Professor Rajesh Chandra




The world is already a very globalised and knowledge intensive society. 
The countries that are doing well are those that have high levels of higher education and where industries are being driven more by knowledge and brain power than natural resources, as was in the past.
The extent of globalisation and the intensity of the knowledge economy are both increasing rapidly.
These have many implications for the Pacific Islands. Not many Pacific Islands have explicitly committed themselves to the creation of a knowledge society.
There is an immense opportunity for Pacific Islands to capitalise on the many opportunities offered by the global knowledge society.
In his opening remarks at the recently concluded Conference on the Human Face of the Global Economic Crises held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Edward Natapei stressed that Pacific Islands need to think about the kind of society they would like to have in the future.
He expressly mentioned the importance of creatinga knowledge based economies and societies in the Pacific Islands. 
He emphasised that “investments in knowledge infrastructure in the next decade could define Pacific Islands’ ability to become competitive in an increasingly globalised and information economy”.
He further stated that “the competitiveness and linkages of key industries such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries to each other will depend on how effectively a knowledge economy is created that would be supportive of the production of goods and services in those sectors”.
Fiji, perhaps is the only country that has identified expressly the creation of knowledge society as a part of its development strategy.

Situation in the Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands have traditionally relied on agriculture, fisheries and mining for their livelihood. This reliance on natural resources continues. 
In recent times, the Pacific Islands have shown impressive growth in the tourism sector and for many of them, tourism now represents a very significant component of their economies. 
With the comparative advantage in their pristine natural environment, peace, tranquility and security, tourism offers a major advantage to Pacific Islands and will increasingly drive their development. 
The level of knowledge industry in the Pacific Islands, however, is very low and the challenge for them is to secure a better future for themselves by harnessing increased opportunities presented by the creation of knowledge societies. 
The basic element of the creation of knowledge societies is increasing the extent and quality of higher education. 
The development of higher education in any country is measured by the proportion of the population between 18 to 24 years who are currently receiving tertiary education. 
In the Pacific Islands, this ranges from a high of 15% in the case of Fiji  to an  average of around 5 to 6% for most of the other countries. This does not compare well with very high levels in developed countries, with  the  highest in South Korea at over 80%. 
This shows the wide gap the Pacific Islands have to cover in a very short space of time if they are to have a dignified and economically meaningful place in the increasing globalised knowledge society.
The World Bank argues that a participation ratio of at least 40% is needed among developing countries to ensure they can have a meaningful position in the global system.

Measures to create
knowledge societies
What measures can the Pacific Islands take to become more knowledge intensive?
As indicated above, the most important path the Pacific Islands can take is to significantly expand the proportion of the population receiving tertiary education.
Although tertiary education is extending quite rapidly in the Pacific Islands, given the high rate of population increases in Melanesia, the rate of expansion will have to increase in the future.
This expansion can be further improved by developing a better framework for higher education in each Pacific Islands country so that there is a more rational structure and funding for higher education. 
In particular, it is very important the quality is of high standard to ensure tertiary institutions can contribute meaningfully to the creation of knowledge society.
A very significant element of rapid expansion of higher education is the development of relevant educational technologies. 
The University of the South Pacific provides an excellent demonstration of how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be used to reach students in different countries and in isolated areas. 
USPNet now reaches an area of 33 million square kilometres, operates through 14 campuses and serves about half of the USP students.  This system combines the ability to provide video conferencing, audio conferencing, email and data exchange, telephony and fax services—all within a private network.
USPNet enables students to study in mixed mode as well as through the provision of pure internet-based courses.
The use of these technologies for distance and flexible learning can be and should be promoted more widely in our countries.
The second way of promoting more knowledge-based activities is through the promotion of research. In most developed countries and large developing countries that are doing well, research plays a very important role. 
The Pacific Islands do not have an institutional structure at the moment for the promotion of research. For instance, apart from Fiji, not many countries have National Research Council or provision of funds for research.
These countries also do not provide frameworks that can guide research towards those areas that best support the development of the country. 
The University of the South Pacific is linking more effectively now with its member countries to promote research and to ensure the results of research can be disseminated quickly to benefit activities and services.
The third way in which the Pacific can take increased advantage of knowledge systems is to ensure traditional industries such as  agriculture, fisheries,  forestry and  tourism can take   advantage of the newer technologies now available. 
Agriculture, for instance, is becoming more scientific and we need to ensure that agricultural research can inform the development of more scientific agriculture.
We have seen many examples of small tourism operators reaching global markets through advertising on the web and through on-line marketing and promotion. Forestry can benefit from a more scientific approach to the utilisation of forestry products sustainably and through value addition

Conclusion
The Pacific Islands economies should increasingly devote more time and energy on processes for creating and organising knowledge interaction with information technology, higher education and research, business strategy, and converting research into use in industries.
We need to understand that innovation and learning are empowering users and challenging education, research, and commerce. Pacific Islands should increasingly look at management and promotion of knowledge and devise appropriate  policy models for attaining quality higher education.

*Professor Rajesh Chandra is Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South Pacific.