A total of 215 students graduated from The University of the South Pacific (USP) Solomon Islands Campus at a ceremony at Friendship Hall in Honiara on 25 September.
The graduates received certificates, diplomas, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees across a range of disciplines, the university said.
They completed qualifications from the School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences, the School of Business and Management, the School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, the School of Law and Social Sciences, the School of Pacific Arts, Communication and Education, the School of Accounting and Finance, and Pacific Technical and Further Education.
Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council Siosiua Utoikamanu told the graduates that higher education in the Pacific goes beyond qualifications, strengthening self-reliance and keeping academic talent, research and leadership within regional communities.
He said Pacific Islanders were capable of leading regional development and running their own institutions, echoing remarks made by Prime Minister Matthew Wale at the Fifth Pacific Climate Change Conference held at the same venue the previous week.
"The Pacific is not merely a place where climate impacts are observed. It is a source of knowledge, leadership, law, innovation, and solutions," Utoikamanu said.
He said the region had at times been described mainly through what it lacked — small, remote, vulnerable and dependent — and that while the challenges were real, they should not define Pacific countries.
Utoikamanu said international academic partnerships and research on the Pacific were welcome, but that such engagement had to build lasting capacity within the region.
The knowledge and capability developed through education did not disappear from the Pacific, he said, but returned as teachers, public servants, lawyers, accountants, scientists, business leaders, researchers and community leaders.
Postgraduate Diploma in Education graduate Pamela Piasi spoke on behalf of the graduating class. She said many students had come from different backgrounds and were not comfortable speaking openly, asking questions or taking part in unfamiliar spaces, so adapting to university was also about finding their voice.
Piasi said there were moments when students felt lost, but they asked questions, sought help and supported one another, learning from lecturers, tutors and classmates.