Historic MOU signals growth of student-led Pacific support at University

A historic document has been signed that will give Pacific students a huge boost in the support they receive when studying in Dunedin.

The agreement between the University of Otago and the University of Otago Pacific Islands Students’ Association (UOPISA) will see a sum of $94,540 plus GST, given to a range of Pacific associations to help fund student-led initiatives at university.

The landmark memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in late October, and 2023 UOPISA President Elisepa Taukolo says it is a significant milestone for the Pacific student community.

“It’s kind of like an unreal feeling telling people ‘we got the funding’ and they ask ‘how much?’ and you tell them over 94k. And they’re just blown away from that.

“Even UOPISA alumni and past UOPISA Presidents, they’re shocked themselves! But, they said it’s come a long way over the past five years.

“We get to eat the fruits of the hard labour past executive groups have sewn for us.”

Pacific students associations in Dunedin will receive a massive boost in financial support, after an MOU was agreed upon last week.

UOPISA is a student-led group operating at a strategic level to advocate, campaign and lobby for the aspirations of Pacific students at the University of Otago. They work alongside thirteen other Pacific student associations that represent both academic and cultural support for students.

Taukolo says in previous years, funding has been a consistent barrier for student associations and the new funding will help strengthen the students academic and cultural support.

“The barrier has always been funding, they don’t have enough funding to support and back their initiatives and their events.

“So having that big financial barrier move to the side, it would unleash the Pacific students associations potential to do more for our Pacific student community on campus.”

Elisepa adds that the process was extensive between UOPISA and the university to draw on more funding, but she says they had the full backing of the university to approve the funding.

“They were definitely in support, especially the previous Vice Chancellor David Murdoch and acting Vice Chancellor Helen Nicholson. They were backing us 101 per cent in what Pacific students needed, what Pacific students wanted in line with the Pacific strategic framework of the University.

“They were able to pull funding from different pools of funding from the University to reach that, and it was a good negotiation with the Uni and they were in full support of the work that UOPISA does.”

In the agreement, Taukolo says a UOPISA house will be allocated to the group on campus that will cater to member associations for events or meetings, which has been a difficulty in the past.

Taukolo chuckles that moving forward, Pacific student-led initiatives “won’t be poor anymore” and says the funding will give the Pacific student-network a new life.