This is what our universities need to promote more.

Enough spoon-feeding and let students start exercising their mental faculties, instead of getting distracted with non-curricula activities.



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The National, Thursday October 6, 200

MAJOR research papers by 11 final year degree students in Communication Arts at Divine Word University will be presented at the Madang campus today.

Two of the papers have been accepted by the Journalism Education Association (JEA) to be presented at its conference in Australia next month, while other students are looking at options to present their papers in other forums.

The students of this year are the second batch to do such hectic academic research work of 10,000 words on various topics regarding issues on mass communication in PNG and the Asia-Pacific region.
Last year’s group pioneered the research dissertation at DWU, making the university’s Communication Arts programme the first in the South Pacific to do so, outside Australia and New Zealand.

Two of the papers from last year were also presented at the JEA conference held in Fiji last November.

The research by the graduating students is part of the DWU programme’s curriculum shift towards a more academic and development communication focus last year.

Head of Communication Arts, Dr Evangelia Papoutsaki spearheaded the curriculum review with the support of department staff.
Dr Papoutsaki has also pioneered into lecturing and supervising the final year degree students on research writing skills and techniques. It is part of a year-long unit taught at the Communication Arts department since last year.

In tonight’s presentation at the Sir Peter Barter Auditorium, one of the students, Llane Munau will present a video documentary she made as part of her dissertation.

I was surprised to see this article here. I was one of those students and am proud to say my degree is solid. Especially in the international academic arena, its valid! More emphasis should be placed on courses in research...I know that this was the course that got all eleven of us good paying jobs...and guess what? We're on the hunt for even better jobs. Our chances are good. That's the sort of opportunity that should be given to ALL young Papua New Guineans.