Vice Chancellor Welcome Mesage

WELCOME! One and all. I am delighted in welcoming you Student or Staff, new or old to Vudal and Oro Campus for the 2023 Academic Year. I thank you for having the confidence in UNRE as your University of choice to prepare you for the lifetime journey, for your family, your village, your district or your province and your country. You are so fortunate to have won a space at UNRE, a young university. Treasure it and make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources and Environment (PNG UNRE) was established by an Act of Parliament in 2009. It first became the Vudal University College under the PNG University of Technology in 1997 until 2005 when it began offering Bachelor Degree in Tropical Agriculture with the Diploma. In 2013 it introduced a new Department with a program in Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Resources also offering both the Diploma and Bachelor Degree. Historically Vudal was the College of Tropical Agriculture established in 1969 while Popondetta was the Agriculture Technical Institute (PATI) offering Diplomas and certificates to Papua New Guineans and Pacific Islanders.

In 2019 the university introduced the 4 faculties or schools’ system with the School of Natural Resources, School of Environment and Climate Change, School of Sustainable Resource Management and Business Studies and the School or Centre for Research and Graduate Studies. Three (3) new departments and programs were also established as the Department of Animal Science with its Sustainable Livestock Production program, Department of Forestry with its Sustainable Forestry Management Program under the School of Natural Resources together with Sustainable Tropical Agriculture and the Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Resources program. The other Department of Tourism with its Sustainable International Tourism program is under the School of Sustainable Resource Management and Business Studies.  In 2021 two new departments were established under the School of Environment and Climate Change, as Climate Change Health and Development and the Department of Renewable Energy and Environmental Engineering. All the 7 programs are offered at the Bachelor Degree Level and only using the Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree as exit points in Year 1, Year 2 and 3 under the PNG National Qualifications Framework pathway. The university also offers FODE and Extension training for farmers, together with a Masters in Management program. 

The university continues transforming its facilities and programs relevant to current times. It is Bench Marking against international standards with partner overseas universities under this initiative. It has signed MOUs signed with the National Pintung University of Science and Technology and the National Taiwan Ocean University in Taiwan, Atlinbas University in Turkey, and Oradea University in Romania for exchanges, trainings and other collaborations. The university also has several similar agreements with important national partners.

Transforming the university into a fully-fledged university, has not been without major challenges that continue to shape its uniqueness as a rural development focus institution addressing the needs and issues of 80% of PNGs population. From 2019 the university started experiencing increases in student and staff population above 10% with the introduction of new programs. This trend continues in recent years with the demand for education in the Natural Resources and Environment sector with emerging global agendas of sustainability, food security, energy, carbon footprint and temperature reduction, sea level rise, climate change, carbon marketing and business become important.

Many of the university’s developments has been in ensuring basic infrastructure is available and accessible through refurbishments, renovations, and extensions of existing infrastructure or building new infrastructures for a comfortable, clean and conducive teaching and learning environment. Ongoing developments continue in all fronts in keeping up with growth, upgrading of infrastructure with major renovations and improvements in the academic and support facilities like the farm, water supply, student dormitories, staff housing, high speed internet connectivity, Standby gensets, improvements in safety and security on campus and so forth ensuring a conducive learning environment.

The university is focussed on addressing development issues of PNG’s low socioeconomic status with entrepreneurship in focus for capacity building imparting applicable practical skills and knowledge to mould and prepare graduates into competent, presentable, readymade employable or self-employed persons through interactive learning. Your training at PNG UNRE is both face to face teaching and self-learning through online interaction, research exploration and interaction with staff, students, and experts in various professions. Your quest to become what you desire is in your own self being an active participant with staff, the practical environment and facilities, and the online interactive environment.

WELCOME and I challenge you to make the most of this opportunity at PNG UNRE. You have a BLESSED year 2023.