Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Visits USP

Hon. Lacarias Albano da Costa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste met Professor Rajesh Chandra, Vice-Chancellor and President of USP and Senior Officials on Monday 9 August 2010 and also briefly toured the University campus.


In welcoming the Minister and his delegation, the Vice-Chancellor said that "We have deep connection with Timor-Leste and share many commonalities. Although this year we do not have any students from Timor-Leste but in the past we had some students and the University is happy to welcome students again from Timor-Leste in future".


The Minister said that it was an honor for him to visit the University. Although this was his first visit he acknowledged that his Ambassador H.E Abel Guteress, who accompanied him and covers Fiji from Canberra, had visited Fiji and USP on several occasions in the past. The Minister was keen to learn more about the University and also explore opportunities for future cooperation between Timor-Leste and USP in the area of higher education.

The Vice-Chancellor then briefed the Minister on the University's role and uniqueness emphasizing that "the University has 12 member countries with 14 campuses; is one of the two regional universities in the world; has 20% enrolments in Post Graduate Studies, 40 % students study through distance learning; represents a quarter of the Commonwealth countries; a leader in Distance and Flexible Learning; big and sophisticated in terms of ICT; and operates its own telecommunication system with efficient tele and video conferencing facilities".

He further stated "the University places a strong emphasis on quality, which is well recognized. The University is reviewed by the Australian Universities Quality Audit Agency (AUQAA) and New Zealand Universities Quality Audit Agency (NZQAA) on a regular basis which brings us on par with Universities in Australia and New Zealand".

The Minister said "USP is a well known institution in the Pacific and beyond and can play an active role in the region not only as a provider of higher education but also in other critical areas facing the region". Upon return to his capital, he said that he will discuss more with his colleague Minister of Education for his country’s greater collaboration with USP.

Source: USP Media