A shift in priorities continues at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), with the recently re-named PNG School of Business and Public Policy established to improve the performance of the public service sector in the country as part of the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct.

Samson Vartovo (PNG Governance Program), Professor David Kavanamur (Acting Secretary for Higher Education), Professor Lakshmi Pillai (Dean, School of Business and Public Policy), and Nick Murphy (First Secretary, Australian High Commission Governance Section) at a recent Wigani seminar.

There will be ‘a new image and new expectations’ at the rebadged PNG School of Business and Public Policy, according to Executive Dean, Professor Lekshmi Pillai.

He told Business Advantage PNG the name would be important in demonstrating the school’s new purpose, which is to build the next generation of ethical and accountable leaders in PNG.

Formerly known as the School of Business Administration, the school has been transformed as part of the new Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct, a joint PNG-Australian government initiative announced last year to improve services in the public sector.

Public policy

‘Public policy will become more prominent at the school and now give us a bigger sense of purpose,’ Professor Pillai said, adding that several new programs in the public policy field were being developed, including a public policy masters degree.

‘We will be focusing (more) on management tools in public policy, such as strategy and planning,’ Professor Pillai explained.

‘The school’s plan to establish a masters degree program in public policy is one of the three main priorities. Particularly at the higher level, the school is aiming to help improve the public service and service delivery in Papua New Guinea.’

Pillai said the school would be producing graduates in a variety of areas, including economics, accounting, public policy, management and other business disciplines.

Partnership importance

Professor Lakshmi Pillai, Dean of School of Business and Public Policy.

A constraint UPNG faces in achieving its strategy is human resources but it continues to be bolstered by partnerships, in particular the ongoing relationship with the ANU.

To help introduce UPNG’s growing emphasis on public policy, the re-named school will be bolstered with additional academic staff from Australia, while a new faculty building will be constructed by 2019.

Professor Pillai said the school would receive the extra teaching staff and specialist input through its partnership with the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy.

‘Partnerships are very important. Our partnership with ANU is progressing well,’ Professor Pillai said.

New teaching staff

‘The University is preparing a proposal for a few positions that will be sitting in PNG. For example, there are four  lecturer positions. They are recruiting in Australia but they will be located here and helping us to organise our teaching programs.’

Pillai said a key component of the new roles would include teaching activities on the Port Moresby campus.

‘That is our next priority and we are planning to have interviews with those people by October or November,’ Pillai said.

He said the relationship with ANU was one of many partnerships the School of Business and Public Policy would continue to develop over the coming 12 months, with an executive leadership training partnership with the University of Queensland also being discussed.

Business legacy

The joint PNG-Australian government initiative was launched when PNG Ministers for Public Service and for Higher Education, Sir Puka Temu and Malakai Tabar and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, signed an MOU to establish the precinct in December 2014.

The precinct also includes the PNG Institute of Public Administration, which offers diploma and certificate courses for public servants. It currently offers executive leadership training for public sector leaders through specialist training providers.

UPNG students are already benefitting from the Australian Government partnership, with about 125 attending lectures taught by a Crawford school academic in 2015.

Twenty top bureaucrats have also enrolled in a 12-month course on governance and public policy this year.