PS Nihopara: Translating Signed MoU into Practical Results for Students is the Key.
THE Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) and the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the tourism human development, on Friday 12th November 2021.
Permanent Secretary of MCT, Andrew Nihopara and Dean of the SINU Faculty of Business and Tourism Studies, Jerry Siota signed the MoU at SINU School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Nihopara highlighted that the MoU is critical at the time, when fostering partnerships are important for meaningful engagements and collaborations between Government Ministries and other agencies representing key development sectors of Solomon Islands.
He said, “the Ministry is fully committed to undertake and translate the obligations and commitments that are stipulated in the MoU we are signing today into meaningful areas of collaboration, to commence as early as [year] 2022.”
He pointed the main areas in that collaboration signed in the MoU;
- Research collaboration, by encouraging meaningful research to serve the mutual interest of those from government and the Solomon Islands National University’s academic needs;
- Entrepreneurship award scheme to the final year tourism and hospitality students’ best proposals, as the incentives to the students at the highest level;
- Adopt a notion of becoming job creators than job seekers;
- Coordination annual student internships placements;
- Guest lecturers;
- Aggregation Short courses;
- Curriculum development;
- Jointly promoting symposiums, conferences, talk stories, and seminars of issues of importance for tourism;
- Participation of the students in trade fairs;
- And active engagements and dialogues for the development of the students.
The Dean of the Faculty of Business and Tourism Studies, Jerry Siota commended the collaboration, as guided by the MoU, for the next three years, is proper for comprehensive partnership for strategic as well for academic engagements for the period of 2022 to 2024.
He thanked the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for recognizing the importance of collaboration.
On the same note, he congratulated the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management for that initiative and liaising with MCT for the MoU signing happened.
“This MoU is not in silo. But it is continuing to link the SINU strategic plan,” said Siota. “Which is to link with stakeholders such as the government ministries, private sector, regional and international universities.”
Thus, the Faculty of Business and Tourism Management was embarking on series of MoUs. And that MoU signing was a start.
Nihopara elaborated that the timing of that collaboration could be renewable and extendable upon its review.
“I can emphasis the fact that translating the signed MoU into practical results for our students is the key,” he added.
The MoU signing was witnessed by SINU senior management, SINU tourism students, Tourism Solomons Head of Sales and Marketing, and MCT officials.
