The new vice chancellor of the University of the South Pacific says he's excited to take over what will be a challenging job.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia has been appointed the new vice chancellor and president of the University of the South Pacific. Photo: University of Portsmouth
The university, which has 14 campuses in 12 countries across the region, last week announced that Pal Ahluwalia will take over from Rajesh Chandra, whose 10-year term ends in November.
Professor Ahluwalia, who is the current pro vice-chancellor at the University of Portsmouth in England and has a background in post-colonial theory, said he wanted to build on the university's reputation.
His first priority would be to find out what people in the region wanted from their university, he said.
"I think it would be a bit premature of me to just start saying, you know, these are the first five things I want to do.
"Obviously my real priority is to make sure that I'm a custodian of the university, that I'm a safe pair of hands who really will make sure that that great tradition of the university, which the current vice chancellor has set up, continues."