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UNSW’s Professor Rita Henderson, Professor Maurice Pagnucco, Dr Bo Hedwards, and Associate Professor Lauren Kark travelled to The Kingdom of Tonga on 3-6 September to participate in the Christ’s University in the Pacific (CUP) Science Conference.

Held in the capital city of Nuku’alofa, the conference included a welcome event, two days of presentations—including an address by the Deputy Prome Minister of Tonga—and a farewell dinner. The theme of the conference was “Science Matters in the Pacific”.

UNSW Faculty of Engineering Deputy Dean (Education) Prof Maurice Pagnucco was the second keynote speaker on the first day of the conference, presenting on the topic of “Engineering a better world through education”. In his talk, he discussed the organisation of education at UNSW Engineering, with a specific focus on the Faculty’s ChallEng programme that attempts to highlight the value of experiential learning. Presentations were also given by A/Prof Lauren Kark, The Hidden Heroes of Health: Uncovering Engineering’s Vital Role, and Prof Rita Henderson, on The role of partnerships in progressing SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation: From policy to practice - Case studies from the Pacific.

The UNSW Faculty of Engineering signed an MoU with CUP earlier this year, part of which includes a mutual commitment to engage in academic conferences and related events. During the recent trip to Tonga, an important workshop was also facilitated between CUP, UNSW Engineering and UNSW Business on upcoming opportunities for collaboration. One of the opportunities discussed was a new student mobility program focused on assistive technologies which will be led by A/Prof Lauren Kark.