.

FNU is the country’s national university and a public institution by design.
Of the University’s revenue of $173.1m in 2019, $61.4m (35.5%) came in the form of Government operating grant and a total of $73.1m (42.2%) came from student tuition and hostel fees, almost all of which was indirectly funded by Government through the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Board (TSLB).
The operating grant ensures that the University is able to offer academic programmes at below economic cost, especially in expensive but strategically important areas like science and engineering, medicine and nursing and agriculture.

This public subsidy ensures that, on the average, tuition fees are only approximately half the level they would be in the absence of the operating grant.
The indirect funding via TSLB means that no Fijian student is deterred from going to university by either the tuition fees or the cost of food and accommodation.

These costs are borne upfront on the students’ behalf by the TSLB and repaid after graduation on an income- contingent schedule.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 26 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 This institutional design, which is common to most developed economies, allows the national university to provide affordable and accessible higher education to the population.

It means, however, that almost 78% of the University’s activities are funded directly (via operating grant) or indirectly (via TSLB) by the Government.

The slowdown in the economy in 2019 flowed through to the University in two important ways.
The first was that the final quarter payments of operating grant ($20.7m) and capital grant ($7.8m) for fiscal 2018/19 were not paid on time.

The second was that while the University’s baseline operating grant for fiscal 2019/20 was unchanged at $53.1m, the capital grant was reduced to $15.0m in the June 2019 budget.

This fell short of the University’s contractual commitments for fiscal 2019/20 for four construction projects, which had up to this point been fully funded by the Government.
As a consequence, the second half of the year was dominated by a period of intense cost control, designed to protect the University’s cash flows from the changed economic circumstances.

The University had identified a reduction in capital grant and operating grant as its two major risks in the institutional risk register and had accumulated financial reserves as the main form of risk mitigation.
Notwithstanding this important strategic buffer, the University had to make significant one-off savings in the second half of 2019, mainly by freezing staff recruitment and minimising discretionary expenditure, to absorb the shock.

Table 2 shows the spike in expenditure in 2019, which reflects the provision for the unpaid Government operating grant.
The expenditure savings in the second half of 2019 meant that the operating deficit was, at $6.1m, was considerably lower than forecast at the start of fiscal 2019/20, minimising the charge against reserves and freeing them to be allocated to meet capital commitments.
Table 2 Income (m) Expendi- ture (m) Operating Surplus (m) Operating Surplus % income 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 $143.2 $149.1 $156.7 $164.2 $173.1 $140.5 $134.9 $148.1 $148.2 $184.1 $3.5 $15.8 $12.4 $20.0 ($6.1) 2.4% 10.6% 7.9% 12.2% (3.5%) The strong financial performance of the University in the period 2016-18, which saw almost $50m added to reserves through operating surpluses, and the concerted effort by the University community in the second half of 2019 to make economies, allowed the University to begin 2020 in a positive financial position, with the resources in place to compete a very ambitious capital programme, while recommencing its staff hiring programme.
In terms of the longer-term strategic trends, 2019 continued to witness the changing shape of the University.

In the five years to 2019, the proportion of the University’s students enrolled in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) declined from 57.8% to 33.5% (see Table 3).

The growth was in undergraduate enrolments, which became the largest group in 2017, and postgraduate enrolments, mainly in taught programmes.
This pattern is inevitable as the University matures, but as the national university, FNU is committed to defending the vitality of its TVET provision.

The incorporation of the Technical College of Fiji into the University provides an opportunity to review TVET strategy, with the possible development of a new ‘College of Vocational Education and Training’ planned.
Table 3 2015 (%) 2016 (%) 2017 (%) 2018 (%) 2019 (%) TVET 57.8 52.9 43.7 40.1 33.5 Undergrad- uate 39.3 43.1 51.1 53.6 58.8 Postgraduate 2.9 4.0 5.2 6.3 7.7 The University has made a major commitment to gender equality and to increasing the proportion of female staff in areas where they are underrepresented, notably some of the science-based colleges and in senior positions.

In terms of students, the University, like most in the developed world, is majority female.
In part, this reflects the changing structure of the University.

As Table 4 shows, women are disproportionately represented in higher education programmes (bachelors and postgraduate), so the gradual shift from TVET to higher education is accelerating the relative participation of women.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 27 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Table 4 Female % enrolments Female % higher education enrolments 2015 (%) 2016 (%) 2017 (%) 2018 (%) 2019 (%) 47.6 50.4 52.7 59.6 55.7 62.3 62.0 66.4 68.0 64.8 When shown by seniority, Table 6 shows the distribution in 2019.

It shows that in both the TVET and higher education ranks, the proportion of women at the entry grades is high – 41.9% in TVET and 57.0% in higher education.
However, female participation drops significantly at the more senior ranks.

The University is committed to improving female participation in the science colleges and to promoting the advancement of women in their academic careers and has embarked on a series of initiatives to address gender imbalances.

In terms of overall staffing, the University is relatively evenly balanced.
Professional services divisions tend to have a slight majority of female staff, but the pattern is more concerning in terms of academic staff.

Table 5 shows that the proportion of female academic staff remained in the range 41-43%, while there are major imbalances by college.

The two science-based colleges, CAFF and CEST, as well as NTPC are overwhelmingly male, while CBHTS is broadly balanced and CHE and CMNHS have a majority of women.
Table 6 TVET Ranks Principal Instructor Senior Instructor Table 5 2017 College Male (%) CAFF CBHTS CEST CHE 66.3 53.3 79.0 44.6 CMNHS 33.7 Fe- male (%) 33.7 46.7 21.0 55.4 66.3 NTPC 64.9 35.1 2018 Male (%) 62.0 51.8 77.7 39.7 34.6 65.4 2019 Male (%) Fe- male (%) 62.9 37.1 51.5 77.0 41.2 35.4 63.3 48.5 23.0 58.8 64.6 36.7 Fe- male (%) 38.0 48.2 22.3 60.3 65.4 34.6 Total 58.7 41.3 57.2 42.8 57.1 42.9 (%) Female Higher Education Ranks (%) Female 22.2 Professor 23.8 Associate Professor Assistant Professor Instructor 27.3 Assistant Instructor 21.0 Lecturer Tutor 41.9 Assistant Lecturer 10.0 30.8 33.7 54.5 57.0 Looking forward, FNU is embarking on its second decade with confidence, committed to ensuring a world-class vocational education which is accessible to all Fijians, regardless of age, location or physical ability, underpinned by socially-impactful research which addresses the country’s policy priorities.
The University weathered the economic slowdown in 2019 through a combination of prudent risk management, including the accumulation of a buffer of financial reserves, and careful cost control.

The present Covid-19 crisis is almost certain to exacerbate the global economic downturn and there promises to be a period of austerity in the near to medium term, but the University is well- positioned to support Fiji in its economic recovery.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 28 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COLLEGES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (CEST) One of the major highlights for the College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST) was the visit by the Australian Prime Minister Rt Honourable Scott Morrison to the Derrick Campus in Samabula, Suva.
The Hon Morrison toured the Australia Pacific Training Coalition’s (APTC) Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning training facility located at Derrick Campus.

FNU has an ongoing partnership with APTC through which a few programmes are co-located on FNU Campuses.

Sharing space has assisted the College also to upgrade facilities and benchmark programmes.

Other programmes co- located at Derrick Campus include Electro-technology and Fitting & Machining.
Acting Dean CEST Salabogi Mavoa also briefed PM Morrison on the College’s Master Plan.

industry-oriented The India-Fiji Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Excellence Information Technology (MG-CEIT) commenced in information offering high-level technology courses from Semester I which commenced with a 2-month pilot project training 17 students including FNU staff in the Certificate Course in Java Programming (CCJP).
In Semester II the Centre offered four professional certification programmes which include Certificate Course in Java Programming (CCJP), Certificate Course in Software Testing (CCST), Certificate Course in Network Security (CCNS) and Certificate Course in Business Computing (CCBC).

A 2-day Engineering and Science Fair was organised at Derrick Campus create awareness and generate greater interest for students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
The Science Circus Pacific from Australian National University (ANU), with support from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was also part of the event, delivering exciting, hands-on STEM shows and activities in line with the event theme, ‘Preparing, Mobilising and Upskilling for the New Industrial Revolution 4.0.’ CEST Instructors, Vasenai Kereni and Lani Ragusuloto, were part of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Camp for Girls in Suva, organised by Graduate Women Fiji (GWF).
The duo took up the opportunity to encourage young females to develop an interest in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and explore the potential rewarding career pathways it has to offer.

GWF President Charlotte Taylor said the organisation was grateful for the full support from FNU towards the project.
In partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, the College of Engineering, Science and Technology hosted the inaugural World Town Planning Day event which provided a platform to students to display research projects and make presentations F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 29 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 to guests.
The displays highlighted planning issues pertinent to the Pacific region based on the theme “Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation and Economic Development through the blue economy”.

The event was attended by 65 representatives from various industries.

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND EDUCATION (CHE) The College of Humanities and Education (CHE) re- introduced the Certificate IV in Media and Journalism and introduced a new Bachelor of Media and Communication programme in 2019.
The Bachelor programme replaced a Diploma programme which was previously offered by the College.

Both the programmes were offered following a rigorous review exercise including stakeholder input.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between FNU and the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation on 16 April 2019 to enable students studying the Certificate IV in Ageing and Community Support Care at CHE to undertake a placement at either of the Ministry’s three state homes.
Students will be able to harness the application of theory, knowledge and training in real-life situations.

On the directive of the FNU Council in May 2019, FNU embarked on an audit of its teacher education programme in partnership with Academic Quality Agency (AQA) for New Zealand Universities in June 2019.

The self-review provided training to staff in New Zealand and consisted of the completion of an of evidence- based self-review report submitted in December.
The Challenge Co-coordinator for Survivor Season 4 from “EndemolShine” Australia, Kris Umlauft, visited the School of Arts and Humanities to interview students studying Film & Television to join the TV production for attachment.

8 students joined the production team for Survivor Germany and Survivor Sweden in Kadavu and Love Island in Pacific Harbour.
In June, the School of Communication, Language and Literature hosted a visit from the American novelist, Adam Johnson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the U.S. National Book Award, and a faculty member of Stanford University.

Professor Johnson spoke of the creative writing process, present-day directions in the novel, and the benefits of including creative writing in undergraduate education programmes.

11 programmes from CHE were developed to be delivered in blended mode from Semester II, 2019.
The blended model provides students with greater flexibility and accessibility to complete their studies remotely.

The College is working towards offering more programmes to the blended mode in future.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 30 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 skills leadership The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), in collaboration with Wawasan Open University, organised a 3-day workshop on for mid-career professional women from 26 – 28 April 2019 in Penang, Malaysia.
This workshop was attended by CHE’s Dr Zakia Ali-Chand, Associate Dean Research.

The training included short lectures by inspirational leaders, group discussions and activities, mentoring sessions, project work and presentations.

The workshop also looked into the scope of COL’s partnership with the institutions to strengthen women’s leadership and gender mainstreaming.

Female academics from African, Asian, Pacific and Caribbean countries attended the event.
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY The College undertook a re-structure exercise which included realignment and renaming of some department to define its roles and improve service delivery clearly.

A new Department of Agribusiness and Extension was also created as part of this process.

Memoranda of Understandings (MoU) were signed with Ram Sami Poultry and the University of Southern Queensland and collaboration with both organisations.
The College also hosted scientific collaborators from overseas.

cooperation expanding the The College developed a Master of Science in Agriculture and Bachelor of Science in Animal Science.

The two programmes will commence from the first Semester, 2020.

Furthermore, the designs of the new teaching and research building projects at the Instructional Livestock Farm were finalised and approved for construction in 2020.
Nine second-year students studying Bachelor of Science in Agriculture departed for Israel to undertake practical training initiative, in commercial agriculture.

The which is a first for Fiji, is aimed at providing a boost to the Fijian agricultural sector.

The study attachment is a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Agriculture and Israel’s Agency for Development and Corporation.
CAFF, Soil Science Laboratory joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Global Soil Laboratory Network, which facilitates networking and capacity development through cooperation and information sharing between soil laboratories with different levels of expertise.

Evidence-based decisions are central to the achievement of Sustainable Soil Management which in turn is critical to the success of food security and nutrition.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM STUDIES (CBHTS) The first cohort of students who enrolled through Distance and Flexible Learning (DFL) mode offered by the College in 2018, will graduate in March 2020.

The DFL mode was developed following high demand from students who had taken up employment or moved overseas without completing their programmes.

There is positive uptake of DFL by students from both abroad as well as within Fiji.
The College continues to develop resources and builds capacity to strengthen this mode of delivery further.

The College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies entered into a Franchise Agreement with the Vanuatu Institute of Technology (VIT) to commence offering Certificate and Trade Diploma programmes from November 2018.

While this is an onerous undertaking, it will be mutually beneficial and strengthen the two institutions relationship.
The College received sponsors for awarding prizes to students in three categories during the graduation ceremonies.

These include: y TK Jayaraman and Family Annual Prize for Topper in B.Com Economics y Office of the Auditor General (Fiji) Award for Best Auditing Student y Pherrus Pty (Fiji) Ltd Prize for Best Student in Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and arrangement with the Industrial Attachment for our student(s).
A team of students from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Studies participated in the National Moffat Salon Culinaire that was held at the FNU Namaka Campus in Nadi.

Merewalesi Namela Banuve enrolled in the Trade Diploma in Culinary Arts programme competed in the Open Category won a place to represent Fiji at the Young Chef Olympiad competition held in India 2020.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 31 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 NATIONAL TRAINING AND PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE (NTPC) The National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC) re-strategized its operations, realigning it to Government’s announcement of the re-configuration to the distribution of the levy and grants scheme paid by employers.

The Centre carried out its operations and functions to deliver its national mandate without any disruptions.
The most significant achievement for NTPC in 2019 was the hand-over of the Fiji Productivity Master Plan 2021- 2036.

The Centre worked on this important document in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organization (APO).

The Master Plan was handed over to the Minister for Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations Honourable Parveen Kumar by APO Secretary-General Dr Santhi Kanoktanaporn in June.
This Master Plan comprises of productivity milestones and directions to raise national productivity and will drive the strategies to realise the objective of maximising productivity in the 20-year National Development Plan.

Another noteworthy achievement for NTPC was the publication of the Fijian Productivity Report 2018, which was also handed over to the Ministry of Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations in July.
This report provides important insights into capital and labour productivity in Fiji at national and sectoral levels which offer valuable information for policymakers, researchers, and non-government organisations.

NTPC continues to run successful skills training short courses and in-house skills training to suit the dynamics of Fiji’s vibrant and expanding industries.
The trainings include Information Technology, Executive Management, Hospitality, Tourism, Fashion and Design, Productivity & Industry Innovation, Electrical Engineering, Automotive and Mechanical, Marine and Ports, and Construction.

The Centre acclaimed remarkable achievements in its annual national events.

In a first, the NTPC hosted the National Conference on Information Technology at the Pearl Resort in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organization.
The event brought together close to 150 stakeholders from various IT backgrounds for capacity building, knowledge sharing and innovation to be in par with the developments taking place globally.

At the same event, a new NTPC MySkills App was launched.

This is a mobile phone application that can be used by the public to gain notification on NTPC’s upcoming weekly short programmes.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 32 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 The National Conference on Occupation, Health & Safety was held in April at Novotel Lami and organised in collaboration with International Labour the Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations.

More than 200 OHS practitioners attended the event which also featured the National Safety Awards in Excellence in OHS.

achievements over the past years.


There has been a continuous growth of the Fiji Business Excellence Awards over the years.

In 2019, there were a total of 20 applications received out of which nine were new applicants.

To date, there are 60 Public Sector Organisations involved in the Fiji Business Excellence Awards program since its inception in 1998 and NTPC is optimistic that this figure will continue to rise.
The 5th National Trainers conference was held at Sheraton Fiji Resort & Spa which was attended by 150 training experts.

The popular conference targeted human resource and training personnel from industries across Fiji.

(PAC) Productivity Awareness program themed “Sustainable Productivity” was held at Holiday Inn, Suva.
PAC is aimed to create awareness among key stakeholders on the 6 major programs under Productivity Awareness program, which are; Fiji Business Excellence Awards, Team Excellence Symposium, Evaluators Training, Business Excellence Symposium, Evaluators training, Business Excellence Conference, national Convention on Quality and ISO Conference.
As the secretariat of the Fiji Business Excellence Awards, NTPC’s Department of Quality Award is proud of its NTCP also continues to align its strategies towards achieving SDGs namely quality education, poverty alleviation, sustainable communities and climate action.

innovation, industry These are being achieved by providing industry training through partnerships with the Australia-Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) and other educational and training organisations.
NTPC offers the industry training on Green Productivity and Occupational Health and Safety and providing sustainable trade skills programmes to rural communities through the Sustainable Livelihood Programme and Non-Formal Education and Training.

Sustainable Livelihood Project (SLP) NTPC remains committed to empowering sustainable livelihood in rural and maritime communities through its Non-Formal Education Department.
The government- F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 33 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 funded Sustainable Livelihood Project (SLP) into its eighth successful year.

It conducted technical and vocational training programmes in seven different rural and maritime communities in 2019.

The areas covered included Yasawa, Ba, Wainibuka, Bua, Naitasiri, Vuda and Nadi.
The primary objective of the project is to train and empower rural communities and villages with basic practical skills and knowledge, relevant and to immediate and future sustainable needs.

In doing so, it addresses the productive use of local natural resources as a means to alleviate poverty.

The project has sixteen technical and vocational courses with the main focus of empowering rural, maritime and urban informal communities with basic practical skills and knowledge for sustainable needs.
Towards the end of 2019, a new course on Basic Land Use Management was included in the project.

The project activates the productive utilisation of local natural resources as a mechanism to control poverty.

This is in line with government 5 - year and 20-year National Development Plan with the vision of “Transforming Fiji”.

A total of 4419 participants graduated with a Certificate of Participation in 2019.
There has been a great shift on the primary objective of the project from community self – sufficiency to other focus areas.

The Impact Assessment Survey which is usually conducted after six months of training has shown other focus areas after the training.
There is a notable progression of participants towards further education, the establishment of small business (SMEs) and finding employment (CAL) Community Alternative Learning (CAL) The Community Alternative Learning is a training initiative being introduced and administered by the NTPC through the Department of Community Based Non-Formal Education to deliver technical and vocational skills training to rural, semi-urban and informal settlements around Fiji.
These are competency-based assessment training and is a Level 4 award.

There are two key objectives to this training initiative: Firstly, upgrade competencies of participants who had completed the 2-weeks courses delivered by the Sustainable Livelihood Project (SLP) and awarded the Certificate of Participation to enter other Level 5 courses.

Secondly, encourage individuals involved in the informal economic sector to develop their full potential to meet Industry TVET Skills demand.
The CAL training initiative covers a range of programs in Hospitality, Construction and Care-Giving.

Participants for the CAL Initiative are to pay a minimum fee for the CBA training and hence awarded a Certificate of Attainment.

Apprenticeship and Trade Testing Scheme The National Apprenticeship Department scheme has a total of 284 apprentices in training at various trade and technician levels in 2019.

A total of 188 tests were recorded under the National Trade Testing Scheme for 2019.
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences’ (CMNHS) research centre (Pacific Research Centre for the Prevention of Obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases) as the WHO Collaborating Centre.
This collaboration provides benefits to both parties as WHO gains access to top institutions worldwide and the institutional capacity to support its work while C-POND will gain greater attention from the public and academic institutions for the health issues they work on.

It also provides opportunities to mobilise additional and sometimes important resources from funding partners and to collaborate with other WHO Collaborating Centres.
The CMNHS Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences (BMLS) programme was accredited by the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS).

The international recognition by a credible organisation strengthens the programme’s reputation.

The College is entitled to include the AIMS logo and the words “This programme has been accredited by the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists” on all documents and correspondence.
Imaging & The College’s Department of Medical Anatomy has been declared a Centre of Education by the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, making us the regional hub for the training of multidisciplinary users of ultrasound.

Dr Oripa Waqa became the first female oral surgeon specialist in the Pacific.

She graduated from the University of Otago, with a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry majoring in Oral Surgery.
She’s expected to return to the College in 2020, adding more expertise to our exclusive dentistry programme.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 34 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 The College Health Research Ethics Committee received an accreditation certificate by the Fiji National Human Research Ethics Committee, proving our institutional effectiveness as assessed by the accrediting and verification team.
Establishment of a virtual Fiji Institute of Pacific Health Research (FIPHR) to further enhance the research activities at the College.

The institute, in collaboration with several key organisations, received FJ$1.4 million for a five-year implementation project to strengthen policies to tackle diabetes and hypertension.

by the College The 7th Pacific Islands Health Research Symposium hosted gained widespread commendations from local, regional and international stakeholders.
Through this Symposium, a platform is provided for College staff and students, regional and overseas participants to share their research findings in relation to the Pacific.

Student researchers from the College put up an amazing display during the two-day Symposium discussing their research outcomes which created a lot of discussion with the stakeholders.

To continually enhance our service delivery, the College hosted a three-day Pasifika Best Practice Health Professions Education Symposium.
The Symposium was an exciting platform for College staff, invited scholars from the Pacific Islands and experts from renowned international Universities to share and exchange views on current and challenging topics in health education.

CMNHS is proud to be the only College at the Fiji National University which has an Associate Dean Regional’s Office headed by Dr Iobi Batio.

Through this office, we lead many scoping projects in the region to identify areas of need and offer solutions.
The ADR’s office also acts as a help desk for all our incoming regional students to provide them with a smooth transition from their homes to University life.

introduced The College three new programmes namely the Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Health (Disaster Management), Postgraduate Diploma in Health Research and Postgraduate Diploma Non- communicable Diseases.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 35 36 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SUPPORT SECTIONS CAPITAL PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE 2019 was a challenging year for the Division to ensure continued sustainable infrastructure development at the University.

During the year, FNU undertook $9.8m worth of capital projects at its Campuses and Centres around the country.
These include the 2-story building at Naceva Centre in Lautoka; Welding shed and Engineering workshop at the Fiji Maritime Academy Campus; Amenities and car park facilities at Natabua Campus in Lautoka; Hostel Renovations at the School of Nursing in Tamavua; Library facilities at Koronivia Campus; Street Lights Upgrade at the School of Nursing and Nasinu Campus; Early civil works at the Veterinary Training Hospital at Koronivia Campus; Electrical upgrade works at Nasese Campus; Electrical upgrade works at Natabua Campus in Lautoka; Electrical upgrade works at Koronivia Campus; works at the Disability Resource Centre at Nasinu Campus; a detailed Site Survey Service for FNU Campuses and proposed Road Signage at Derrick Campus in Samabula.
The following is a summary of major projects undertaken in 2019.

Labasa Campus: One of the major capital projects being undertaken by FNU is the construction of the Labasa Campus.

This is a Government-funded project, as part of its ‘Look North’ policy to revitalize the economy of Vanua Levu.

Once complete, the Labasa Campus will comprise of lecture theatres, tutorial rooms, computer labs, and administrative spaces to meet the needs of the people in the northern division.
The project contractor Kartika Construction Plumbing Services Ltd commenced work in April 2018 completing the ground floor building shell and built retaining walls on 3 sides of the property.

While work continues on the upper floor steel framing, car park, porte-cochère and services yard.

The $34m first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the first semester, 2021.
College Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies Complex: The new complex for the College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies under construction in Nasinu Campus will consist of a lecture theatre, tutorial rooms, staff spaces, and student services hub.

The contractor Cope Constructions Ltd commenced work at the site in November 2018.

The four-story complex is expected to be operational by the first semester, 2021.

The estimated cost of this project is $25m.


F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 37 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Fiji Maritime Academy 3-Storey Building: lecture rooms, an incorporate This project will auditorium, fisheries lab, computer labs, a marine high voltage training room for students to undertake training and be workforce ready.

The project will include a Solar PV system as well.

The contractor Sambhu Lal Construction commenced work at the site in August 2018.
This project, which is estimated to cost $15m is expected to be operational by the second semester, 2020.

Sports Complex Nasinu Campus: The Sports Complex will be a state-of-the-art indoor sports and fitness gymnasium.

It will consist of international level indoor courts for sports such as Volleyball, Basketball, Netball, Badminton and Futsal Soccer.

The gym also fits into the University’s Health and Wellness initiative to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which is a chronic problem in Fiji.
The facility will also have a rainwater harvesting system.

The contractor Fortech Construction Ltd commenced work on this project in January 2019.

The sports facility, which is estimated to costs $9m is expected to be ready by the second semester, 2020.

NTPC Naceva Centre, Lautoka: The 2-Storey Building at NTPC Naceva Centre in Lautoka will provide facilities such as lecture theatre, tutorial rooms, lecture rooms, sewing rooms, and computer labs.
This facility will enable NTPC to move out of rented properties while accommodating a larger number of students from the western division.

The $3.9M project was completed and opened for business in March 2019.

NTPC Technical Training Building, Naceva Centre, Lautoka: This project replaces the NTPC building that burnt down in 2015.

This building will include training rooms, computer labs, library, childcare, and administration spaces.

The contractor Permal Construction Ltd commenced works in May 2018.
The building works have been completed.

The cost of the project was around $4.7m.

Solar PV for Nadi Campus: The University has embarked on utilizing renewable energy as an alternative source of power marking the beginning of the University’s movement towards sustainable energy solutions reducing the carbon footprint, providing a limited level of protection against increasing electricity costs.

The project is deemed as self-funded with a Return on Investment (ROI) in 8 years.
An initial investment of approximately $850, 000 with a capacity to meet 80% of daytime demand for the Campus.

The contractor, CBS Power Solutions has been engaged for this project.

The installation work is expected to commence in January and is expected to be completed in April 2020.

Disability Centre: The University completed the construction of a Disability Resource Centre at Nasinu Campus in 2019.

The purpose of the Project is to provide a dedicated space for individuals with special needs to study.
The Centre also has administrative spaces, a consultation room, and washroom facilities.

It is also centrally located to amenities such as the UniClinic and cafeteria.

The facility will provide essential support and empower students with special needs to embrace their academic goals.

Amenities & Carpark at Natabua Campus: This newly built facility provides 30 additional parking spaces and an amenity block with features that provides access to individuals with disabilities.
The location is next to the Lecture Theatre which is ideal and meets the demand of the growing University.

This project cost $423, 000.

Engineering Research & Development Centre: The new Engineering Research & Development Centre will have an air-conditioned enclosed lab to cater to sophisticated equipment, open and research labs, multiple discussion rooms, office space, two interactive classrooms with TV facility, washroom, change rooms and a reception area.
The facility has been designed with flexible use concept, which allows various Schools including students with special needs to use these spaces for classes.

The Centre is expected to be operational by the first semester, 2020.

The estimated cost for this project is $4.7M.


F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 38 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 ESTATES AND FACILITIES To ensure projects are conducted promptly and within a proper framework, the Division developed the Space and Facilities Management Policy, Asset Management Register, Asset Maintenance Policy and Long-Term Facility Maintenance plan for the University.
A Space Audit program has been established for each FNU Campus which is benchmarked to an international standard set by the Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association (TEFMA).

During the year, several hostels and cafeteria were renovated and refurbished.

Approximately $2.5million was generated as surplus revenue from its commercial services mainly from Hostel, Cafeteria and Bookshop.

Around $7.2million was spent maintenance of assets and modernising of facilities.
The completion rate for maintenance work orders and project delivery was close to 90%.

ICT 2019 was a busy year for the Division of Information and Communication Technology the implementation and commissioning of major projects including transformation, enhancement of teaching and learning experience and administrative functions undertaken by the University.
technology and digital (ICT) with The growing need for online usage pushed the university to complete the expansion of the Internet capacity from AARNet from 1Gbs to 2Gbs.

Work on University Information Management System (UIMS) project continued from the previous year with good progress made on the implementation of the new integrated system.

The UIMS involves the replacement of the existing three Student management systems (Premium, Studentsoft, PPMS), the Financial system (Navision) and the HR system.
The main contract is with Ellucian for Banner 9, supported by Cornerstone (HR Talent Management) and Adirondack (Student Accommodation).

The major project achievements have been the commissioning of physical servers and replication to the disaster recovery site, the Finance system going live for tests, while training and data conversion and configuration works continue for the Student and HR systems.

The Student system is expected to come on live in the last quarter of 2020.
Once fully operational the UIMS project will automate many of the manual improve on reporting and will move processes, everything online, including Finance, HR, Student registry functions and graduation will all be self-service through online process.

A new project office was set up at Derrick Campus in Samabula to enable selected staff from various sections including ICT, HR, Finance and Academic to work together on this project.
To improve online service availability and access from anywhere and anytime, together with enhancing a collaborative working environment for staff, a cloud-based software, Microsoft Office 365 suite was introduced.

The services include OneDrive storage, Email, and SharePoint, enabling collaborative tools easily accessible to staff, to increase efficiency, manage information, and improved communication within and outside of the University.
foster To strengthen classroom technology and digital experience for both students and staff, equipment such as interactive multimedia projectors, sound system and video conferencing were installed.

There has been an increase in the usage of video conferencing using Zoom for meetings and lectures.

ICT techs continue to support students with Moodle and in computer labs.
Work on the replacement of computers in labs and laptops for staff continue as well as the routine upgrade of the University’s ICT system.

The team also works on major building projects managed by the Capital Project and infrastructure team.

A Cyber Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) was formed following an FNU Cybersecurity Awareness Workshop held in Suva.
This team provides assistance to staff and students with their IT devices, monitor internal cyberattacks emerging organisation’s compromised networks and assist in mitigation.

The team creates awareness for users on the risks involved once users are online and how to manage these.
local and from F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 39 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 HUMAN RESOURCES The FNU’s Division of Human Resource underwent major changes in 2019 following a restructure which transformed the division to become a HR consultancy supported by a robust analytics capability from a normal HR administrative and compliance unit.
The Division rolled out significant new initiatives aimed at developing best practices in talent recruitment, retention, workforce planning and staff development.

These new HR practices compare favourably with practices of established international universities and also strengthens FNU’s profile as an employer of choice.

Recruitment and Retention The Division introduced a paperless screening approach which resulted in a cutback of printing applications and preparation of files for the interview panel.
The recruitment files are now shared with using Office 365 SharePoint and OneDrive.

Through this initiative, the screening process has resulted in quicker turnaround time and is environmentally friendly.

A dedicated online Expression of Interest (EOI) portal was developed to enable job seekers to register their interest.

A database of EOIs is maintained to allow HR to screen and select appropriate candidates as employment opportunities open.
To address the scarcity in qualification and experience in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, a drive was launched whereby successful TVET candidates were provided with an opportunity to upgrade their qualifications if they have required hands-on experience and conversely for graduates without experience to gain in-service practical skills.
Another major online development was the launch of a Recruitment Practice Training Module for staff who serve in recruitment screening panels.

Upon the successful completion of the Module, the staff will acquire sound knowledge and understanding of the legal and HR policy requirements relevant to recruitment.

Only those staff are successful in completing the exercise are eligible to sit on the recruitment panel.
Table 7 Stream Number of positions advertised Number of appointments Academic Administrative 154 173 47 77 Of the 154 academic positions that were advertised, 47 were filled giving about 31% success rate which is in line with previous years’ trends.

Attracting quality staff with appropriate academic qualifications and experience in Fiji remains a challenge.

It takes approximately 3 months to recruit locals while almost double the duration to hire expatriates for specialised teaching positions.
Staff Engagement New staff joining the University undergo an induction process to ensure they are familiar with their new work surroundings and enable to carry out their roles and meet optimal performance standards with ease.

A new online Employee Onboarding Module for new academics was launched.

Staff are assisted by respective supervisors, Onboarding partners and HR Partners during the induction journey.
The Onboarding process involves providing staff feedback and necessary assistance to complete the induction process over three months.

Similarly, an Employee Offboarding Module was launched to ensure a smooth and transparent transition for both the University and the departing employee.

important role life cycle, performance As part of the employee management plays an in career progression and job satisfaction.

Hence a new policy on performance management was introduced.
The process flowing out this policy will encourage staff to have discussions with supervisors and agree on goal setting.

This is then documented online on the new HR Performance Management Plan (PMP) platform.

Both parties also discuss an agreed annual leave plan for all employees to allow adequate rest and recreation.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 40 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Staff Benefits and Professional Development FNU undertook major policy revisions aimed at increasing staff benefits and professional development opportunities including tuition fee waivers for staff in programmes offered at FNU and an enrolled additional 5 days of annual leave for support staff.
As part of FNU’s commitment to the welfare of insurance employees, a comprehensive medical scheme outsourced to a private insurance company Capital Insurance was launched in July.

This scheme is a non-contributory employment benefit, that is, free for all the full-time employees.

As part of FNU’s commitment to staff wellness, a university-wide health screening exercise was undertaken which included advice to staff on NCD (non- communicable diseases) prevention.
In responding to the Measles outbreak FNU’s in-house clinic (UniClinic) carried out a Measles and Meningococcal vaccination campaign.

Free Chlamydia, Pap smears and other testing for staff and students supported by the Ministry of Health and Medical Service were also provided.

Table 8 shows the number of staff and student who visited the UniClinic during the year.

The University encourages to undertake Professional Training and Development (PTD).
Table 9 below provides a summary of staff applications facilitated for PTD between January to December.

staff Table 9 No.

of Staff Supported: PTD Technical Workshops: Internal Training & External Training Nominations PTD – Allowances: Full-Time Study Leave Education Allowances & Part- Time Study Leaves Tuition Fees Concession & Fees Reimbursements: 100% Tuition Reimbursements, Fee Waiver & 75% Concessions 931 893 548 Several FNU staff were supported on full-time study leave under the PTD - Allowances.
69% of those undertaking full-time study leave pursued their studies at overseas universities due to programmes unavailable in Fiji.

Chart 1 shows the percentage of staff supported by PTD.

Table 8 Clinic Staff Students Chart 1 UniClinic Nasinu UniClinic Natabua 1, 124 484 20 59 A new Re-grading Policy was implemented for support staff.
The policy recognises that a position re-grade may need to take place to support staff responsibilities that have evolved to a higher level over a period due to operational needs.

Furthermore, a change in policy came into effect to allow time-in-lieu for salaried staff who are required to work beyond the normal contracted hours occasionally to meet seasonal operational needs.

To promote work-life balance, flexible working hours were introduced.
The flexi-hours enable staff to meet personal commitments and still report to work during the core operational hours.

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 2019 STAFF TRAINING & STUDY BENEFITS % 0 0 1 % 4 9 % 6 % 9 6 % 1 3 % 8 5 % 2 4 % 0 PART TIME STUDIES FULL TIME STUDIES INTERNAL STUDIES EXTERNAL STUDIES OVERSEAS LOCAL Workforce Planning Workforce planning was another new frontier that was traversed in 2019.

The goal is to have the right staff in the right job at the right time.
To achieve this objective, the workforce requirements of each college going forward were identified and initiatives such as identifying recruitment priorities, succession planning and secondment were introduced.

HR now produces key analytics to project current and future staffing needs based on student enrolment forecasts.
Table 10: Headcount: Five-Year Trend 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 1,001 969 924 899 819 1,819 1,449 1,360 1,294 1,214 0.55 0.67 0.68 0.69 0.67 Academic Staff Support Staff Academic: Support Staff Table 11: Staff Full-Time Equivalent (FTE): Five-Year Trend 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Aca- demic Staff Support Staff 1,720.5 1,338 1,245 1,176 1,134 FNU also had a successful merger with Technical Colleges of Fiji (TCF) in December 2019.

As a result, 333 staff from 16 TCF campuses staff joined the FNU family.
Table 12 below provides the staff number at various TCF campuses.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 41 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Table 12 # Campus Total Anjuman Hidayat-UI Islam Campus C P Singh Campus Dr Saukhat Ali Sahib Campus Headquarters Lautoka Sanatan Campus 6 Macuata I Cake Campus Nabua Sanatan Campus Nadroga Navosa Campus Nukuloa Campus Ratu Epeli Ravoka Campus Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara Campus Suva HTT Campus Tagitagi Technical Campus Tailevu North Campus Technical TISI SSK Campus Vanua Levu Arya Campus 28 16 33 10 22 15 27 32 6 17 16 18 23 13 16 41 Enhancing Technological and Analytics Capabilities The work on the implementation of the University Integrated Management System (UIMS) which commenced in 2019 incorporates the development of talent management, employee self-service and payroll.
Upon the roll-out of UIMS in 2020, HR will have a state- of-the-art analytics capability to assist management with evidence-based HR decisions.
Professor Nigel Healey Vice-Chancellor Fiji National Universtiy 832.35 817.95 798.95 776.15 729.2 Total 333 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 42 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 UNIVERSITY STATISTICS STUDENT HEADCOUNT BY COLLEGE College National Training & Productivity Centre Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Business, Hospitality & Tourism Studies Engineering, Science & Technology Humanities & Education Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Total 29,035 25,958 27,065 26,316 26,063 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 43 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 15000 12000 9000 6000 3000 0 11% 28% STUDENT HEADCOUNT BY COLLEGE - 2019 5% 12% 23% 21% 2015 20 16 20 17 2 01 8 2 019 CAFF College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry CBHTS College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies CEST College of Engineering, Science and Technology CHE College of Humanities and Education CMNHS College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences NTPC National Training and Productivity Centre EQUIVALENT FULL TIME STUDENTS (EFTS) BY COLLEGE College Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Business, Hospitality & Tourism Studies Engineering, Science & Technology Humanities & Education Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Total 10,277 9,754 10,511 11,897 12,226 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2015 20 16 20 17 2 01 8 2 019 CAFF College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry CBHTS College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies CEST College of Engineering, Science and Technology CHE College of Humanities and Education CMNHS College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences 8% 23% EFTS BY COLLEGE - 2019 27% 18% 24% F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I
 44 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 EFTS BY GENDER Gender Female Male Total 2015 5,770 4,507 10,277 2016 5,412 4,342 9,754 2017 5,803 4,708 10,511 2018 6,693 5,204 11,897 2019 6,946 5,280 12,226 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 43% EFTS BY GENDER - 2019 57% 20 15 20 16 20 17 2 01 8 2 019 Female Male EFTS BY NEW/CONTINUING STUDENTS Status Continuing Student New Student Total 2015 7,117 3,160 10,277 2016 6,844 2,910 9,754 2017 7,058 3,453 2018 8,072 3,825 2019 8,336 3,890 10,511 11,897 12,226 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 32% EFTS BY NEW/ CONTINUING STUDENTS - 2019 68% 20 15 20 16 20 17 2 01 8 2 019 Continuing Students New Students HEADCOUNT BY COURSES Courses Pre - Degree Courses Bachelor Courses Postgraduate Courses Other Courses Total HEADCOUNT BY COURSES - 2019 51% Pre-Degree Courses Bachelor Courses Postgraduate Courses Other Courses 20 15 20 16 20 17 2 018 2 01 9 NOTE: Excluding NTPC F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 45 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 EFTS BY CITIZENSHIP Citizen- ship Afghanistan American Samoa Australia Bangladesh Belgium Cambodia Canada China Congo Cook Islands Equatorial Guinea Federated States of Micronesia Fiji 9,571 9,019 9,668 11,078 11,249 Finland France Ghana Guam Guyana Haiti India Japan Kazakhstan Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Mongolia Citizen- ship Nauru Nepal New Zealand Nigeria Niue Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Philippines Samoa Slovenia Solomon Islands South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan
 Timor-Leste (East Timor) Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu United Kingdom United States Of America Vanuatu 99 106 93 73 84 Total 10,277 9,754 10,511 11,897 12,226 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 46 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 GRADUATION BY PROGRAMME Programme Certificates Diplomas Trade Certificate & Diplomas Higher Education Certificate & Diplomas Bachelors Postgraduate Studies Total Certificate Diplomas Trade Certificate & Diplomas Higher Education Certificate & Diplomas Bachelors Postgraduate Studies 13% 15% GRADUATION BY PROGRAMME - 2019 3% 14% 2% 53% GRADUATION BY GENDER Programme Certificates Diplomas Trade Certificate & Diplomas Higher Education Certificate & Diplomas Bachelors Postgraduate Studies Total 2015 Female Male 2016 Female Male 2017 Female Male 2018 Female Male 2019 Female Male FEMALE MAL E FEMALE MALE FEMAL E MALE FEM ALE MALE FEM ALE MALE 20 15 20 16 2 017 2 018 2 01 9 Certificate Diplomas Trade Certificate & Diplomas Higher Education Certificate & Diplomas Bachelors Postgraduate Studies F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 47 48 A N N U A L R E
I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 48 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 LEARNING AND TEACHING FNU is the nation’s premier dual sector University and is specifically mandated to meet the educational needs of those in the community requiring certificates and diplomas at the technical and trades level (TVET) and those who wish to pursue undergraduate and post-graduate degrees and doctoral studies.
In pursuing this mandate, there are a number of principles that guide FNU practice.

These are quality, relevance, flexible learning, student engagement, recognition and internationalisation.

Quality is the hallmark of the FNU.

The University has a Quality Office dedicated to ensuring that programmes and courses are designed and delivered to the highest standards.

Teaching quality is encouraged through a teaching excellence award and a certificate of merit system.
It is also monitored through a mid-course and end of course teaching assessment.

Holders of the teaching awards and certificates of merit will form a team of mentors who will be charged with mentoring new staff taking up faculty roles in FNU, especially those with minimal teaching experience.
their faculty to articulate 2019 saw the University finalising its plans to introduce a teaching portfolio system that will encourage teaching philosophy and to reflect on their teaching to bring about continuous improvement.

Plans were also put in place to develop a system of peer observation designed to encourage faculty members to review the teaching of colleagues to propose learning and teaching enhancements.
In addition to the Quality Office and the various initiatives designed to enhance teaching quality, the University has a Centre for Learning and Teaching Enhancement (CLTE) that uses the latest thinking and developments in learning and teaching to support student learning and, in particular, the transition from school to further and higher education.

FNU programmes are relevant to the needs of the Fiji community and beyond.
This is achieved primarily by establishing an Industry Advisory Committee for all new programmes made up of key industry stakeholders who advise on the content of the programmes with community needs in mind.

Also, all Colleges have an informal network of industry contacts and are in continued dialogue with these contacts to ensure that programmes remain relevant to the needs of Fiji.

FNU is fully aware of the digital revolution as it applies to education.
Traditional classroom teaching is increasingly challenged by digitally based learning F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 49 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 management systems such as Blackboard and Moodle and various apps that can be developed for smartphones.

In light of this, FNU has a Centre (CFEL), staffed by for Flexible and E-Learning leveraging highly skilled professionals who are digital developments to the full.
The Centre has a programme that aims to have all existing and future FNU courses available in the blended mode.

Considerable progress has been made in 2019 and will continue throughout 2020.

Aside from utilising the latest available technology, the movement to the blended learning mode of delivery is viewed as a means of improving FNU’s service to the community by providing greater access to the University’s programmes and courses in the more remote locations.
The objective here is to enable, for example, students in locations such a Ba and Labasa to be able to complete more full programmes in their home locations than is possible now, through a blended learning approach.

This is preferable than them having to travel to Nadi and/ or Suva to complete their programmes on a face to face basis.

Students are at the centre of what FNU does.


The FNU student association has a large membership and is a highly proactive and collaborative partner in the University’s education mission.

All of our major committees include student representation.

For example, there are three major committees that focus on quality and academic standards and the student representatives sit on all of them.
These committees are the University Learning and Teaching Committee that deals with University-wide teaching quality issues, the Academic Quality Assurance Committee that ensures that the University maintains high academic standards in all that it does, and the Senate which is the ultimate decision-making committee on University academic matters.
In addition to these central committees, student representatives from each College are full members of the selection panel for the teaching excellence award and certificate of merit system.

A major strategic direction for FNU is international recognition.

In 2019, the University prepared an accreditation policy that sets out the purpose, roles and responsibilities for attaining international accreditation.
The purpose of this emphasis on accreditation is to ensure that the international education community recognises that FNU ranks with some of the best in university education worldwide.

Accreditation involved a peer review of the University by an international panel of experts based on the F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 50 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 University’s self-assessment of teaching and research environment.
its learning and FLEXIBLE AND ELEARNING This process is already underway with the College of Engineering Science and Technology (CEST) pursuing Engineering New Zealand accreditation for its bachelor and diploma engineering programmes, and the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) having attained accreditation for its Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science with the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists.
Also, the College of Humanities and Education (CHE) has engaged the New Zealand Academic Quality Agency (AQA) to accredit its teacher education programmes.

This particular initiative is seen as preliminary to the accreditation of the University in its entirety.

A major benefit of such accreditation from the Fiji business community viewpoint is that employers can be satisfied that the graduates they employ have received an internationally recognised quality education in their various fields of study.
From the students’ viewpoint, one major benefit of such initiatives is the fact that their FNU qualifications recognition worldwide and so gain enhanced enable those who wish to do so, to take up suitable employment abroad.

Finally, FNU is working diligently with international partners to ensure that as many students as are interested have an opportunity to study abroad for at least one semester.
FNU now has an International Office that reports directly to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) and this office is actively pursuing partnerships worldwide together with sponsorships that will enable students to engage in an international study experience that will be fully funded.

This is all part of a desire to ensure that as many students of FNU as possible, graduate with an ability to work and engage with other cultures.
The above is just a brief overview of FNU priorities and developments in learning and teaching and the following sections describe initiatives in detail.

One aspect of learning and teaching that has not been specifically mentioned in this introduction but is nevertheless very important in understanding the ethos of the FNU is the fact that each programme offered by the University includes a practical component so that students can be ‘work ready’ when they enter the Fiji Community.
learning experiences, The core flexible & e-learning activities at FNU as implemented through the Flexible & E-Learning Strategy gained further traction in the enhancement of teacher development, the learning environment and quality assurance in flexible & e-learning in collaboration with the Colleges and Support sections.

In 2019, 10 courses were developed and delivered in blended mode.

Approximately 50 courses commenced blended mode development for rollout in 2020.
At CFEL, the Learning Design Team consisting of Learning Designers, Learning Technologists and a Multimedia Specialist implemented core activities in addition to blended and online mode portfolio developments.

These were basic, intermediate and advanced Moodle (learning management system) and Turnitin (plagiarism assessment tool) workshops at all Colleges and NTPC.
As well, specialised Blended and Online course development workshops were rolled out to Colleges that prioritised their courses for flexible and e-learning.

Mahara, an ePortfolio tool commenced trials in various disciplines as a new form of assessment integrated with Moodle.

Currently, in its pilot phase at FNU, Mahara will gradually be rolled out in 2020.
Over 400 FNU teachers have been trained to date via CFEL’s workshops and consultations (approximately 60 sessions delivered in 2019) across all major campus locations.
Good practice guides that were developed, updated and regularly circulated to teachers and students included: y Getting Started with Moodle: a teacher guide y Moodle Template Guide: for teachers y Getting Started with Moodle: a student guide y Turnitin: a teacher guide y Turnitin: a student guide y Open Educational Resources (OER): an y introductory guide Introduction to Blended Learning @ FNU Teacher and Student Guides for Mahara commenced development and piloted for further revisions and planned circulations in 2020.
Additional guides for learning and teaching online and a Moodle FAQ also commenced development and these will be released in 2020.

To gain further momentum and awareness of flexible & e-learning and learning & teaching enhancement activities at FNU, CFEL and CLTE facilitated a synergy workshop for key support sections, the Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Learning & Teaching and the Associate Deans Learning & Teaching for the Colleges.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 51 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Regarding ongoing enhancements to FNU’s official (LMS) Moodle, a learning management system major upgrade was implemented in terms of a new version of Moodle as well as server migration and enhancement of ICT infrastructure to support Moodle connectivity.

The Moodle landing page for FNU was also refreshed with aesthetic enhancements to the login experience.
LMS guidelines for FNU were approved by the University Learning & Teaching Committee (ULTC).

The work of CLTE is guided by the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Strategy, which stems from the Learning, Teaching and Training Policy.

It has four (4) key goals or areas of focus.

These are to: Increase student retention.

1.

2.

Optimise student learning experience.

3.

Support employability and entrepreneurship skills development.

4.
4.

Promote good learning and teaching practices that facilitate student learning.

This document provides guidelines for access to and use of Moodle at FNU to develop and deliver learning and teaching experiences.

It applies to all current students and teachers, as well as approved external parties entered into contractual agreements with FNU that require the use of its LMS for learning and teaching purposes.
LEARNING AND TEACHING ENHANCEMENT Learning and Teaching Enhancement (LTE) activities at FNU are built on the principles that there are maintenance and monitoring of standards related to learning and teaching and that continuous improvement of learning and teaching is informed by robust evaluation data.

CLTE is the unit responsible for teaching implementing key enhancement activities at FNU.
learning and CLTE collaborates with students, staff and university committees including the College Associate Deans Learning & Teaching, the Centre for Flexible & E-Learning, Registrar’s Office, Library and the FNU Student Association.

There are two (2) main areas under which LTE activities are implemented: Learner Enhancement and Teacher Enhancement.

The Core activities are listed below each of these areas.
LEARNER ENHANCEMENT Early Alert and Response System (EARS) is an online diagnostic and early intervention tool to support the academic recovery of students at risk of non- continuation.

Teachers are encouraged to submit an Alert when concerned about a student’s performance in their course.

Assistance is provided to students by the Student Success Specialists, whose focus is to connect students directly to the support they need to get and stay on track for success in their courses.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 52 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 English Language Hub (ELH) is dedicated to helping students from all disciplines and abilities to become more effective writers (both in academic and non- academic genres) and oral communicators—both of which are essential to student success at FNU and beyond.
By tutoring, conducting workshops, and providing resources, CLTE’s Student Success Specialists nurture students’ English language skills to prepare them for communicative competence in both written and oral discourse.

ELH services are offered in both face-to-face and virtual modalities, free, and open to all students needing assistance in English language skills.
ELH also offers two online English as a Second Language courses: Beginning to Intermediate English as a Second Language (BE101), and Intermediate English as a Second Language (IE101).

The courses are available to all students and are free of charge, self-directed and self-paced.

They do not require any prerequisite and are not prerequisites to any course, these courses are voluntary and not for credit.
First-Year Experience Mobile App is designed to help first-year students to navigate their first year at FNU.

The app contains a range of features including, information, schedule and contact of various student support services, inbox messages, to-do list and timetable, and Q&A.

The app is available in both Android and iOS.

First-Year Students Webinars (x2) are held a week before the orientation week.

The webinars intend to start engaging with the students even before they set foot on the campuses.
First webinar—Enhancing my learning in my First Year @ FNU—is conducted by CLTE staff to introduce the students to CLTE’s services and resources.

In the second webinar—Surviving my First Year @ FNU—current students share their real- life experiences about what it’s like to study at FNU.
International Student Mentorship Programme (ISMP) is a volunteer peer-mentor programme in which new international students (known as “mentees”) are connected with current FNU students (known as “mentors”) who volunteer their time to help mentees settle into the University and life in Fiji.

Math Help Hub (MHH) provides mathematics and statistics support and advice to students from all disciplines.
It is a free face-to-face service facilitated by the School of Mathematical and Computing Sciences (SMCS) staff, open to all students taking courses that involve mathematics and statistics.

Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) offers—free of charge— structured study sessions facilitated by peer students (PAL Leaders) who are students with a strong academic record and have successfully completed the courses themselves.
Sessions run from week 3 to week 15, which target difficult courses rather than struggling students.

Attendance is voluntary but highly recommended to all students studying the targeted courses.

student improvement of Student Feedback plays an integral role in the learning continuous experiences and outcomes.

CLTE facilitates data collection for conventional courses (i.e.
excluding project/practicum, research supervision, or thesis courses) through mid-semester and end-of-semester Course Experience Surveys (CESs) to inform course and programme enhancements.

The survey findings are analysed and fed back to course teachers, Departmental Heads, School Heads, College Deans and Associate Deans (Learning and Teaching).

Follow-up actions are expected in response to the student feedback where appropriate.
In addition to CESs, student feedback on diverse aspects of student experience of learning and teaching is collected regularly via several various methods, including questionnaires such as the Student Satisfaction Survey, Course & Teacher Evaluation mechanisms, individual and group feedback meetings, representation on committees at all levels of the institution, and participation in the periodic Educational Enhancement and Assurance Review procedures.
Students also have an opportunity to raise issues via their College Learning & Teaching Committee (CLTC) and Student Staff Consultation Committees (SSCC).

Succeed@FNU is an online course designed to assist first-year students in identifying their potential to achieve their academic goals, become familiar with FNU’s expectations and regulations, learn about the support systems available at FNU and the importance of taking care of themselves.
All new students are encouraged to complete this course, which is free of charge, self-directed and self-paced.

Workshops and Seminars are conducted regularly to help students develop academic skills and strategies, avoid plagiarism, deal with personal situations, and plan and better manage their finances.

CLTE also provides a variety of self-help resources to advance the learning experience of students.

Sessions for these workshops and seminars will be posted on the CLTE website from time to time.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 53 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 TEACHER ENHANCEMENT Communities of Practice are designed for teachers to learn about effective teaching strategies and tools, and to share their experiences and solutions with each other.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is the ongoing process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge and experience gained formally and informally during work.
This process flows from the Orientation for New Teachers Module to reflect a teacher’s professional growth from orientation through their first contract and beyond where appropriate.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are learning, teaching band research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under the copyright that has been released under an open license, that permits no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others.
CLTE supports the adoption of OER across all Colleges through training, support, and system integration to improve equitable access and support student success.

OER adoption is a process of learning design under flexible and e-learning.
Orientation for New Teachers (ONTM) is a mandatory online module designed to orient new teachers with a better understanding of specific issues relating to teaching and learning context at FNU and to address common questions with a quick answer and a resource to consult or contact for further information.

This module is part of the new teacher induction programme, which is offered in conjunction with the People Performance and Development section of the Human Resource Department.
Teaching Guides on a variety of teaching topics with summaries of best practices, links to other online resources are also available to assist teachers to enhance their teaching and improve their students’ learning.

These will be posted on the CLTE website from time to time.

Workshops and Seminars relating to teaching and pedagogy are organised at regular intervals to deepen and enrich teaching practices.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 54 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 RESEARCH F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 55 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 innovation are critical Research and for Fiji’s economic growth, job creation, improved standards of living, inclusive society for health and wellbeing of our people, to grow competitive industries, to sustain connectivity in this complex world, and to develop new toolkits and methodologies for solving problems.
Fiji National University developed a number of new initiatives in 2019 to improve its research profile and recognition.

Table 2 College CMNHS CAFF Total 2019 No.

of Projects Contracted Sum 4 1 6 $837,082.33 $55,300.00 $ 892,382.33 This report includes information on publications, research from external sources, higher degrees by research programmes, new collaborations and research policies.
funding Number of Papers Published FNU is progressively gaining recognition in being a highly proficient Higher Education Institute to undertake externally funded research projects for generating new knowledge in areas important for national development.

In 2019 FNU attained a total of $892,382.33 from external sources for research undertaken at the university.

Table 1 lists academic publications for 2019 against the targets for the year.
Higher Degrees by Research at FNU Table 1 Research Publications Q1 Journal publications Q2 Journal Publications Q3 Journal Publications Q4: Journal Publications Unranked Journal Papers Pacific Island Journals (un- ranked): Book/Book Chapter: 2019 Target Total 2019 15 15 10 5 20 1 2 27 19 12 3 8 1 3 Fiji National University achieved an increase in publications in quartile one journals by 80% above the target for 2019; an increase in quartile two journal publications by 27% above the target; and an increase in quartile three journals by 20%.
The reduction of publications in quartile four journals, in unranked journals and book chapters, is a positive signal that there is a notable improvement in high- quality journal publications, which gives recognition to the university and improves its ranking in Fiji and the world.

Research Income from External Sources Table 2 below lists the income received from external sources for research projects undertaken at the Fiji National University.
PhD and Masters by Research students are a vital foundation of Fiji National University and are our future leaders and innovators in their field.

In 2019, Fiji National University developed and implemented PhD programmes and Masters by Research that are of international standards.

The PhD programme meets all the requirements of Quality Assurance Agency, UK1; Australian Qualification Framework 102; and Fiji Higher Education Commission Framework 103.
Quality Assurance Agency in the UK, and the Australian Qualification Framework 10 are organisations that monitor PhD standards offered by all universities in the UK and in Australia.

Fiji National University PhD programme is of international standard.
The PhD programmes comprise of a 360 credit point thesis made up of 60,000 to 100,000 words which must be the student’s own work, embody the results of the work undertaken by the student; form a substantially original contribution to the area of knowledge concerned, and afford evidence of originality by the discovery of new knowledge and independent critical ability.

The duration of the Programme is three years for full- time students, and six years for part-time students.
It is well structured with research preparatory courses and monitoring of project progression that promotes excellence with three milestones to ensure timely completions.

1 www.qaa.ac.ui/Assuring StandardsAndQuality.Qualifications/ doctoral/Pages/default.aspx.

2 www.aqf.edu.au 3 https://www.fhec.org.fj/ F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 56 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 The thesis will be examined by two external examiners followed by an oral exam (viva voce) held at FNU.
The Masters by Research programme also meets the requirements of Quality Assurance Agency, UK4; the Australian Qualification Framework 95; and Fiji Higher Education Commission Framework 96.

This Masters by Research programmes is a level 9 program, comprising a 40,000 to 60,000 word thesis which must be the student’s own work, embody the results of the work undertaken by the student guided by two supervisors.

Duration of the programme is two years for full-time students, and 4 years for part-time students.
All Masters by Research candidates are required to complete two research preparatory courses and to get through two milestones for monitoring progress.

At the completion seminar presentation, a Masters by Research candidate can apply to upgrade their qualification to a PhD by undertaking further research to meet the requirements of a PhD.

All Masters by Research thesis will be examined by two external examiners, followed by an oral exam (viva voce) held at FNU.
Research Support at FNU the Office of In 2019 the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research introduced the following funding schemes to enhance and prepare researchers for external funding and for high-quality publications: y y A Research Preparatory Fund $1,000 to get the researchers started with the material they will require for writing their proposals.
Fiji National University Seed Funding Scheme of $15,000 to support academics develop their track record with a small project, outcomes of which are published in high-quality journals to qualify for further funding from external sources to grow the research into a larger project.

Fiji National University-Industry Collaborative Funding Scheme $25,000.
This scheme is to support and encourage external partnership and collaboration with industry, Government and NGOs for applied research and to increase funding from external sources at FNU.

FNU y 4 www.qaa.ac.ui/Assuring StandardsAndQuality.Qualifications/ doctoral/Pages/default.aspx.

5 www.aqf.edu.au 6 https://www.fhec.org.fj/ y staff will receive up to $25,000 funding support for their projects if an equal amount or more is secured from an external partner.
International Visiting Fellowship Scheme of $10,000.

This is provided to Colleges to bring in external experts to enhance research and to train novice researchers in writing winning research proposals, and academic papers for high-quality journals.

FNU provided incentive awards for researchers to encourage them to enhance research outcomes such as patents and high-quality publications.
The Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor introduced the monthly research seminar series in 2019 for the academics and higher degrees by research candidates.

Research Management for Integrity and Compliance with Policies for Research The Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research (OPVCR) has been working hard to ensure that research at FNU is carried out with integrity and ethically by developing policies the researchers.
to guide In 2019 the following policies, procedures and standardised forms were developed and approved by the University Senate: Higher Degree by Research Policies, Procedures & Guidelines y y FNU Higher Degrees by Research Policy & Procedure FNU Higher Degrees by Research Supervision Policy y Nomination of Examiners Guidelines y External Examiner Guidelines for Research Degrees FNU Thesis Structure Guidelines y Higher Degree by Research Forms y Current HDR Candidate Transfer to New HDR Programme Form y Application for Admission to HDR Programme Form y Change of Supervisor Form y Nomination of Examiners Form y External Examiner Declaration Form y Notification of Intention to Submit Form y Thesis Consent Form y Release of Thesis Form y Doctoral Oral Examination Report Form y Masters Oral Examination Report Form F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 57 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 y Examiners Report for Doctoral Thesis Form y Examiners Report for Master’s Thesis Form y HDR Supervisor & Candidate Meeting Log Academic Conference Policy & Forms FNU Academic Conference Policy y y Application for Academic Conference Funding Form Higher Degree by Research Examination Policy & Guidelines y y FNU Higher Degrees by Research Examination Policy FNU Examination Guidelines for Research Degrees Research Policy FNU Research Policy y y Authorship policy y Research Integrity Policy Data Management Policy & Procedures y y y y FNU Research Data Management Policy FNU Research Data Management Procedure for HDR Candidates FNU Research Data Management Procedure for Staff, Adjuncts and Visitors FNU Research Outputs (Publications, Patents, Others) Data Collection Policy & Procedures Form FNU HDR Candidate Supervisor Support Form y Human Research Ethics Policy & Forms FNU Human Research Ethics Policy y y Human Research Ethics Application Form y Participation Information Sheet y Consent Form y Confidentiality Agreement Form y FNU Human Research Ethics Committee – Terms of Reference FNU Human Research Ethics Committee Members y
 Animal Research Ethics Policy and Forms y Code of Conduct for Animal Research y Animal Research Ethics Application Form y Animal research Ethics Consent Form y Animal Research Ethics Feedback Form y Postmortem Template y Unexpected Adverse Event Report y y Information Sheet for Animal Owners FNU Constitution of the Animal Research Ethics Committee F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 58 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Vice-Chancellor’s Research Awards for 2019 The winners of the Vice Chancellor’s Research Awards for 2019 are: Dr Ronesh Sharma recognised as an Early Career Researcher with a completed PhD and a h index of 7 and i10-Index of 5.
Dr Ronesh Sharma, an academic in the College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST), received the award in recognition of outstanding research achievements.

Dr Sharma has to date published eight Q1 journal papers, one Q2 journal paper, and one paper in a conference proceeding.

His contribution to knowledge is in the discipline of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence.
His PhD was based on Protein Fold Recognition and Structure Class Prediction and MoRF Detection using Computational Intelligence Methodologies, which he accomplished from the University of the South Pacific (USP).

He started in 2014 and graduated in September 2019 while being a full-time staff at FNU.

In his PhD research, Dr Sharma applied feature engineering to bioinformatics data to build several state-of-the-art computational models.
His achievements as an early career researcher are outstanding by world standards.

FNU is very pleased to have researchers of his calibre, and are putting in place support systems to help Early Career Researchers progress to the next level.

Dr Shiu Kumar recognised for an award in the category of Higher Degree by Research (HDR).

The prestigious award is given to an individual researcher whose higher degree by research achieved considerable impact and recognition outside the University.
Dr Kumar, an academic in the College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST) completed his PhD this year with three Q1 journal publications, three Q2 journal publications, and five papers in conference proceedings.

To date, he has published over 20 international journal and conference papers, six of which were published in highly ranked journals and has a citation H-Index of 10 and i10-Index of 10.
Dr Kumar’s contribution to knowledge is in the discipline of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition.

is PhD using based Kumar’s research Dr on electroencephalography (EEG) Signal Classification its Application to Brain-Computer Interface and Systems Intelligence Computational Techniques.
He has applied feature engineering and pattern recognition to biomedical signals and has developed several state-of-the-art computational models for the prediction of motor imagery (MI) signals.

MOU with University of Hertfordshire, UK the University of Hertfordshire FNU has formalised and strengthened its partnership with following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday 11th February 2020.
Professor John Senior, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research at the University of Hertfordshire, visited FNU and delivered a talk on research priority areas at the University of Hertfordshire.

After which the signing of an MOU between the two universities followed.

FNU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nigel Healey said the University was excited to be partnering with a fellow institution to advance and strengthen the University’s work in the field of research.
Professor Healey emphasised on the importance of strengthening international relations with established institutions that can support FNU.

He also mentioned that while benchmarking, it’s not about looking at who is the best in the world and trying to copy what they do.

It’s about who is on the same journey as we are, but further advanced.

This partnership was facilitated by FNU’s Pro-Vice- Chancellor Research, Professor Mohini Singh who visited University of Hertfordshire early last year.
She initiated this MOU for a closer working relationship with the University of Hertfordshire for collaborative research, staff and student exchange and a joint PhD sometime in the future.

Research is now an integral part of Fiji National is supported with regulations, University which incentives, research awards, partnerships with universities and industry, lectures and seminars.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 59 60 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 STUDENTS F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 61 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 The Office of the Registrar administers and manages all operations of the Student Academic Services, Student Support Services including Student Welfare and Disability Services, Examination Office, Student Financial Aid & Worker Scheme and Counseling Services.
The team also works in partnership with the Fiji National University Students’ Association (FNUSA) to provide support and guidance to students to achieve their academic goals and aspirations.

SPORTS One of the major triumphs for the Fiji National University students in 2019 was the successful retention of the Fiji University Sports Association (FUSA) title.

FNU fielded a total of 68 teams in 20 events.

The FNU team comprised of teams from the central (38), western (21) and northern (9) divisions.
Approximately 900 students participated in the three-day event held between 19 – 21 September in Suva.

FNU won with 11 Gold and 9 Silver.

OCEANIA SPORTS EDUCATION PROGRAM (OSEP) strengthen the understanding of To sports administration and developing sound managerial skills, twenty-eight students from FNU participated in the Oceania Sports Education Program which was held at Nasinu Campus.
The students were awarded certificates from OSEP and Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) after successful completion of the three-day workshop.

DISABILITY WORKSHOP On June 13 and 20, the Department of Academic Service’s Disability section conducted two information and awareness workshops at FNU Campuses in Nabua and Natabua (Lautoka) respectively.

Around 27 participants attended the workshops.

The training was provided by FNU’s Disability Coordinator and three FNU students.
Topics covered included: • Types of disabilities and reasonable adjustments • made to assist students.

Identifying the difficulties students face during their studies.

• Discussions on local and regional frameworks, legislations that guide the regulations and disability sector.

Identifying barriers and solutions.

• COUNSELLING SERVICES The Fiji National University provides Counselling Services to all students and staff, free of charge.
Currently, three full-time professional counsellors are employed under the Office of the Registrar to provide counselling services at all FNU Campuses and Hostels.

The counsellors provide a safe, confidential, comfortable and enabling environment to discuss any issues affecting the client and explore options to resolve these issues.

Students and staff can be self-initiated clients or referred by their lecturers or supervisors.
While face to face counselling was conducted during regular working hours, appointments are also given after hours and during weekends for working students and busy staff members.

All students are informed about Counselling Services during orientation at various FNU campuses and Hostel orientations.

The counsellors also visited the various FNU Campuses weekly.

The overall awareness effort has resulted in more students and staff seeking counselling services primarily through self-initiation.
Communication with the counsellors further improved through the use of emails, official mobile phones and even online communication apps such as Skype and Zoom.

Counselling is considered an essential support service in FNU for its students and staff.

With the challenges of 21st century and evolving student life, professional roles and family dynamics, there is a need to have an opportunity to talk about and explore the problems and difficulties that people encounter in everyday life.
By openly discussing issues, people can explore possible solutions rather than acting irrationally causing loss of life and property.

FNU Counselling Services operates with the slogan “Let’s Talk”.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 62 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 CAREERS CHAT The Academic Office provides opportunities for important stakeholders such as employer organisations to speak to students on various topics such as interpersonal skills, attitude and ability to be a team player.
Ability to solve problems and having good soft skills was also emphasised during the discussions.

The sessions were interactive with students having an opportunity to ask employer representatives questions.

The table below shows student participation from March 6 to May 3.
Partici- pants Campus Date Chief Guest Total Partici- pants Male Fe- male Region- al Students with Disability Participants Residential Location Urban Rural TFL- Manager John Cheer and HR Manager, Ms Taraivosa FSC- Human Capital Manager, Mr Aswin Gounder and Assistant Human Capital Manager, Ms Iva Gaunavou FSC- Human Capital Manager, Mr Aswin Gounder and Assistant Human Capital Manager, Ms Iva Gaunavou MOE- Senior Education Officer, Ms Iliseva Volai Derrick Campus 6 March Namaka Campus 12 April Ba Campus 26 April Labasa Campus 3 May DEBATE 24 17 7 8 1 18 6 26 15 11 19 19 - 21 4 17 - - - - - - 21 5 - - 19 21 The annual debate competition which provides students with developing critical thinking skills, acquiring better poise, speech delivery and public speaking skills was conducted in the central, western and northern division over a period of seven months.
The table below shows the results from the Central and Labasa debate competition.

Division Central Northern Western Winner Nasinu CHE 1 Namaka Runner-up Nursing CHE 2 Ba F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 63 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 CV WRITING & MOCK INTERVIEW WORKSHOP To assist students to prepare well for job interviews, the Academic Office organised a series of Curriculum Vitae and Mock Interview workshops with certified trainers from the National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC).
This workshop which was organised in the central, western and northern divisions was well attended by students.

The table below shows the breakdown of student participation from 30 March to 25 May.
Participants Campus Date Total Registered Participants Total Participants Male Female Regional Derrick Campus Natabua Campus Ba Campus Labasa Campus Namaka Campus 30 March 6 April 13 April 27 April 4 May 25 May 41 39 29 19 29 24 38 32 43 27 22 19 17 8 11 11 1 13 21 24 32 16 21 6 11 2 - - - - Students with Disability Participants Residential Location Urban Rural - 1 1 - - - 17 14 15 - - 14 10 16 28 16 22 5 FNUSA ACTIVITIES Youth Speak Forum FNUSA partnered with the International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC) to conduct Youth Speak Forum in central and western divisions.
The main focus of the workshops was discussions youth empowerment as well as the importance of working towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The following SDG goals were part of the discussions: y Quality Education y Gender Equality y Reducing Inequality y Climate Action y Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions The Forum for the central division was held at the USP ICT Theater on 26 April, while on 2 May a second Forum was organised at FNU Namaka Campus for participants in the western division.
Representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES), United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organisation (ILO) also attended the two Forums.

Fiji Youth SRHR Alliance (FYSA) The FNUSA partnered with Fiji Youth SRHR Alliance (FYSA) to host the International Youth Day at Namaka Campus on August 12.

A team from the Ministry of Health was also present providing information to youths on various health issues and also conducted tests for STI/HIV.
Youth Climate Ambassador Conference 2019 To create greater awareness regarding the impact of Climate Change in the Pacific, FNUSA partnered with Project Survival Pacific to host the Youth Climate Ambassador Conference 2019 at Nasinu Campus.

Participants were empowered to play a pro-active role in combatting the global phenomenon through planting trees, recycling, stopping pollution and advocating sustainable lifestyle in future.
World Book and Copyright Day FNUSA partnered with Library to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day.

The event was held at Nasinu Campus.

FNUSA also assisted in the distribution of free books to the students during the event.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 64 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) y Forty-two students undertaking studies in the Bachelor in Physiotherapy programme at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) volunteered at the 43rd Marist 7s tournament.

The team assisted in pre-game sports medicine, on the field and rehab support and creating awareness about player conditioning and recovery.
The students were commended by the organisers for their assistance.

y Nineteen students from CMNHS Year 4 Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme donated 200 bath towels to the patients at the St Giles Psychiatric Hospital in Suva, after completing a six-week attachment.
y Thirty-two students from the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme spent three days in the Naitasiri province as part of an outreach program to assess the villagers’ social determinants for health.

The students, divided into teams, spent their time in five villages, namely Waikalou (Soloira District), Naluwai, Nassau and Waidracia (Rara District) and Nabaitavo (Nabaitavo District).
The students conducted community health needs assessment activities, health screenings, undertook water quality tests and provided awareness on general health issues.

y Forty students from the Physiotherapy programme spent a recreational day at the National Rehabilitation Medicine Hospital in Tamavua.

In an effort to give back to the community, the students cleaned the premises and conducted recreational activities.
y Twenty-two students from the Bachelor of Dietetics and Nutrition programme undertook a community outreach project, creating greater awareness on Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

The students visited Kiuva village Tailevu to highlight the importance of having a nutritional and balanced lifestyle.

y World Mental Health Day was celebrated in October by CMNHS to create awareness about its impact and how assistance can be provided to those affected.
Dean of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Dr William May, while speaking at the celebrations at Pasifika Campus said mental health affects everyone either in their personal or professional lives.

y The College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF) participated in a consultation workshop to develop organic agriculture; management of invasive species in Fiji.

The team met with local industry stakeholders involved in the production of spices, dairy and forest products.
The team also conducted a workshop for coconut producers in Savusavu.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 65 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 y Academic staff from the College of Business, (CBHTS) are Hospitality and Tourism Studies involved in projects with Investment Fiji as well as the Government’s Young Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) in developing educational programmes for emerging entrepreneurs.
y CBHTS staff also work in collaboration with the Bureau of Statistics to carry out research relating to the national economy.

y The College of Engineering, Science and Technology worked with a non-governmental organisation Mission 21 to facilitate the donation of second-hand furniture to 10 schools in the maritime region.
The used furniture which included chairs, desks and tables were part of the post-cyclone rehabilitation which was greatly appreciated by the schools (Loreto Catholic Primary School, Tawake District School, Taviya District School, Batiki District School, Uluibau Primary School, Yasana-I-Ra District School, Sawaieke District School, Nasau District School, Delana Methodist School and Rukuruku Primary School) and the respective communities.
y Staff from the College of Humanities and Education (CHE) organised a Clean-up campaign at Natabua Campus in Lautoka.

The staff took time-out from their busy work schedule to clean their surrounding environment.

y In line with Government’s Green Growth Framework for Fiji, the College of Humanities and Education the organised a Natabua Campus in Lautoka.

The event was held on Wednesday, 27 February.


‘Campus Tree Campaign’ at y The Head of Campus – Labasa Pardeep Lal with his team was involved in the establishment of a Climate Change Club at Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Labasa on 20 March.

Four groups were formed, with each comprising of 10 students and supervised by a teacher.
The students were taught about the importance of recycling, composting, how to sort plastic and paper, the importance of planting trees, attaining a good education and being a responsible citizen.

y Staff from in Lautoka the Natabua Campus participated in a walkathon ‘Walk On Walk Strong’ organised by WOW Kids Fiji.

The event was held on Saturday, 10 August at the Shirley Park in Lautoka.

All funds collected by the staff was handed over to WOW Kids to assist children with cancer.
y The College of Engineering, Science and Technology worked with a non-governmental organisation Mis- sion 21 to facilitate the donation of second-hand fur- niture to 10 schools in the maritime region.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 66 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) (FNU) (SDGs) through The Fiji National University is committed to achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals its research, learning and teaching.
The SDGs aim to address 17 key global issues and are interconnected, many of which are relevant to the core operations of the University.

SDG Goal 4, which highlights the need for quality education, also aligns with the intuition’s aim to be the premier national University providing quality and relevant higher education, technical and vocational education and training, research and development in Fiji.
FNU has contributed to addressing various SDG Goals in 2019, through the following key projects: GOAL 3 GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING y FNU hosted the World Health Organisation (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Director, Dr Takeshi Kasai for a special guest lecture on health challenges in the region at the Pasifika Campus.

Dr Kasai visited the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and toured the Public Health and Primary Care at Tamavua Campus.
He reassured WHO’s commitment to work with FNU in the areas of critical development of the health workforce for Fiji and the Pacific, through training and development, scholarships for student and workforce development and supporting research and collaboration.
y FNU and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services are working with a team of academic F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 67 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 experts and health professionals from Australia to study the experience of art-making in healing people with mental illness.

‘Art-making and mental health – a pilot focus group study in Suva, Fiji’ is the first of its kind of research being conducted in Fiji.
The overall objective is to gain an understanding of the potential value and possible meaning of art-making in the context of mental health recovery in Fiji.

The research is supported by Australia Asia Mental Health with financial assistance provided by St Vincent’s Pacific Health Fund.

y The Department of Medical Imaging & Anatomy at CMNHS uses the Wellness Program to create a healthy culture and tackle Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
The staff have a one-hour work- out on Campus and encourage their colleagues to join.

According to participants, the workplace affects the physical, mental, economic and social wellbeing of staff and the sessions act as a defence mechanism against stress, anxiety and depression.

y CMNHS participated in the inaugural forum of the Pacific Ending Childhood Obesity (Pacific ECHO) Network.
The organisation was established by the Ministries of Health and their partners in the Pacific, in line with the healthy island vision of a Pacific where ‘Children are nurtured in body and mind’.

Acting Head of Department Primary Care and Nutrition at CMNHS Dr Gade Waqa stated education institutions are embedding NCDs in the curriculum to address issues such as childhood obesity which is an area of concern.
y The FNU Labasa Campus staff organised a five-kilometre ‘Walk for Health’ to promote a healthy lifestyle and engage the community in an ongoing fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

About 120 participants from the University, government ministries, business and local communities participated in the fun event.
These activities and projects address targets of Goal 3 that aim to strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

GOAL 4 QUALITY EDUCATION F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 68 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 y Two alumni of FNU created history by successfully undertaking Vanuatu’s first-ever ‘reduction of the zygomatic complex fracture’ surgery.
Dr Nelson Tanghwa and Dr Mackenzie Sitobata (CMNHS - Class of 2018), who are both dentists, conducted the successful surgery at Vila Central Hospital.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Oral Surgery (PGDOS) graduates applauded the training provided at CMNHS, which enabled them to master their skills and undertake such surgeries and bring comfort to the lives of patients.
y FNU launched the National Apprentice Week in March to celebrate and raise public awareness on the impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Healey encouraged students to join NTPC’s National Apprenticeship Scheme and undertake hands-on training and skills developments in the respective trade field.

The apprenticeship scheme has evolved over the years to include formal education combined with employment and on-the-job training.
y Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison com- mended FNU for its partnership with the Austra- lia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) to provide training and education to upskill people in the Pacific.

PM Morrison made the comments when he visited the FNU’s Derrick Campus.

FNU and APTC have a working partnership which allows APTC to conduct specialized short course train- ing in designated workshops.
PM Morrison was given an overview of the Derrick Campus Master Plan and brief of the two institution’s partner- ship by the Acting Dean CEST Salabogi Mavoa.

y CAFF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Spices of Fiji Limited to enhance scientific, educational collaboration.

The partnership will provide students with an opportunity to work and assist with real-time issues in the agricultural sector.
technological and As Fiji’s national university, FNU provides holistic learning with programmes undergoing regular review in consultation with industry partners, international higher education institutions to ensure it meets local and global standards.

GOAL 5 GENDER EQUALITY y FNU organised a Gender and Leadership Workshop, which was attended by female academics, lecturers and middle-managers.
The workshop provided women with the opportunity to discuss challenges such as career progression in the higher education sector and how this could be addressed.

This workshop was organised in partnership with The Association of Commonwealth Universities.

y Two FNU instructors Vasenai Kereni and Lani Ragusuloto from CEST were part of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Camp organised by Graduate Women Fiji (GWF).
The duo conducted interactive study sessions to encourage young female participants to develop an interest in the fields of STEM and explore the potential rewarding career pathways it has to offer.

FNU strives to provide opportunities to empower its female staff in achieving gender parity in pay and gender F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 69 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 balance by academic rank and managerial seniority.
It also takes pride in being at the forefront of promoting subjects and careers that are male-dominated.

y GOAL 8 DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH FNU launched the installation phase of the Information Management System University (UMIS).

The UMIS system puts the university on track to provide first-class online self-service experience to students and staff users.
The $20m software implementation will eliminate many of the University’s current manual and paper-based processes while some of the current online systems will be streamlined and made ‘self-service.’ y The NTPC hosted the inaugural National Conference on Information Technology.

The one-day event officiated by the Attorney-General and Minister of Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service and Communications Honourable Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum attracted the country’s leading IT specialists.
The conference focused on knowledge sharing in the best IT practices.

y FNU aligned its library services to digital learning practices.

Keeping in mind the advancements in technology and the accessibility to information through smartphones and laptops, the University enhanced its library services by moving to digital platforms to reach their students with ease and at a reasonable cost.
The University engaged Reuban Sonn from ProQuest and Kelly Harris from GOBI (EBSCO), who presented on varied online databases that enhance learning, sharing and information management in a range of subjects from the world’s top publishers.

y The library facility at the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF) was renovated into a modern learning commons facility.

It provides students with a more interactive, collaborative and inclusive learning environment.
Costing around half a million dollars in refurbishment, the new facility consists of three discussions rooms, which has smart TVs and WIFI connectivity.

Through the industrial attachment course component, FNU implements in its programmes, students are taught and trained in a real-life work environment to ensure they are well-equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge in the field of work they are pursuing.
FNU strives to ensure all its graduates are ‘day-one work-ready’ when the graduate to joing the workforce.

The University also encourages entrepreneurship through its courses, which is a key target of Goal 8.
GOAL 9 INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE digital infrastructure technology and These developments and partnership address Goal 9’s need to develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, information and communications technology, and support domestic technology development, research and innovation.
increase access to GOAL 13 CLIMATE ACTION F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 70 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 adopting environmentally-friendly practices are ways in which the institution contributes to the fight against climate change.

Given the gravity of the climate situation, FNU has also developed Interdisciplinary Studies in Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation programme.
GOAL 14 LIFE BELOW WATER y Two hundred trees were planted at Natabua Campus as part of an initiative to protect and care for the environment.

The seedlings were donated by Ministry of Forests as part of its “Plant 4 Million Trees in Four Years initiative” following a pledge by staff and students in 2018 to join the fight against climate change.
Campus Head, Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba said the initiative was aimed at making students understand they are the future leaders and needed to take into their hands the agendas that are reported in society relating to climate change.

FNU continues to promote such ‘Green initiatives’ to create greater awareness about caring for the environment.

y Staff and students of Natabua Campus conducted a cleanup campaign at Saweni beach, outside Lautoka to mark World Cleanup Day.
About 40 staff and students collected rubbish, trimmed overgrown grass and planted Croton plants (Codiaeum variegatum) along the roadside and at the entrance of the Saweni beach to beautify the area.

The Campus has also embarked on a waste paper recycling project to reduce the amount of waste paper being sent to the landfill.

FNU is at the forefront of climate change action through various activities organised at its campuses.
Clean up campaigns, tree planting initiatives and the sustainable use of natural resources within the institution and y To create greater awareness and education on sustainable offshore fishing practices, a training manual titled “Protected Species Bycatch Mitigation for the Fiji Offshore Fisheries” was launched at the Fiji Maritime Academy (FMA) by the Minister for Fisheries Honourable Semi Koroilaesau.
Bycatch is fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target species and target sizes of fish.

Issues of bycatch are important to safeguard the marine industry for future generations.

The bycatch training manual will provide the fisheries bycatch component in the current Deck Hand Fishing and Offshore Skipper Fishing programmes being taught at the Academy.

46 students enrolled in the programme.


FNU aims to enhance conservation and the sustainable use of ocean-based resources by training the students to assist in controlling overexploitation of marine and coastal stocks.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 71 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FINANCIALS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019 CONTENTS Directors Overview Statement by Appointed Officers Council’s report Auditors’ Independence declaration Independent auditor’s report Statement of Comprehensive Income Statement of financial position Statement of changes in equity Statement of cash flows Notes to the financial statements Disclaimer on additional information Statement of comprehensive income - restricted vs. unrestricted income 72 75 76 80 81 84 85 86 87 88 121 122 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 72 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW 2019 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW The Fiji National University recorded an operating deficit for the year, achieving an operating deficit of $6.1m compared to $58k deficit projected in the budget and compared to $20.0m surplus in 2018.
The operating deficit is mainly due to a $20.7m provision on an outstanding government grant for period 2018/2019.

Without this provision, the university would have recorded an operating surplus of $14.6m which includes restricted items.
The restricted items (such as capital expenditure grants, donor/project income and expenditure, 10% of tuition fees set aside for capital development purposes, Levy Income and Grant payment expenses) if excluded, the University recorded an operating surplus of $2.4m in 2019 compared to a surplus of $10.9m in 2018.

During the year, the net assets decreased by $6.1m, from $316.0m in 2018 to $309.9m in 2018.
The key highlights for the 2019 financial year are as follows: 2019 $m 2018 $m Change $m Change % 178.17 168.41 9.76 6% 184.32 148.43 35.89 24% (6.15) 19.98 (26.13) -131% 12.28 9.12 3.16 35% (18.43) 10.86 (29.29) -270% Operating Revenue Operating Expenses Operating Surplus Adjusted for: Restricted Items FNU Operating Surplus 2017 $M 2016 INCOME Income for 2019 increased by 6.0% to $178.17m from $168.41m in 2018.

Not all components of income have increased.


There was a decrease in hostel income by 20.0% to $7.2m from $8.98m in 2018.

This can be attributed to major renovation works for the student accommodation building for the majority of 2019.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 73 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 However, the major components which showed an increase in income were: y y y y Government Grant which increased by 3% to $61.4m.
This was greatly attributed to UIMS (University Information Management System) project.

Tuition Fees increased by 1% to $65.95m from $65.36m in 2018.

This is largely due to an increase in EFTS by 3% from 11,897 in 2018 to 12,226 in 2019.

Levy income has increased by 62% from $14.6m in 2018 to $23.6m in 2019 due to payments to ACF and Medical Insurance.
Other Income comprising of consultancy income, enrolment fees, dividend income, project income has increased by 2% to $19.9m from $19.6m in 2018. income and finance Income from tuition fees at 37% remains the highest percentage of revenue source for the University.

There is continued growth of income from government grants over the last 5 years.

Tuition income and government grant contribute approximately 71% of the revenue source for the University.
REVENUE SOURCE FOR UNIVERSITY 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% E U N E V E R L A T O T 0%% 10% 13% 4% 2% 37% 34% 9% 9% 5% 2% 39% 36% 2019 2018 Government Grant Student Tuition Fees Project Income Hostel Fees Levy Income Other Income EXPENDITURE Total operating expenses increased by 24.2% in 2019.

The operating cost increased by 47.3% and personnel cost increased by 2.0%.

The major increase in operating cost was due to $20.7m provision on an outstanding government grant for the 2018/2019 period.
Without this provision operating expenditure is up by $3.3m or 7% due to expenditure on UIMS project and internet and broadband charges.

The increase in personnel cost was due to an increase in staff allowances and benefits such as Professional Training and Development expenses (PTD) and staff medical insurance.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 74 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 UNIVERSITY EXPENDITURE FINANCIAL POSITION 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% E R U T I D N E P X E L A T O T 0%% 6% 10% 41% 43% 8% 6% 34% 52% 20 19 20 18 Personal Cost Non Personal Cost Levy Expenses Depreciation CASH FLOW AND FINANCING The University generated $17.1m of net cash flow from the operating activities, compared to $19.3m in 2018.
The decrease is largely attributed to faster payment to suppliers and payments to ACF and for Medical Services.

The University spent $35.3m on capital expenditure.

Overall, there was a net increase in cash and cash equivalent of $1.2m compared to a net decrease of $43.8m in 2018.

The available cash reserve at the end of the year was adequate to operate the University for 5.5 months, above the required 3 months of reserve.

This is masked by capital projects scheduled in 2020.
This will be below the required reserve if the University deploys all the resources allocated for its capital developments and projects.

The University’s financial position remains strong as at 31st December 2019, with its net assets of $309.89m, a slight decrease of 2% compared to 2018 of $316.04m.

The Capital Assets of $273.7m includes investment in land, buildings and equipment and represents 67% of the University’s total assets.
The increase in total assets is mainly due to new capital projects, such as Labasa Campus, CBHTS office, fitness centre and maritime campus.

The increase in non-current assets from 2018 was driven by an increase in new capital projects, such as Labasa Campus, CBHTS office, fitness centre and maritime campus.

Liabilities increased as well for the same period due to provisions and accruals.
CONCLUSION AND FURTHER OUTLOOK The 2019 financial result shows that the University continues to improve its financial performance.

It will continue to exist as a going concern and remains sustainable over the long term.

The position might change if there is a significant change to its main revenue sources.
NILESH PRASAD Director Finance STATEMENT BY APPOINTED OFFICERS For the year ended 31 December 2019 In our opinion, the accompanying Financial Statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Fiji National University as at 31 December 2019 and of its financial performance for the year ended on that date.

We are not aware of any circumstances which would render any particulars included in the financial statements misleading or inaccurate.

Dated at Suva, this 8th day of May 2020.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 75 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Ms. Tessa Price Acting Chancellor & Chair of Council Dr. Nur Bano Ali Chair, Financial Resources Committee Nilesh Prasad Director Finance F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 76 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COUNCIL’S REPORT For the year ended 31 December 2019 In accordance with a resolution of the Council of the Fiji National University, the Council members herewith submit the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 and report as follows: Council Members The names of the Council members in office at the date of this report were: Name Title Appointment Term Prof. Rajesh Chandra Official Member / Chancellor & Chair of Council Appointed 03/04/2019 Prof. James Pounder Official Member / Acting Vice Chancellor Appointed 01/04/2020 Ms. Susan Kiran Ms. Tessa Price Appointed Member Official Member / Acting PS Ministry of Education Appointed 07/01/2020 Prof. Dharmendra Sharma Appointed Member Ms. Lala Sowane Appointed Member Mr. Raymond Prasad Appointed Member Prof. Barry McGrath Appointed Member Dr. Joseph Veramo Appointed Member Dr. Penuel Immanuel Appointed Member Dr. Nur Bano Ali Appointed Member Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake Appointed Member Prof. Ravi Naidu Appointed Member Dr. Akhila Nand Sharma Appointed Member Mr. Devanesh Sharma Appointed Member Mr. Vishnu Mohan Appointed Member Mr. Gordon Jenkins Appointed Member Dr. Eci Nabalarua Elected Deans Rep. Prof. John Chelliah Elected Professorial Rep. Dr. Mumtaz Alam Re-Elected Non-Professorial Rep. Ms. Makereta Batimoko Elected Student Rep.
Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Appointed 29/04/2019 Elected 05/09/2018 Elected 05/09/2018 Elected 05/09/2018 Elected 05/10/2018 Formation of Fiji National University Fiji National University (“the University”) was established by the Fiji National University Decree 2009 (as amended by the Fiji National University (Amendment) Decree 2010) (“the FNU Decree”).
Principal Activities The principal activities of the University are the provision of post-secondary programs of study in higher education, technical, vocational education and training that are responsive to the needs of industry, the market place and non- formal sector of employment to students from Fiji and other countries in the South Pacific region.

Results The operating deficit for the financial year was ($6,146,486) (2018: 19,983,558).
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 77 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COUNCIL’S REPORT continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 Bad and Doubtful Debts Prior to the completion of the University’s financial statements, the Council members took reasonable steps to ascertain that action has been taken in relation to making of provision for doubtful debts.

In the opinion of Council members, adequate provision has been made for doubtful debts.
As at the date of this report, the Council members are not aware of any circumstances, which would render the amount written off for bad debts, or the provision for doubtful debts in the University’s financial statements, inadequate to any substantial extent.
Non-Current Assets Prior to the approval of the financial statements of the University, the Council members took reasonable steps to ascertain whether any non-current assets were unlikely to realise in the ordinary course of business their values as shown in the accounting records of the University.

Where necessary, these assets have been written down or adequate provision has been made to bring the values of such assets to an amount that they might be expected to realise.
The Council believes that all property, including leasehold land, has been vested into the University under the FNU Decree.

However, the Council notes that the finalisation of boundaries and allocations of land leases to certain properties have not been completed as at the date of this report.

As a result, these financial statements include a number of estimates as explained in Note 13.
The Council has made every effort to complete this process and is confident that the transfer of this remaining property will be finalised as per the FNU Decree.

Apart from the above, as at the date of this report, the Council members are not aware of any circumstances, which would render the values attributed to non-current assets in the University’s financial statements misleading.
The Council notes that at the end of 2019 and at the date of this report, the University is in discussion with the following Ministries regarding outstanding grant payments to the University that were initially pledged but not paid to the University during the 2010 financial year: 1) Ministry of Health - $563,602 ($500,000 for FSM 4th quarter grant & $63,602 short payment for FSN Grant); and 2) Ministry of Agriculture $100,000 - short payment for FCA Grant.
These amounts have not been recorded as a receivable in the financial statements.

Significant Events As at date of this report, the Council members are not aware of any other significant event, other than those already included in the financial statements.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 78 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COUNCIL’S REPORT continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 Events Subsequent to Balance Date 1) On 01 January 2020, Technical college of Fiji (TCF) merged with the Fiji National University (FNU).

It is expected that its operations will be covered by the additional grant allocation by Fijian Government.
2) Subsequent to end of the financial year, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020.

On 16 March 2020, the University released its first Covid-19 Contingency Plans.

In the event that the University is required to close its campuses should there be an outbreak of Covid-19 infection, the Directors of support divisions have been requested to identify those staff who are critical to the University’s business continuity.
These staff will be provided with the ICT equipment and support necessary for them to operate software systems like payroll, website maintenance, telephone reception services from home.

In the event that the University is required to close its campuses should there be an outbreak of Covid-19 infections, academic staff are requested to deliver their courses by Moodle, supplemented by email, online discussion forums and Zoom.
The Centre for Flexible and E-Learning is preparing guidance and support for staff to help them deliver their teaching from home.

We have not seen a significant impact on our business to date.

The outbreak and the response of Governments in dealing with the pandemic is interfering with general activity levels within the community, the economy and the operations of our business.
The scale and duration of these developments remain uncertain as at the date of this report however they will have an impact on our earnings, cash flow and financial condition.

It is not possible to estimate the impact of the outbreak’s near-term and longer effects or Governments’ varying efforts to combat the outbreak and support businesses.
This being the case, we do not consider it practicable to provide a quantitative or qualitative estimate of the potential impact of this outbreak on the University at this time.

The financial statements have been prepared based upon conditions existing at 31 December 2019 and considering those events occurring subsequent to that date, that provide evidence of conditions that existed at the end of the reporting period.
As the outbreak of COVID-19 occurred after 31 December 2019, its impact is considered an event that is indicative of conditions that arose after the reporting period and accordingly, no adjustments have been made to financial statements as at 31 December 2019 for the impacts of COVID-19.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 79 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COUNCIL’S REPORT continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 Other Circumstances As at the date of this report: i. ii.

iii.
no charge on the assets of the University has been given since the end of the financial year to secure the liabilities of any other person; no contingent liabilities have arisen since the end of the financial year for which the University could become liable; and no contingent liabilities or other liabilities of the University has become or is likely to become enforceable within the period of twelve months after the end of the financial year which, in the opinion of the Council members, will or may substantially affect the ability of the University to meet its obligations as and when they fall due.
As at the date of this report, the Council members are not aware of any circumstances that have arisen, not otherwise dealt with in this report or the University’s financial statements, which would make adherence to the existing method of valuation of assets or liabilities of the University misleading or inappropriate.
No Council member has received or become entitled to receive a benefit (other than those disclosed in the financial statements) by reason of a contract made by the University or by a related corporation with the Council member or with a firm of which he/she is a member, or with an entity in which he/she has a substantial financial interest, except members who have a contract of employment with the University.

For and on behalf of the Council and in accordance with a resolution of the Council members.
Dated at Suva, this 8th day of May 2020.
Ms. Tessa Price Acting Chancellor & Chair of Council Dr. Nur Bano Ali Chair, Financial Resources Committee F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 80 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Auditor’s Independence Declaration to the Council of Fiji National University As lead auditor for the audit of Fiji National University for the financial year ended 31 December 2019, I declare to the best of my knowledge and belief, there have been: a) no contraventions of the auditor independence requirements in relation to the audit; and b) no contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit.
This declaration is in respect of Fiji National University for the financial year.
Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants Sikeli Tuinamuana Partner Suva, Fiji A member firm of ErnstT & Young Global Limited F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 81 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 To the Council of the Fiji National University Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements Opinion We have audited the financial statements of the Fiji National University (“the University”), which comprise the statement of financial position as at 31 December 2019, the statement of comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity and the statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies.
In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the University as at 31 December 2019, and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).

Emphasis of Matter Without qualifying the opinion expressed above, we draw attention to the following: 1.
Note 13 of the financial statements describes the uncertainty related to the finalization of the transfer of lease arrangements to the University in respect of certain leasehold land assets that were vested in the University under the Fiji National Decree 2009 (as amended by the Fiji National University (Amendment) Decree 2010).

The transfer of these lease arrangements has not been completed at the date of approval of these financial statements.

2.
2.

Note 31 of the financial report which notes the World Health Organisation’s declaration of the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic subsequent to 31 December 2019 and how this has been considered by the Council in the preparation of the financial report.

As set out in Note 31, no adjustments have been made to financial statements as at 31 December 2019 for the impacts of COVID-19.

Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
Basis for Opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA).

Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report.
We are independent of the University in accordance with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountant’s Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (IESBA Code) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in Fiji and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA Code.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Responsibilities of the University Council and management for the Financial Statements The University Council and management are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with IFRS, and for such internal control as the University Council and management determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
A member firm of ErnstT & Young Global Limited F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 82 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements (continued) Responsibilities of the University Council and management for the Financial Statements (continued) In preparing the financial statements, the University Council and management are responsible for assessing the University’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the University Council and management either intend to liquidate the University or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
The University Council and management are responsible for overseeing the University’s financial reporting process.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISA will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud and error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISA, we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.

We also:  Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control;  Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the University’s internal control;  Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management;  Conclude on the appropriateness of the University Council and management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the University’s ability to continue as a going concern.
If we conclude that material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures, are inadequate, to modify our opinion.

Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report.
However, future events or conditions may cause the University to cease to continue as a going concern; and A member firm of ErnstT & Young Global Limited F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 83 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements (continued)  Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
We communicate with the University Council and management regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
We also provide the University Council and management with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements In accordance with the requirements of the Fiji National University Decree 2009, in our opinion: a) Proper books of account have been kept by the University, so far as it appears from our examination of those books; b) the accompanying financial statements: i. are in agreement with the books of account; and ii.
to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, give the information required by the Fiji National University Decree 2009 in the manner so required.
Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants Sikeli Tuinamuana Partner Suva, Fiji F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 84 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME For the year ended 31 December 2019 Income Fiji Government operating grant Student tuition fees Project income Hostel income NTPC levy income Net gain on change in fair value of equity instruments Other income Total income Expenses Employee related expenses Other operating expenses Depreciation and amortisation NTPC levy expenses Total expenses Interest expense Finance income Operating Surplus before income tax Income tax expense Operating surplus for the year Notes 6 7 9 27(b) 8 10 11 13,15 27(b) 12 3(I) 2019 $ 61,437,777 65,946,525 3,716,050 7,199,877 23,657,800 1,392,278 9,702,854 2018 $ 59,854,081 65,364,703 2,607,005 8,981,975 14,628,597 2,438,834 10,429,101 173,053,161 164,304,296 (79,284,387) (74,950,200) (11,475,987) (18,434,641) (77,738,635) (50,819,803) (11,214,619) (8,475,222) (184,145,215) (148,248,279) (175,096) 5,120,664 (178,616) 4,106,157 (6,146,486) 19,983,558 - - (6,146,486) 19,983,558 Total comprehensive income for the year (6,146,486) 19,983,558 The accompanying notes form an integral part of this Statement of Comprehensive Income.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 85 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION As at 31 December 2019 Current assets Cash and cash equivalents Trade and other receivables Inventories Other financial assets Other assets Total current assets Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment Biological assets Intangible assets Right-of-use assets Other financial assets Total non-current assets Total assets Current liabilities Trade and other payables Employee benefits Lease liability Deferred income Deferred levy liability Total current liabilities Non-current liabilities Deferred income Lease liability Unexpended project income Total non-current liabilities Total liabilities Net assets Equity Other contributed equity Retained earnings Notes 13(ii) 14 15 13(i) 19 23 24 26 22 27 22 26 25 2019 $ 40,215,114 22,097,784 572,321 63,098,598 7,122,881 2018 $ 21(a) 188,856,243 188,856,243 121,033,834 127,180,320 309,890,077 316,036,563 The accompanying notes form an integral part of this Statement of Financial Position.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 86 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY For the year ended 31 December 2019 Other contributed equity Fair value reserve Retained earnings Total equity $ $ $ $ Balance at 1 January 2018 188,856,243 3,530,367 103,666,395 296,053,005 Transfer of fair value gain of equity instruments previously designated at FVOCI - IFRS 9 adjustments Comprehensive income for the year Operating surplus for the year Movement in fair value of available for sale financial assets - - - Total comprehensive income for the year 188,856,243 Transactions with owners of the University, recognised directly in equity Balance at 31 December 2018 188,856,243 Balance at 1 January 2019 188,856,243 Comprehensive income for the year Operating surplus - (3,530,367) 3,530,367 - - - - - - - 19,983,558 19,983,558 - - 127,180,320 316,036,563 127,180,320 316,036,563 127,180,320 316,036,563 (6,146,486) (6,146,486) Total comprehensive income for the year 188,856,243 - 121,033,834 309,890,077 Balance at 31 December 2019 188,856,243 - 121,033,834 309,890,077 The accompanying notes form an integral part of this Statement of Changes in Equity.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 87 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS For the year ended 31 December 2019 Note Cash flows from operating activities Fiji Government grants received Receipts from employers in respect of levy Receipts from student fees Receipts from trading activities Payments to suppliers Payments to employees Payments of training grants to employers Cash receipts in respect of projects Interest received Net cash flow from operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Fiji Government capital grants received Net payments for property, plant and equipment Net transfers to term deposits Dividends received 2019 $ 58,813,956 25,717,152 74,300,132 10,608,097 2018 $ 41,702,820 24,709,149 70,998,446 7,754,511 (60,166,472) (45,845,678) (78,919,278) (77,431,448) (18,434,641) (8,475,224) 1,257,767 3,886,507 1,997,576 3,928,715 17,063,220 19,338,867 17,830,529 7,461,228 (35,311,781) (35,504,008) 1,608,936 (35,099,697) 25,227 24,773 Net cash flow used in investing activities (15,847,089) (63,117,704) Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents 1,216,131 (43,778,837) Cash and cash equivalents as at 1 January 38,998,983 82,777,820 Cash and cash equivalents as at 31 December 16 40,215,114 38,998,983 The accompanying notes form an integral part of this Statement of Cash Flows.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 88 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 December 2019 1.

Reporting Entity Fiji National University (the “University” or “FNU”) was established by the Fiji National University Decree 2009 (as amended by the Fiji National University (Amendment) Decree 2010) (“FNU Decree”) to serve the needs of the post-secondary educational requirements for the Republic of Fiji.
The address of the University’s registered office is Lot 1, 5 ½ miles Nasinu, Fiji.

2.

Basis of preparation a.

Statement of compliance The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the requirements of the FNU Decree.

The financial statements were approved by the University’s Council on 02 May 2020. b.
Basis of measurement The financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis except for available-for-sale financial assets that are measured at fair value.

The accounting policies have been consistently applied by the University.

Functional and presentation currency The financial statements are presented in Fiji dollars, which is the University’s functional currency, and are rounded to the nearest dollar.
c. Use of estimates and judgments The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses.

Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.
Information about critical judgments in applying accounting policies that have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements is included in the following notes: Note 13 (ii) – Property, plant and equipment Note 3 (k) – Revenue recognition Note 3 (h) – Impairment Measurement of fair value When measuring the fair value of an asset or a liability, the University uses market observable data as far as possible.
Fair values are categorized into different levels in a fair value hierarchy based on the inputs used in the valuation techniques as follows: F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 89 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 2.
Basis of preparation (continued) c. Use of estimates and judgments (continued) Measurement of fair value (continued) Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2:inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e.

as prices) or indirectly (i.e.)

derived from prices).

Level 3: inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).
If the inputs used to measure the fair value of an asset or a liability might be categorized in different levels of the fair value hierarchy, then the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirely in the same level of the fair value hierarchy as the lowest level input that is significant to the entire measurement.

The University recognizes transfers between levels of the hierarchy at the end of the reporting period during which the change has occurred.
Further information about the assumptions made in measuring fair values is included in the following notes: Note 14 – Biological assets.

d. Changes in accounting policies and disclosures New standards and interpretations There were no new standards adopted in year 2019. e. Standards issued but not yet effective The standards and interpretations that are issued, but not yet effective, up to the date of issuance of the University’s financial statements are disclosed below.
The University intends to adopt these standards, if applicable, when they become effective.

New or amended standards Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8: Definition of Material Summary of the requirements In October 2018, the IASB issued amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors to align the definition of ‘material’ across the standards and to clarify certain aspects of the definition.
The new definition states that, ’Information is material if omitting, misstating or obscuring it could reasonably be expected to influence decisions that the primary users of general purpose financial statements make on the basis of those financial statements, which provide financial information about a specific reporting entity.

Possible impact on financial statements The amendments to the definition of material is not expected to have a significant impact on the University’s financial statements.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 90 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.

Significant accounting policies The accounting policies set out below have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these financial statements.

Certain comparative amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year’s presentation.

a.
a.

Foreign currency transactions Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into Fiji dollars at exchange rates at the dates of the transactions.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the reporting date are translated into Fiji dollars at the exchange rate at that date.

The foreign currency gains or losses on translation are recognised in profit or loss.

b.
b.

Property, plant and equipment Recognition and measurement Items of property, plant and equipment are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses.

Property, plant and equipment that became assets of the University on 1 January 2010 and 30 November 2010 under the FNU Decree were valued by independent valuers as at 1 January 2010 and, for TPAF, 30 November 2010.

These values became the ‘deemed cost’ to the University.
Cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the asset.

The cost of self- constructed assets includes the cost of materials and direct labour, any other costs directly attributable to bringing the assets to a working condition for their intended use, the costs of dismantling and removing the items and restoring the site on which they are located, and capitalised borrowing costs.
Purchased software that is integral to the functionality of the related equipment is capitalised as part of that equipment.

When parts of an item of property, plant and equipment have different useful lives, they are accounted for as separate items (major components) of property, plant and equipment.
Gains and losses on disposal of an item of property, plant and equipment are determined by comparing the proceeds from disposal with the carrying amount of property, plant and equipment, and are recognised net within other income in profit or loss.
Subsequent expenditure The cost of replacing part of an item of property, plant and equipment is recognised in the carrying amount of the item if it is probable that the future economic benefit embodied within the part will flow to the University and its cost can be measured reliably.

The cost of the day-to-day servicing of plant and equipment is recognised in profit or loss as incurred.
Depreciation Property, plant and equipment, with the exception of freehold land, is depreciated on a straight line basis over their estimated useful lives.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 91 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.

Significant accounting policies (continued) b.


Property, plant and equipment (continued) Depreciation (continued) The depreciation rates for each class of assets are as follows: Buildings and improvements 2% Motor vehicles Plant and equipment 20% - 33% Computers 20% 33% Furniture and fittings 20% Leasehold land Term of lease Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each financial year-end and adjusted if appropriate.
c. Intangible assets IT Software IT software which is purchased, developed, or implemented, is recorded at cost and is amortised over its estimated useful life.

Computer software 2% d. Financial instruments (i) Financial assets Financial assets are classified, at initial recognition, as subsequently measured at amortised cost, fair value through other comprehensive income (OCI), and fair value through profit or loss.
The classification of financial assets at initial recognition depends on the financial asset’s contractual cash flow characteristics and the University’s business model for managing them.
With the exception of trade receivables that do not contain a significant financing component or for which the University has applied the practical expedient, the University initially measures a financial asset at its fair value plus, in the case of a financial asset not at fair value through profit or loss, transaction costs.
Trade receivables that do not contain a significant financing component or for which the University has applied the practical expedient are measured at the transaction price determined under IFRS 15.

Refer to the accounting policies in section (k) Revenue from contracts with customers.
In order for a financial asset to be classified and measured at amortised cost or fair value through OCI, it needs to give rise to cash flows that are ‘solely payments of principal and interest (SPPI)’ on the principal amount outstanding.

This assessment is referred to as the SPPI test and is performed at an instrument level.

The University’s business model for managing financial assets refers to how it manages its financial assets in order to generate cash flows.
The business model determines whether cash flows will result from collecting contractual cash flows, selling the financial assets, or both.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 92 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.
Significant accounting policies (continued) d. Financial instruments (continued) (i) Financial assets (continued) Purchases or sales of financial assets that require delivery of assets within a time frame established by regulation or convention in the market place (regular way trades) are recognised on the trade date, i.e., the date that the University commits to purchase or sell the asset.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount presented in the statement of financial position when, and only when, the University has a legal right to offset the amounts and intends either to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
For purposes of subsequent measurement, financial assets are classified in four categories: y Financial assets at amortised cost (debt instruments and trade receivables) y Financial assets at fair value through OCI with recycling of cumulative gains and losses (debt instruments) y Financial assets designated at fair value through OCI with no recycling of cumulative gains and losses upon de-recognition (equity instruments) y Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss Financial assets at amortised cost: This category is the most relevant to the University.
The University measures financial assets at amortised cost if both of the following conditions are met: y The financial asset is held within a business model with the objective to hold financial assets in order to collect contractual cash flows; and y The contractual terms of the financial asset give rise on specified dates to cash flows that are solely payments of principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding.
Financial assets at amortised cost are subsequently measured using the effective interest (EIR) method and are subject to impairment.

Gains and losses are recognised in profit or loss when the asset is derecognised, modified or impaired.

The University’s financial assets at amortised cost includes trade receivables, cash and cash equivalent, interest bearing deposits and term deposit with original term greater than 90 days.
Financial assets at fair value through OCI (debt instruments) The University measures debt instruments at fair value through OCI if both of the following conditions are met: y The financial asset is held within a business model with the objective of both holding to collect contractual cash flows and selling; and y The contractual terms of the financial asset give rise on specified dates to cash flows that are solely payments of principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 93 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.Significant accounting policies (continued) d. Financial instruments (continued) (i)Financial assets (continued) For debt instruments at fair value through OCI, interest income, foreign exchange revaluation and impairment losses or reversals are recognised in the statement of profit or loss and computed in the same manner as for financial assets measured at amortised cost.
The remaining fair value changes are recognised in OCI.

Upon de-recognition, the cumulative fair value change recognised in OCI is recycled to profit or loss.

The University has not designated any financial assets as debt instruments at fair value through OCI.
Financial assets designated at fair value through OCI (equity instruments) Upon initial recognition, the University can elect to classify irrevocably its equity investments as equity instruments designated at fair value through OCI when they meet the definition of equity under IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation and are not held for trading.

The classification is determined on an instrument-by- instrument basis.

Gains and losses on these financial assets are never recycled to profit or loss.
Dividends are recognised as other income in the statement of profit or loss when the right of payment has been established, except when the University benefits from such proceeds as a recovery of part of the cost of the financial asset, in which case, such gains are recorded in OCI.

Equity instruments designated at fair value through OCI are not subject to impairment assessment.

The University has not designated any financial assets as equity instruments at fair value through OCI.
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss include financial assets held for trading, financial assets designated upon initial recognition at fair value through profit or loss, or financial assets mandatorily required to be measured at fair value.

Financial assets are classified as held for trading if they are acquired for the purpose of selling or repurchasing in the near term.
Derivatives, including separated embedded derivatives, are also classified as held for trading unless they are designated as effective hedging instruments.

Financial assets with cash flows that are not solely payments of principal and interest are classified and measured at fair value through profit or loss, irrespective of the business model.
Notwithstanding the criteria for debt instruments to be classified at amortised cost or at fair value through OCI, as described above, debt instruments may be designated at fair value through profit or loss on initial recognition if doing so eliminates, or significantly reduces, an accounting mismatch.

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss are carried in the statement of financial position at fair value with net changes in fair value recognised in the statement of profit or loss.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 94 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.
Significant accounting policies (continued) d. Financial instruments (continued) (i) Financial assets (continued) Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss (Continued) This category includes derivative instruments and listed equity investments which the University had not irrevocably elected to classify at fair value through OCI.

Dividends on listed equity investments are also recognised as other income in the statement of profit or loss when the right of payment has been established.
De-recognition The University derecognises a financial asset when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire, or it transfers the rights to receive the contractual cash flows on the financial asset in a transaction in which substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the financial asset are transferred.

Any interest in transferred financial assets that is created or retained by the University is recognised as a separate asset or liability.
(ii) Non-derivative financial liabilities The University initially recognises debt securities issued on the date that they are originated.

All other financial liabilities are recognised initially on the trade date at which the University becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

The University derecognises a financial liability when its contractual obligations are discharged or cancelled or expire.

The University has trade and other payables as non-derivative financial liabilities.
Such financial liabilities are recognised initially at fair value plus any directly attributable transaction costs.

Subsequent to initial recognition these financial liabilities are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

e. Inventories Inventories are measured at the lower of cost and net realisable value.
The cost of inventories is based on the weighted average principle, and includes expenditure incurred in acquiring the inventories, production or conversion costs and other costs incurred in bringing them to their existing location and condition.

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less the estimated costs of completion and selling expenses.
f. Leased assets Leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified as operating leases.

Payments made under operating leases (net of incentives received from the lessor) are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.
Significant accounting policies (continued) g. Biological assets Biological assets are measured at fair value less cost to sell, with any change therein recognized in profit or loss.

h. Impairment (i) Non-derivative financial assets F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 95 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 A financial asset not carried at fair value through profit or loss is assessed at each reporting date to determine whether there is objective evidence that it is impaired.
A financial asset is impaired if objective evidence indicates that a loss event has occurred after the initial recognition of the asset, and that the loss event had a negative effect on the estimated future cash flows of that asset that can be estimated reliably.
Objective evidence that financial assets are impaired can include default or delinquency by a debtor, restructuring of an amount due to the University on terms that the University would not consider otherwise, indications that a debtor or issuer will enter bankruptcy and the disappearance of an active market for a security.

In addition, for an investment in an equity security, a significant or prolonged decline in its fair value below cost is objective evidence of impairment.
Financial assets measured at amortised cost The University considers evidence of impairment for financial asserts measured at amortised cost (loans and receivables) at both a specific asset and collective level.

All individually significant receivables are assessed for specific impairment.

Those found not to be specifically impaired are then collectively assessed for any impairment that has been incurred but not yet identified.
Assets that are not individually significant are collectively assessed for impairment by grouping together receivables with similar risk characteristics.

In assessing collective impairment the University uses historical trends of the probability of default, timing of recoveries and the amount of loss incurred, adjusted for management’s judgement as to whether current economic and credit conditions are such that the actual losses are likely to be greater or less than suggested by historical trends.
The recoverable amount of an asset or cash-generating unit (“CGU”) is the greater of its value in use and its fair value less costs to sell.

In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset or CGU.
For the purpose of impairment testing, assets that cannot be tested individually are grouped together into the smallest group of assets that generates cash inflows from continuing use that are largely independent of the cash inflows of other assets or CGUs.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 96 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.
Significant accounting policies (continued) h. Impairment (continued) (i) Non-derivative financial assets (continued) An impairment loss is recognised if the carrying amount of an asset or its CGU exceeds its estimated recoverable amount.

Impairment losses are recognised in profit or loss.
Impairment losses recognised in respect of CGUs are allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the units, and then to reduce the carrying amounts of the other assets in the unit (group of units) on a pro rata basis.

An impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined, net of depreciation or amortisation, if no impairment loss had been recognised.

i.
i.

Employee benefits Superannuation Contributions are paid to the Fiji National Provident Fund on behalf of employees to secure retirement benefits.

Costs are included in profit or loss as the services are rendered by employees.

Short-term benefits Short-term employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and are expensed in profit or loss as the related service is provided.
A liability is recognised for the amount to be paid under short-term benefits if the University has a present or constructive obligation to pay this amount as a result of past service provided by the employee and the obligation can be measured reliably.

Liabilities for non-accumulating sick leave are recognised when the leave is taken and measured at the rates paid or payable.
Other long term employee benefits The University’s net obligation in respect of long-term employee benefits other than pension plans is the amount of future benefit that employees have earned in return for their service in the current and prior periods; that benefit is discounted to determine its present value, and the fair value of any related assets is deducted.
The discount rate is the yield at the reporting date on government bonds that have maturity dates approximating the terms of the University’s obligations.

Any actuarial gains and losses are recognised in profit or loss in the period in which they arise.

Bonus plans The University pays bonuses to employees based on performance of the University and achievement of individual objectives by the employees.
The University recognises a provision where contractually obliged or where there is a past practice that has created a constructive obligation.

j.

Operating expenses Expenses are recognised on an accrual basis.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 97 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.
Significant accounting policies (continued) k. Revenue recognition Revenue comprises the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for the sale of goods and services in the ordinary course of the University’s activities.

Revenue is shown net of value-added tax, returns, rebates and discounts.
The University recognises revenue when the amount of revenue can be reliably measured, it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the entity and when specific criteria have been met for each of the University’s activities as described below.

The amount of revenue is not considered to be reliably measurable until all contingencies relating to the sale have been resolved.
The University bases its estimates on historical results, taking into consideration the type of customer, the type of transaction and the specifics of each arrangement.

Revenue is recognised for the major activities as follows: (i) Government grants The University treats operating grants received from the Fiji Government as income in the year of receipt or when entitlement to the grant is established.
Government grant in respect of capex are recognised initially as deferred income when there is reasonable assurance that they will be received and the University will comply with the conditions associated with the grant and are then recognised in profit or loss as income on a systematic basis over the useful life of the asset.
(ii) Project income Grants that compensate the University for expenses incurred are recognised in profit or loss as income on a systematic basis in the same periods in which the expenses are recognised.

(iii) Student tuition fees Student tuition fee income is generated from fee-paying courses for local and overseas students.

Revenue is recognised in the same period as the courses for which the fee income is derived are held.
Upfront payments by students for courses being held in the next teaching year are treated as deferred income and recorded as revenue in the following year as the course is provided.

(iv) Non tuition fees and charges Fees and charges comprise other services provided to students, which are recognised as the service is provided.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 98 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.

Significant accounting policies (continued) k. Revenue recognition (continued) (v) NTPC Levy income NTPC Levies collected from employers are recognised initially as deferred income.
The deferred income is recognised in profit or loss as income in the period that training grants are made to employers or related training expenses are incurred.

Any remaining amounts are recognised as income once the University has paid all grant claims to employers in respect of those levies and has no further obligation in respect of that levy period.

Estimates of grants expected to be made are based on historical data.
(vi) Interest income Interest income is recognised as finance income as it accrues using the effective interest method.

(vii) Trading activities Revenue in respect of trading activities is recognised at the point of sale for goods, or as the service is performed.

(viii) Asset sales The net gain on asset sales is included as other income and the net loss as an expense.
The profit or loss on disposal of assets is brought to account when the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the assets have been transferred to the buyer.

l. Taxes Income tax exemption The University is exempt from income tax in accordance with the provisions of the Fiji Income Tax Act 2015.
Other taxes Revenue, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of Value Added Tax (VAT) except where the VAT incurred on a purchase of goods or services is not recoverable from the taxation authority, in which case the VAT is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of the expense item as applicable.

Receivables and payables are stated with the amount of VAT included, if applicable.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 99 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 3.

Significant accounting policies (continued) m. Business combinations Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method when control is transferred to the University.

The consideration transferred in the acquisition is generally measured at fair value, as are the identifiable assets acquired.
Any goodwill that arises is tested annually for impairment.

Any gain on a bargain purchase is recognized in profit or loss immediately.

Transaction costs are expensed as incurred, except if related to the issue of debt or equity securities.

The consideration transferred does not include amounts related to the settlement of pre-existing relationships.

Such amounts are generally recognized in profit or loss.

Any contingent consideration payable is measured at fair value at the acquisition date.
If the contingent consideration is classified as equity, then it is not remeasured and settlement is accounted for within equity.

Otherwise subsequent changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration are recognized in profit or loss.

n. Comparatives Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform with presentation in the current year.

4.
4.

Segment information For management purposes, the University is organised into business units based on its products and services and has two reportable segments, as follows: y The National Training & Productivity Centre (‘NTPC’) segment, which provide training to organisations to enhance their efficiency, productivity and enable them to compete in the domestic, national, regional and global market.
y The Uni-services segments, which is the commercial arm of Fiji National University aims to optimize service delivery to its customers (students and staff) in terms of cafeterias, accommodation, security, transportation and bookshops The Executive Management monitors the operating results of its business units separately for the purpose of making decisions about resource allocation and performance assessment.
Segment performance is evaluated based on profit or loss and is measured consistently with profit or loss in the financial statements.

However, the financing (including finance costs and finance income) are managed on a group basis and are not allocated to operating segments.

Transfer prices between operating segments are on an arm’s length basis in a manner similar to transactions with third parties.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 100 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 4.
Segment information (continued) Year ended 31 December 2018 NTPC Uni-services Adjustments and eliminations Revenue Levy Income Hostel income Student fees Other Trading Activities Other Income Total revenue Expenses $ 14,628,597 $ - - 3,112,838 6,141,917 12,747 345,585 - 9,289,668 460,440 21,128,846 12,862,946 Depreciation and amortisation (755,120) (369,085) Levy expense Personnel expenses Other operating expenses Total expense Support allocation Segment profit (8,475,222) - (5,131,974) (3,264,332) (3,115,217) (5,828,570) (17,477,533) (9,461,987) (5,243,260) (5,145,178) (1,591,947) (1,744,219) $ - - - - - - - - - - - Year ended 31 December 2019 NTPC Uni-services Adjustments and eliminations Revenue Levy Income Hostel income Student fees Other Trading Activities Other Income Total revenue Expenses Depreciation and amortisation Levy expense Personnel expenses Other operating expenses Total expense Support allocation Segment profit $ 23,657,800 $ - - 2,544,559 5,854,976 2,228 94,174 - 7,624,647 178,647 29,609,178 10,347,853 - (18,434,641) - - (5,028,013) (2,814,391) (2,257,403) (4,851,594) (25,720,057) (7,665,985) (2,185,625) (4,139,141) 1,703,496 (1,457,273) $ - - - - - - - - - - - - - Total $ 14,628,597 3,112,838 6,141,917 9,302,415 806,025 33,991,792 (1,124,205) (8,475,222) (8,396,306) (8,943,787) (26,939,520) (10,388,438) (3,336,166) Total $ 23,657,800 2,544,559 5,854,976 7,626,875 272,821 33,991,792 - (18,434,641) (7,842,404) (7,108,997) (33,386,042) (6,324,766) 246,223 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 101 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 5.
Financial risk management The University’s has exposure to the following risks: (i) Credit risk; (ii) Liquidity risk; and (iii) Market risk This note presents information about the University’s exposure to each of the above risks, the University’s objectives, policies and processes for measuring and managing risk.

Further quantitative disclosures are included throughout these financial statements.
Risk management framework The Council has overall responsibility for the establishment and oversight of the University’s risk management framework.

The University’s risk management policies are established to identify and analyse the risks faced by the University, to set appropriate risk limits and controls, and to monitor risks and adherence to limits.
Risk management policies and systems are reviewed regularly to reflect changes in market conditions and the University’s activities The University’s risk management policies are established to identify and analyse the risks faced by the University, to set appropriate risk limits and controls, and to monitor risks and adherence to limits.

Risk management policies and systems are reviewed regularly to reflect changes in market conditions and the University’s activities.
The University, through its training and management standards and procedures, aims to develop a disciplined and constructive control environment in which all employees understand their roles and obligations.

(i) Credit risk Credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the University if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual obligations, and arises principally from the University’s cash and cash equivalents, receivables and other financial assets.
The maximum exposure to credit risk at balance date to recognised financial assets, is the carrying amount, net of any provisions for impairment of these assets, as disclosed in the statement of financial position and notes to the financial statements.
The ageing, gross of any impairment provision, of student debtors, levy debtors, sponsor debtors and staff debtors at the reporting date was as follows: Credit risk 0 – 90 days 91 – 365 days > 365 days 2019 $ 19,269,375 24,693,999 8,012,340 2018 $ 18,853,701 3,005,836 6,470,314 51,975,714 28,329,851 Customer credit risk is managed by each business unit subject to the University’s established policy, procedures and control relating to customer credit risk management.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 102 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 5.

Financial risk management (continued) (i) Credit risk (continued) An impairment analysis is performed at each reporting date on an individual basis for major customers.

In addition, a large number of minor receivables are grouped into homogenous groups and assessed for impairment collectively.
The calculation is based on actual incurred historical data.

The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of financial assets.

The University does not hold collateral as security.

The University evaluates the concentration of risk with respect to trade receivables as low, as its customers are located in several jurisdictions and operate in largely independent markets.
(ii) Liquidity risk Liquidity risk is the risk that the University will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due.

The University’s approach to managing liquidity is to ensure, as far as possible, that it will always have sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities when due, under both normal and stressed conditions, without incurring unacceptable losses or risking damage to the University’s reputation.
The University expects to settle is financial liquidity within 6 months of balance date.
The table below summarizes the maturity profile of the University’s liabilities at 31 December based on contractual undiscounted payments: 31 December 2019 Total On demand < 1 year 1 - 5 years > 5 years $ $ $ $ $ Trade and other payables 20,645,365 223,210 20,422,155 20,645,365 223,210 20,422,155 - - - - 31 December 2018 Total On demand < 1 year 1 - 5 years > 5 years Trade and other payables 26,378,314 1,274,979 25,103,335 26,378,314 1,274,979 25,103,335 - - - - (iii) Market risk Market risk is the risk that changes in market prices, such as foreign exchange rates, interest rates and equity prices will affect the University’s income or the value of its holdings of financial instruments.
The objective of market risk management is to manage and control market risk exposures within acceptable parameters, while optimising the return.

FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 5.
Financial risk management (continued) (iii) Market risk (continued) Foreign exchange risk The University is exposed to fluctuations in foreign currencies arising from the purchase of goods and services in currencies other than the University’s functional currency.

The University does not have a material exposure to Foreign Exchange risk and accordingly does not adopt any foreign currency strategies.
Price risk The University is exposed to equity securities price risk through its investments in Unit Trusts.

This arises from investments held by the University and classified on the statement of financial position as available-for-sale.

The University has no direct exposure to commodity price risk.

There is no material exposure to price risk.

Interest rate risk The University’s interest bearing deposits are generally at fixed interest rates.
The University does not have any interest bearing liabilities and accordingly exposure to interest rate risk is not considered material.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 103 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 6.

Student tuition fees Private students Sponsored students Regional students Short courses Other tuition fees 7.

Project income AusAID Sustainable livelihood project (SLP) grant Others 8.
Other income Non-tuition fees and charges Enrolment fees Consultancy income Dividend Release of deferred income Trading activities: Bookshop Food and beverages Farm Other trading activities Other income 2019 $ 17,837,986 39,747,743 4,253,196 4,104,632 2,968 2018 $ 16,570,112 38,576,942 4,786,549 5,165,975 265,125 65,946,525 65,364,703 $ - $ - 1,220,776 2,495,274 1,064,471 1,542,534 3,716,050 2,607,005 $ 2,002,765 1,204,140 49,773 443,144 $ 1,353,693 1,008,458 141,323 431,071 1,624,163 2,515,081 305,474 2,611,278 351,316 603,560 507,241 415,220 2,947,389 375,021 579,052 662,793 9,702,854 10,429,101 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 104 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 9.
Hostel Income Hostel accommodation Hostel meals Hostel laundry 10.

Employee related expenses Wages and salaries, including leave benefits Fiji National Provident Fund contribution Key management personnel compensation - short term benefits - termination benefits Staff allowances PAYE payable Other personnel costs 11.
Other operating expenses (excluding employee related expenses) Advertising, promotions and publicity Audit fees - External audit - Project audit Accounting and other services (Release)/increase of impairment provision on receivables Consultancy Council expenses Course related expenses Franchise costs Inventory obsolescence Insurance Job evaluation fee Legal Licence fees Operating lease and other rentals Project disbursements Publications Repairs and maintenance Security services 2019 $ 2,544,559 4,653,482 1,836 2018 $ 3,112,838 5,863,465 5,672 7,199,877 8,981,975 65,833,899 65,126,847 6,407,012 6,556,767 2,310,228 2,378,840 - - 1,587,320 1,240,468 - - 3,145,928 2,435,713 79,284,387 77,738,635 1,185,075 1,173,630 51,503 - 76,650 53,753 4,830 103,598 23,105,742 (1,317,867) 5,491,841 1,077,597 161,493 4,151,693 733,047 7,002 544,198 3,624 (197,615) 6,109,619 476,380 1,008,236 76,590 8,467,519 3,090,188 92,194 4,578,494 1,165,195 11,111 1,208,518 26,718 138,753 5,443,426 263,629 339,893 73,875 11,871,516 2,968,117 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 11.
Other operating expenses (excluding employee related expenses) continued $ 2019 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 105 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 2018 $ 748,992 3,263,090 1,179,532 5,544,146 3,566,310 1,315,045 216,868 - 5,708,840 621,676 4,052,446 1,572,673 4,546,375 3,327,433 1,706,150 281,218 (445,555) 4,744,999 74,950,200 50,819,803 5,120,664 4,106,157 5,120,664 4,106,157 Land and Buildings Other Leased Assets $ $ Total $ 2,617,623 1,312,313 3,929,936 - - - 2,617,623 1,312,313 3,929,936 $ (105,330) (105,351) (210,681) $ (424,350) (424,350) $ (529,680) (529,701) (848,700) (1,059,381) 2,512,293 887,963 3,400,256 2,406,942 463,613 2,870,555 Stationery Telecommunications Travel Trading and hostel expenses Utilities Hire charges Cartage and freight Contingency expense Other expenses 12.
Finance income Interest income 13.

(i) Right-of-use assets Cost At 1 January 2019 Additions 31 December 2019 Depreciation and impairment At 1 January 2019 Depreciation charge 31 December 2019 Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December The above represent assets under lease contracts which have been recognised as assets in accordance with IFRS 16.

The assets are written down over the term of their contracts.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 106 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 13.
(ii) Property, plant and equipment Land and buildings - Freehold Cost At 1 January Reclassification 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Depreciation charge 31 December Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December Land and buildings - Leasehold Cost At 1 January Additions Reclassification/adjustments 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Depreciation charge Disposals 31 December Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December 2019 $ 2018 $ 1,361,000 1,361,000 - - 1,361,000 1,361,000 1,361,000 1,361,000 - - 1,361,000 1,361,000 1,361,000 1,361,000 1,361,000 1,361,000 228,818,558 220,935,973 7,727,590 7,882,585 - - 236,546,148 228,818,558 (39,547,999) (35,099,821) (4,483,973) (4,448,178) - - (44,031,972) (39,547,999) 189,270,559 185,836,152 192,514,176 189,270,559 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 107 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 13.
(ii) Property, plant and equipment (continued) 2019 $ 2018 $ Motor vehicles Cost At 1 January Additions Disposals 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Depreciation charge Disposals 31 December Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December Furniture and fittings Cost At 1 January Additions Disposals 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Depreciation charge Disposals 31 December Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December 6,734,621 670,800 (1,320,995) 6,084,426 5,906,032 1,340,800 (512,211) 6,734,621 (4,905,132) (4,727,028) (694,827) 1,250,038 (664,639) 486,535 (4,349,921) (4,905,132) 1,829,489 1,734,505 1,179,004 1,829,489 7,447,183 7,251,993 113,275 (2,959,228) 254,672 (59,482) 4,601,230 7,447,183 (6,264,051) (5,749,286) (448,968) 2,959,228 (574,048) 59,283 (3,753,791) (6,264,051) 1,183,132 847,439 1,502,707 1,183,132 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 108 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 13.
(ii) Property, plant and equipment (continued) Plant and equipment Cost At 1 January Additions Disposals Transfer 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Depreciation charge Disposals 31 December Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December Computers Cost At 1 January Additions Disposals Transfer 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Depreciation charge Disposals Transfer 31 December 2019 $ 2018 $ 41,114,268 35,875,403 2,822,789 5,336,774 (5,669,644) (98,287) - 378 38,267,413 41,114,268 (30,796,039) (26,624,138) (3,814,515) (4,259,829) 5,659,635 87,928 (28,950,919) (30,796,039) 10,318,229 9,251,265 9,316,494 10,318,229 14,798,907 11,784,806 1,436,596 (782,215) - 3,014,679 (200) (378) 15,453,288 14,798,907 (11,384,252) (10,665,070) (1,477,867) (719,382) 782,215 - 200 - (12,079,904) (11,384,252) F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 109 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 13.
(ii) Property, plant and equipment (continued) Computers (continued) Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December Work in progress Cost At 1 January Additions Transfers 31 December Depreciation and impairment At 1 January Reclassification 31 December Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December Gross Carrying amount at: 1 January 31 December 2019 $ 2018 $ 3,414,655 3,373,384 1,119,736 3,414,655 23,888,593 6,488,247 30,389,331 25,050,490 (7,728,785) (7,650,144) 46,549,139 23,888,593 - - - - - - 23,888,593 6,488,247 46,549,139 23,888,593 231,265,657 206,738,111 255,696,137 231,265,657 The finalisation of the transfer of lease arrangements to FNU in respect of certain leasehold land assets that were vested in the University under the FNU Decree has not yet been completed at the date of approval of these financial state- ments.
This includes four (2018: four) land leases with a carrying amount of $31,558,707 at 31 December 2019 (2018: $32,273,144) where the land boundaries and/or certain Lots are subject to ongoing negotiations with the respective Government Ministries.

The independent valuation of these land assets was prepared based on management’s best es- timate of the boundaries at the date of the valuations.
The finalisation of the boundaries may result in material changes to the valuations of the assets which have been used as a basis to determine the fair value/deemed cost of these prop- erties as at 1 January 2010.

In addition, as a result of the delay in the finalisation of the transfer of lease arrangements to FNU, the lease term for these properties has not been finally determined.
The Land values for these properties have been determined by the independent valuers using management’s best estimate of a 99-year lease term.

Should the final lease term differ from the assumption of 99 years this will impact period over which these assets are depreciated.

Any change in this estimate will be accounted on a prospective basis.

A significant reduction in the lease term may also have a material impact on the carrying amount of the leasehold land in the financial statements.
Any adjustments arising from the finalisation of the lease transfers will be reflected in the period in which the leases are finalised.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 110 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 14.

Biological assets At 31 December 2019, the University held 14 cattle (2018: 10), 37 sheep (2018: 33), 42 goats (2018: 29), 1 horse (2018: 1) and 23 pigs (2018: 12).
(a) Operations and principal activities Reconciliation of carrying amounts of livestock Fair Value as at 1 January Net increases due to purchases, births, deaths and transfers Loss arising from changes in fair value less costs to sell Decreases due to sales Carrying amount at 31 December (b) Measurement of fair values 2019 $ 2018 $ 19,972 4,279 35,277 4,420 - - (3,517) 20,734 (19,725) 19,972 The fair value measurements for livestock has been categorised as Level 3 based on the inputs to the valuation techniques used as follows: Type Valuation technique Significant unobservable inputs Livestock Market comparison technique: The valuation model is based on the market price of livestock of similar age, weight, breed and purpose of use.
- Premium on the classification as breeders - Premium based on quality Inter-relationship between key unobservable inputs and fair value measurement The estimated fair value would increase (decrease) if more (less) livestock were classified as breeders.

FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 15.
Intangible assets Cost Computer software Favourable land sub- lease Total $ $ $ Balance as at 1 January 2018 1,648,813 575,000 2,223,813 Additions - - - Balance as at 31 December 2018 1,648,813 575,000 2,223,813 Additions - - - Balance as at 31 December 2019 1,648,813 575,000 2,223,813 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 111 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 Amortisation and impairment Balance as at 1 January 2018 Amortisation charge for the year Balance as at 31 December 2018 Amortisation charge for the year Balance as at 31 December 2019 Carrying amount At 1 January 2018 At 31 December 2018 At 31 December 2019 16.
Cash and cash equivalents Cash on hand Cash at bank - restricted - unrestricted Restricted funds consist of the following: Capital Development Capital Project Levy Projects Staff Welfare (1,648,458) (117,612) (1,766,070) (355) (26,138) (26,493) (1,648,813) (143,750) (1,792,563) - (26,136) (26,136) (1,648,813) (169,886) (1,818,699) 355 - - 457,388 431,250 457,743 431,250 405,114 405,114 2019 $ 4,573 2018 $ 55,509 15,002,401 24,338,360 25,208,140 14,605,114 40,215,114 38,998,983 818,674 794,568 2,321,715 2,256,075 8,317,360 17,575,691 3,544,652 3,054,179 - 657,847 15,002,401 24,338,360 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 112 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 16.
Cash and cash equivalents - continued Restricted Funds Capital Development – with effect from 1 January 2014, the University holds 10% of tuition fees for purposes of capital development of the University projects that could not be funded through Government grants.

Capital Project – this account holds funding for the development of the new Labasa campus funded through Government capital grant.

Levy – this account is restricted for payment of grants claimed/claimable by employers.
Staff Welfare – this account is held for the purposes of meeting staff medical costs.

These are funded partly by salary deductions from staff and the balance by the University.

Projects – this account holds funding from our various donors.

The funds are restricted and can only be utilised as per signed donor agreements.

17.
Trade and other receivables Student debtors Impairment allowance Levy debtors Impairment allowance Sponsor debtors Impairment allowance Staff debtors Impairment allowance Other receivables Impairment allowance 2019 $ 2018 $ 792,873 1,437,904 (457,718) (1,053,305) 335,155 384,599 23,994,842 20,726,311 (7,539,713) (3,862,271) 16,455,129 16,864,040 299,157 432,989 (105,299) (187,384) 193,858 245,605 57,813 854,953 (19,255) (779,013) 38,558 75,940 6,063,284 4,877,694 (988,200) (2,091,259) 5,075,084 2,786,435 Total trade and other receivables 22,097,784 20,356,619 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 113 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 17.
Trade and other receivables - continued Impairment allowance Opening balance Movement during the year Closing balance 18.

Inventories Stationery/bookshop Food and beverage Gowns Kitchen consumables Provision for obsolescence 19.
Other financial assets Current 2019 $ 2018 $ 7,973,232 11,097,023 1,136,953 (3,123,791) 9,110,185 7,973,232 309,849 23,896 149,167 177,924 (88,515) 269,076 37,688 155,103 230,130 (89,568) 572,321 602,429 Debt instruments at amortised cost 63,098,598 66,516,627 Non-current Equity instruments at fair value through profit or loss: - - Unit Trust of Fiji Fijian Holdings Trust Management Limited FRDCL 14,022,024 12,364,446 734,849 4,857 583,334 4,857 14,761,730 12,952,637 Interest bearing deposits are at fixed interest rates between 2% and 4% (2016: 2% and 4%).
Interest bearing deposits amounting to $122,811 (2018: $110,233) are held as letter of charges in respect of security against credit cards and indemnity guarantees The University had only Level 1 fair value financial instruments, which is defined as quoted market price (un- adjusted) in an active market for an identical instrument.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 114 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 20.

Other assets Government grant receivables Prepayments Less: provision for impairment 21.
Capital and reserves (a) Other contributed equity 2019 $ 2018 $ 21,709,625 19,085,803 6,542,243 (21,128,987) 5,111,961 (357,265) 7,122,881 23,840,499 The amount reflects the fair value of the net assets that have been transferred to the University from lega- cy institutions as at 1 January 2010 and 30 November 2010 (TPAF) under Section 44 of the FNU Decree by the Government of Fiji in its capacity as the owner of the University and the legacy institutions.
(b) Fair value reserve Fair value reserve comprises the cumulative net change in the fair value of available for sale financial assets until the assets are derecognised or impaired.

At 1 January 2018, the University adopted IFRS 9 Financial Instruments that replaces IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.

Upon the adoption of IFRS 9, Equity investments previously classified as AFS financial assets are now classified and measured as Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss.
As a result of the change in classification of the University’s equity investments, the Fair value reserve related to those investments that were previously presented under accumulated OCI, was reclassified to Retained earnings.

22.
22.

Deferred income Opening balance Additions Amounts released to other income Disclosed in the financial statements as follows: Current Non-current 2019 $ 2018 $ 23,273,860 18,327,713 17,869,378 7,461,228 (1,624,163) (2,515,081) 39,519,075 23,273,860 1,624,163 2,515,081 37,894,912 20,758,779 39,519,075 23,273,860 Deferred income consists of Government grants in relation to capital expenditure projects and fixed assets acquired using donor funds.

23.
23.

Trade and other payables Trade payables Other payables and accruals 223,210 1,274,979 20,422,155 25,103,335 20,645,365 26,378,314 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 24.
Employee benefits Annual Leave Liability at the beginning of the year Movement during the year Liability at the end of the year Disclosed in the financial statements as follows: Current Non-current 2019 $ 2018 $ 4,865,332 4,556,281 470,448 309,051 5,335,780 4,865,332 5,335,780 4,865,332 - - 5,335,780 4,865,332 Generally annual leave is taken within one year of entitlement and accordingly it is expected that a significant portion of the total annual leave balance will be utilised within the next financial year.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 115 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 25.
Unexpended project income Donor Name Opening Balance Project Receipts Project Expense Transferred to Capex Various Project Grants Various Donors SSCSP Fund 1 Canada Grant DFAT project Global Fund DPD EU Project CAFF Donor Fund Total 28,867 245,866 $ 186,560 49,288 - $ 779,654 - - $ 691,481 49,288 - 79,311 23,879 72,501 4,570 283,533 298,000 343,513 4,227 1,137,853 59,606 32 16,784 27,665 4,259 1,173,951 9,681 5,411 $ - - - - - Total $ - - 26,119 238,020 - (19,314) 72,179 1,800,378 1,146,014 2,344,674 38,848 562,870 26.
Leased liability Current Effective interest rate Lease liability 5% Non-current Effective interest rate Lease liability 5% 450,565 492,728 2,534,094 2,942,496 The above represent liability under lease contracts which have been recognised as liability in accordance with IFRS 16.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 116 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 27.
Deferred grant liability - NTPC (a) Reconciliation of liability Opening balance Levy invoiced/collected for the year Grants paid during the year Amounts released to profit or loss (b) Levy income Amounts released to profit or loss Grants Collections for prior year invoices 2019 $ 2018 $ 22,595,258 10,258,491 27,282,188 24,811,989 (18,434,641) (8,475,222) (3,519,663) (4,000,000) 27,923,142 22,595,258 4,216,020 18,434,641 1,007,139 5,722,258 8,475,222 431,117 23,657,800 14,628,597 The expenditure attributed to NTPC levy does not include employee related and other operating ex- penses 28.
Contingent liabilities (a) Bank guarantees (b) Claims 122,811 110,233 The University is defending a number of claims from various entities including suppliers, employees, etc.

The University is confident that the claims will be defended successfully in its favour.

However, the University has prudently provided for possible future cost outflows.

29.

Commitments Capital expenditure Expenditure approved and committed amounted to $49,302,140 as at 31 December 2019 (2018: $72,216,931).
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 117 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 2019 $ 2018 $ 30.

Related parties Identity and transactions The University is controlled by the Government of Fiji in accordance with the FNU Decree.
(a) Operating grant The University received grants from the Government of Fiji as follows: Grants received Increase/(Decrease) in Grants receivables Other receivables Total Operating grant 58,813,956 41,702,820 2,623,821 19,085,803 - (934,541) 61,437,777 59,854,081 * As part of the grant agreement, this portion of the operating grants was utilized for the purchase of property, plant and equipment.
These grants are accounted for in accordance with note 3(k)(i) and accordingly, are included in ‘Deferred income’ (note 22).

(b) Capital expenditure grant The Government of Fiji also provided capital expenditure grants during the year amounting to $17.83m (2018: $7.42).

These grants are accounted for in accordance with note 3(k)(i) and accordingly, are includ- ed in ‘Deferred income’ (note 22).
(c) Other transactions The University has received $1,220,776 (2018: $1,064,471) in respect to 2019 Sustainable Livelihood Proj- ect from the Ministry of Finance.

This grant are accounted for in accordance with note 3(k)(ii) and ac- cordingly, are included in ‘Project income’ (note 7).

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 118 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 30.
Related parties (continued) (d) Council members The following were Council members during the financial year and up to the date of this report: Name Prof. Rajesh Chandra Status Current Name Status Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake Current Prof. Nigel Healey Resigned on 31/03/2020 Prof. Ravi Naidu Ms. Alison Burchell Resigned on 07/01/2020 Dr. Akhila Nand Sharma Ms. Tessa Price Current Mr. Devanesh Sharma Prof. Dharmendra Sharma Current Ms. Lala Sowane Mr. Raymond Prasad Prof. Barry McGrath Dr. Joseph Veramo Dr. Penuel Immanuel Dr. Nur Bano Ali Prof. James Pounder Current Current Current Current Current Current Current Mr. Vishnu Mohan Mr. Gordon Jenkins Dr. Eci Nabalarua Prof. John Chelliah Dr. Mumtaz Alam Ms. Makereta Batimoko Ms. Susan Kiran Current Current Current Current Current Current Current Current Current Current (e) Transactions with key management personnel Key management personnel comprised the above Council members and the following senior staff during the financial year: Name Title Professor Nigel Healey Vice Chancellor Prof. James Pounder Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) Prof. Mohini Singh Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) Mr. Salabogi Mavoa Acting Dean - College of Engineering, Science & Technology Dr. William May Dean, College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Dr. Eci Kikau Nabalarua Dean - College of Humanities & Education Prof. Paul Iji Dean, College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Professor Ram Karan Dean - College of Business, Hospitality & Tourism Studies Mr. Chandr Anuj Director - Information Communication Technology (ICT) Dr. Isimeli Waibuta Tagicakiverata Mr. Shalendra Mani Gounden Director - National Training & Productivity Centre Director Estates & Facilities F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 119 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 30.
Related parties (continued) (e) Transactions with key management personnel (continued) Name Title Mr. Niranjwan Chettiar Director Capital Projects & Infrastructure Ms. Jenies Mudiliar Ms. Sarita Harish Prof. John Chelliah Mr. Nilesh Prasad Director Marketing and Communications Registrar Director HR Division Director Finance The University is not aware of any material transactions that may have been conducted with key management personnel or entities associated with the key management personnel.
Key management personnel compensation is disclosed under Note 10 and is made up of short-term benefits including medical benefits and allowances paid to Council members.

31.

Events subsequent to year end 1) 2) On 01 January 2020, Technical college of Fiji (TCF) merged with the Fiji National University (FNU).

It is expected that its operations will be covered by the additional grant allocation by Fijian Government.
Subsequent to end of the financial year, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020.

On 16 March 2020, the University released its first Covid-19 Contingency Plans.

In the event that the University is required to close its campuses should there be an outbreak of Covid-19 infection, the Directors of support divisions have been requested to identify those staff who are critical to the University’s business continuity.
These staff will be provided with the ICT equipment and support necessary for them to operate software systems like payroll, website maintenance, telephone reception services from home.

In the event that the University is required to close its campuses should there be an outbreak of Covid-19 infections, academic staff are requested to deliver their courses by Moodle, supplemented by email, online discussion forums and Zoom.
The Centre for Flexible and E-Learning is preparing guidance and support for staff to help them deliver their teaching from home.

The University have not seen a significant impact on its business to date.

The outbreak and the response of Governments in dealing with the pandemic is interfering with general activity levels within the community, the economy and the operations of our business.
The scale and duration of these developments remain uncertain as at the date of this report however they will have an impact on earnings, cash flow and financial condition.

It is not possible to estimate the impact of the outbreak’s near-term and longer effects or Governments’ varying efforts to combat the outbreak and support businesses.
This being the case, we do not consider it practicable to provide a quantitative or qualitative estimate of the potential impact of this outbreak on the University at this time.

F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 120 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued For the year ended 31 December 2019 31.
Events subsequent to year end (continued) 2) The financial statements have been prepared based upon conditions existing at 31 December 2019 and considering those events occurring subsequent to that date, that provide evidence of conditions that existed at the end of the reporting period.
As the outbreak of COVID-19 occurred after 31 December 2019, its impact is considered an event that is indicative of conditions that arose after the reporting period and accordingly, no adjustments have been made to financial statements as at 31 December 2019 for the impacts of COVID-19.

32.
32.

Significant Events As at date of this report, the Council members are not aware of any other significant event, other than those already included in the financial statements FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY DISCLAIMER ON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION For the year ended 31 December 2019 Disclaimer The additional financial information, being the attached Statement of comprehensive income - restricted vs. unrestricted income has been compiled by the management of the Fiji National University.
No audit or review has been performed by us and accordingly no assurance is expressed.

To the extent permitted by law, we do not accept liability for any loss or damage which any person, other than Fiji National University may suffer arising from any negligence on our part.

No person should rely on the additional financial information without having an audit or review conducted.
F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 121 122 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - RESTRICTED VS.

UNRESTRICTED INCOME For the year ended 31 December 2019 The University’s income and expenditure is further categorized into restricted and unrestricted to give a clear reflection on the operational nature of events.
Restricted funds are those funds which by virtue of law or contract/funding agreement can only be expended for a specific purpose.

Generally restricted funds for the University consist of capital expenditure grants, donor/project income & Expenditure, 10% of tuition fees set aside for capital development purposes, Levy Income and Grant payment expenses.
Unrestricted funds are all other funds that are available for use in the University’s operating activities at the discretion of the University’s Management and Council.
2019 2018 Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total $ $ $ $ $ $ Income Fiji Government operating grants 53,087,690 8,350,087 61,437,777 53,235,985 6,618,096 59,854,081 Student tuition fees 59,351,873 6,594,653 65,946,525 58,828,233 6,536,470 65,364,703 Project income Hostel Income - 3,716,050 3,716,050 - 2,607,005 2,607,005 7,199,877 - 7,199,877 8,981,975 - 8,981,975 NTPC Levy income 1,703,496 21,954,304 23,657,800 5,462,860 9,165,737 14,628,597 Other income Total income Expenses 9,470,969 1,624,163 11,095,132 10,352,854 2,515,081 12,867,935 130,813,905 42,239,257 173,053,161 136,861,907 27,442,389 164,304,296 Employee related expenses (77,201,628) (2,082,759) (79,284,387) (76,882,382) (856,253) (77,738,635) Other operating expenses (67,311,679) (7,813,617) (75,125,296) (44,522,211) (6,476,208) (50,998,419) Depreciation and amortization NTPC levy expenses Total expenses Finance Income Operating surplus before income tax Income tax expense Operating surplus for the year Other comprehensive income: Movement in fair value of available for sale financial assets Total comprehensive Income for the year (9,851,824) (1,624,163) (11,475,987) (8,699,538) (2,515,081) (11,214,619) - (18,434,641) (18,434,641) - (8,475,222) (8,475,222) (154,365,131) (29,955,180) (184,320,311) (130,104,131) (18,322,764) (148,426,895) 5,120,664 5,120,664 4,106,157 - 4,106,157 (18,430,563) 12,284,077 (6,146,486) 10,863,933 9,119,625 19,983,558 - - - - - - (18,430,563) 12,284,077 (6,146,486) 10,863,933 9,119,625 19,983,558 - - - - - - (18,430,563) 12,284,077 (6,146,486) 10,863,933 9,119,625 19,983,558 F I J I N A T I O N A L U N V E R S I T Y I 123 124 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 www.fnu.ac.fj New Skills | Practical Experience | Real Opportunities