Strengthening WPI’s Presence in the Pacific: A Plan to Launch the Oceania Hub
Partner organization: WPI Australia, New Zealand, and Hawai’i Project Centers
Team members: Sean Amberger (biochemistry ’22), Veronica Andrews (computer science ’22), Andrew Charlebois (chemical engineering ’22), Emily Gonzalez (chemical engineering ’22), Alexander Hodge (aerospace engineering ’22), Rhys Kalama (civil engineering ’22)
Executive Summary: The term “Oceania” refers to a region of the world located in the Pacific consisting of five areas: Australasia, New Zealand, Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) currently has three project centers in the region: Hawaiʻi, USA, Melbourne Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand. The goal of our project was to create a plan for an “Oceania Hub” that incorporates the existing project centers in Oceania.
With the world becoming more connected, universities have been putting more effort into teaching their students global competency and providing them opportunities to travel abroad and be immersed in other cultures. Today, many international studies programs have a regional emphasis. Examples include the Center for the Study of Asia (BUCSA) in Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies and the Center for Contemporary South Asia (CCSA) at Brown University. Regional studies programs at WPI include the Latin America and Caribbean Studies Program and the China Hub. There are also examples of regional studies programs that emphasize Oceania, including the University of Hawaiʻi’s Center for Pacific Island Studies and the University of Utah’s Pacific Island Studies Initiative.
In order to complete the goal of our project, the team identified three objectives:
- Aid sponsors and other readers in developing a basic understanding of Oceania.
- Evaluate existing area studies programs within WPI and outside of WPI.
- Design a strategic plan for the Oceania Hub.
The primary methodology the team used to complete our objectives was semi structured interviews with relevant experts. The team conducted interviews with relevant members of WPl’s faculty, including regional program leaders such as Professor Jennifer Rudolph, the director of the China Hub, and Professors John Galante and Aarti Madan of the Latin America and Caribbean Studies program. The team interviewed Professor Holger Droessler, the only member of WPl’s faculty who does research in Oceania, and a proponent for establishing a fourth project center in Oceania in either Fiji or Samoa. The team also conducted interviews with Dr. Winston Soboyejo, the Provost of WPI, and Kent Rissmiller, the interim Dean of the Global School, as well as other faculty members who have experience with WPl’s mission overseas. In order to learn more about the approach taken to regional learning in area studies programs that specifically are focused on Oceania, the team interviewed relevant external experts such as Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, the director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi Manoa, and Dr. Mary Hattori, the acting director of the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Development Program.
Information for objective 1 was collected through both the aforementioned interviews, and independent research of the region. Based on the understanding of the region obtained through completing objective 1, the team authored a monograph on Oceania that emphasizes the themes of Indigenous knowledge and identity. The project sponsors, the directors of the three project centers in Oceania, will use the monograph to deepen their understanding of the region, the issues facing it, and gain insight on how those problems can be addressed through collaboration between WPI and the local communities in a manner that is respectful to the Indigenous population. Information for objective 2 was collected primarily through interviews, but also through research the team conducted on other regional studies programs. The strategic plan the team developed for objective 3 was based on the evaluations completed in objective 2.
There was a wealth of information collected in our interviews, and the team found many useful themes and advice. Interviewees emphasized the importance of WPl’s presence being respectful to the Indigenous peoples of Oceania. The team also found that the more developed programs owed much of their accomplishments to grant money, and all emphasized the importance of forming partnerships, either with overseas organizations or with local community groups tied to the region (for example Pacific Islander diaspora groups in Utah). Our interviews with WPI faculty helped the team learn more about how WPI develops its international programs and maintains a unique focus on STEM in a field usually dominated by social science and humanities.
The team developed several recommendations from our research and believes that the Oceania Hub should pursue grant funding to build itself, acknowledging that the missions of the Hub may be changed to match the requirements of a given grant. The team recommends that the Hub should be promoted both on social media and on campus through events, such as outdoor events on the Quad or conferences and seminars with guest speakers. The team also acknowledges that the Hub will benefit from robust partnerships with organizations in Oceania and it would be beneficial to form a regional alumni association that will be able to fundraise for the Hub. Finally, the team recommends that the Hub emphasize how Indigenous knowledge can be incorporated with STEM to solve the issues facing Oceania through projects, curriculum, research, and other events.