Two senior Training Instructors Swaran Ravindra and Ashutosh Maharaj from Fiji National University’s (FNU) National Training and Productivity Centre’s (NTPC) were guest presenters during an online seminar hosted by the University of West Indies earlier this month. The IT professionals spoke about Ethics in Information Technology to 70 university students. In his presentation, Maharaj highlighted the important role ethics play in the daily lives of people and the information technology domain adding computer technology should not be used to harm people, the environment and society.
“There are four ethical elements in IT which are the privacy, accuracy, accessibility – making the online
service within reach of the people and the fourth is property – pertains to making enabling provisions for the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR),” Maharaj said.
“Understanding about Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the constitution and legislation about the use of ICT help users make sound ethical decisions in the use and practice of ICT, regardless of
their area of discipline.”
During the presentation, participants raised questions relating to cyberbullying, and misinformation relating to COVID-19, defamation through social media. Maharaj informed participants that authorities regularly provided
awareness on the rights of people and new laws that governed cybercrime.
“There were concerns raised about the number of fake accounts created and hate speech spread on social media. These are being monitored and investigated by the Online Safety Commission.”
The guest lecture was made possible through the collaboration between the Fiji National University (FNU) and the University of West Indies (UWI) under the Education for Climate Change Adaption and Mitigation (ECCAM) Staff Exchange Program. Ravindra, who visited the University in 2019, said she cherished the noteworthy opportunity to work with the dynamic team of academics and professionals at the University of West Indies through the ECCAM
staff exchange program in 2019.
“During my stay, I taught students from first-year bachelor’s degree programs to master’s degree level in Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Special Inclusive Education,” she said.
“It was a great learning experience for me as the students were from all over the Caribbean and West Indies region. In addition, the academics, management, and international office were helpful, and I have been able to contribute to the agreement between the two universities through conducting online guest lectures and collaborative research.”
“Our focus was the sound understanding of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Constitution, and Legislative systems in the country to help frame ICT-based legislation, policies, and code of practice, which participants can use to make ethical ICT assessments.”
NTPC Director Dr Isimeli Tagicakiverata said online seminar part of the organisations wider contribution to knowledge sharing with international students.
“We always encourage and motivate staff to strive for excellence in their fields of expertise. The international presentation by our staff speaks volumes of the work NTPC does in terms of educating and raising awareness on Information Communication Technology (ICT)”
he said.
NTPC supports a digital Fiji and is keen to continue training Fijians and the region with industry-relevant ICT courses and consultancy to support national progress in this technology-driven era.