FRANCE has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening academic and scientific cooperation in the Pacific.
It has allocated €130,000 (approx. FJD 340,000) under its Campus Mobile Pacifique programme to support 70 students and researchers across the region in 2025.
The initiative, funded by France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), aims to deepen academic ties and strengthen collaboration between French territories and Pacific Island states.
This programme was launched following President Emmanuel Macron’s 2023 Pacific visit, reflecting France’s strategic goal of expanding education and research connections across Oceania.
During this visit, the President reaffirmed the importance of strengthening human exchanges with the countries of the region, like the Campus Mobile Pacifique programme.
The 2025 funding supports cooperation projects involving universities and research institutions in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia. The allocations include:
Pacific Islands Universities Regional Network (PIURN) — €50,000
Vanuatu–New Caledonia Research Exchange — €44,000
University of Goroka (PNG) French Language Immersion — €17,000
Language Education Conference in French Polynesia — €4,000
Fiji National University Research Partnerships — €10,000
PIURN Coordinator Matilda Souchon, based at the University of the South Pacific (USP), was also present at the launch.
“This week we are hosting our first PIURN Summer Institute, where the goal is to provide a week-long training for PhD students on the theme of climate change in the Pacific,” Souchon said.
“They came from across the region to USP’s newly established Centre for Sustainable Futures for training on Pacific research methodology, climate negotiation contexts, and other topics.”
She said the aim was to build a community of practice not only among students but also among the supervisors who accompanied them.
“We are very lucky to have had the support of the Pacific Fund, funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Francophone University Agency, the Australian National University and Auckland University of Technology. These partners sent academics to facilitate some of the sessions,” Souchon added.
