FNU’s Dental students conduct a presentaton during the virtual elective programme.

Despite global restrictions on travel, Fiji National University’s dental students were still able to represent the institution and their College through a recently completed virtual elective project.

Through a partnership with the Newcastle University, UK and the Universitas Indonesia, 13 of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science’s (CMNHS), School of Dentistry and Oral Health (SDOH) final-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students participated in the online project with students from the two schools. This ran from mid-June to mid-July.

The students communicated using software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom and worked on a project related to dentistry while they shared information about life in Fiji, the dental school, how the pandemic affected them and what they are doing to adjust and cope.

Head of School, Dr Osea Dukuno said the project exceeded the expectations of the School and commended the students for completing the virtual elective.

“This event was one highlight of this year, not only for SDOH but for FNU as our students actively promoted the university to the world,” Dr Dukuno said.

“I was impressed with the outcome of this collaborative engagement and the excellent group presentations. This activity took place during this uncertain COVID-19 period in Fiji.”

“The students were engaged with our colleagues within the Ministry of Health and private practice to gather information and present it with their colleagues in the UK and Indonesia. I am very grateful to Dr Bevu Seavula, Dr Sonish Khatri and Dr Parish Naidu for their time and engagements with our students.”

“Congratulations to all our students. I know this was a great learning experience and you will continue to interact with your colleagues abroad for more collaborative research in the future.”

School of Dentistry and Oral Health lecturer and Electives Convener, Dr Leenu Maimanuku said the students also worked on a 10-minute presentation on their project and actively collaborated with their counterparts despite the time zones and resources available.

“It was particularly impressive to witness the students display their digital and cinematography skills through the presentation,” Dr Maimanuku said.

“I am sure they all enjoyed working with counterparts from other Universities. I certainly enjoyed working with Dr Emma Robinson, Ruby Miller and the team from Newcastle, UK who were the pillars behind the programme as well as Dr Nieka Wahono from Universitas Indonesia.”

Enrolment for Semester 2, 2021 is currently underway and interested students can visit the FNU website on www.fnu.ac.fj to learn more. Prospective students can also text on 857 or email on admission@fnu.ac.fj if they face difficulties completing the process online or need further information on enrolment.