A delegation of UNSW academics participated in the annual PIURN Conference 2025 in June-July.
A UNSW delegation celebrated several key launches and announcements at the sixth annual Pacific Islands Universities Research Network (PIURN) Conference. The conference, hosted by the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNGUoT), was held in Lae from 30 June to 4 July 2025.
UNSW’s visit began with a formal ceremony, chaired by PNG Deputy Prime Minister Hon. John Rosso, to celebrate PNGUoT’s accreditation by Engineers Australia. Keynote speakers were the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Education Kinoka Hotune Feo, PNGUoT Chancellor Sam Koim, Australian Consul-General Brenton Kanowski and UNSW Engineering’s Professor Maurice Pagnucco (Deputy Dean, Education).
Prof. Pagnucco congratulated PNGUoT on their remarkable achievement.
“PNG is the first nation in the South Pacific, outside Australia and New Zealand, to receive this important accreditation. It’s a testament to the quality of PNGUoT’s staff, students and programs, as well as the vision of their leadership,” he said.
UNSW Engineering mentored PNGUoT throughout the Engineers Australia accreditation process. The university’s five newly accredited engineering programs will now be recognised in Australia, as well as the US, UK, Canada and other member countries of the Washington Accord, opening up international career opportunities for UNSW students.
“This recognition will greatly assist PNGUoT with its mission to produce engineers capable of addressing some of PNG’s most pressing societal needs. UNSW Engineering is very proud to have been a part of this historic moment,” Prof. Pagnucco said.
PIURN Conference
UNSW staff also participated in the PIURN Conference, which had the theme ‘Harnessing technologies for the safe and sustainable development of the Pacific’. UNSW students and staff had previously attended the PIURN Conference in 2023 and in 2025 co-curated three plenary sessions and six panel sessions.
The first plenary session focused on launching the Healthy Islands Program, a collaborative initiative to advance sustainable health research and education in PNG, designed to address the country’s unique health challenges. Presented by Dr Bobby Porykali and Professor David Peiris of The George Institute for Global Health, the session showcased growing partnerships between the program’s establishing organisations. It concluded with the signing of a Letter of Intent between The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW, PNGUoT and the Morobe Provincial Health Authority.
UNSW Science’s Professor Moninya Roughan and Engineering’s Professor Greg Leslie contributed to the Road to COP31 plenary session alongside UN Global Pulse. The session established the basis for joint action to support Pacific engagement in the lead-up to COP31, complementing the broader work of the COP31 Universities Alliance.
UNSW Science’s Professor Brett Molesworth and Engineering’s Professor Vinayak Dixit convened a public transport roundtable with the PNG Roads Fund, Air Niugini and PNG Accident Investigation Commission. UNSW Engineering’s Professor Jayashree Arcot also participated as a panellist in a regional research initiatives plenary to discuss current and emerging research collaborations across the Pacific.
UNSW Engineering’s Professor Salil Kanhere led a roundtable on digital strategies for the Pacific, with partners from PNGUoT, Quick Heal India, the PNG Digital ICT Cluster and the PNG Department of ICT. Discussions centred on the formulation of secure and adaptive digital policies that promote economic stability and national security.
UNSW also announced the upcoming expansion of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS Lab) into PNG, with a similar mirrored centre (a digital twin) to be established at PNGUoT. TRACSLab @ UNSW installed and demonstrated a new driving transport simulator at PNGUoT to model drivers’ behaviour, risk and safety, and infrastructure design.
The UNSW delegation included:
Professor Maurice Pagnucco, Deputy Dean (Education), Faculty of Engineering
Scientia Professor Nasser Khalili, Head of School, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Professor Vinayak Dixit, Director, Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI)
Professor Brett Molesworth, Head of School, Aviation
Professor Jayashree Arcot, School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Salil Kanhere, School of Computer Science and Engineering
Professor Greg Leslie, Director, Global Water Institute
Professor Moninya Roughan, Group Leader, Coastal and Regional Oceanography Lab
Associate Professor Alice Lee, School of Chemical Engineering
Dr Shiva Abdoli, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Kiri Murphy, Head of International Development, Faculty of Engineering
Lindsay Reilly, Manager, Societal Impact and Partnerships, Faculty of Engineering
Iain Payne, Senior Project Officer, UNSW Institute for Global Development, Office of the Vice Chancellor and President
Julius Secadiningrat, Manager, TRAvel Choice Simulation Laboratory (TRACSLab @ UNSW).
UNSW key partners who attended included:
Professor Ora Renagi, Vice-Chancellor, Papua New Guinea University of Technology
Franz Hemetsberger, General Manager Engineering, Ok Tedi Mining Limited and Council Member of Papua New Guinea University of Technology Council
Dr Richard Howard, UN Resident Coordinator Papua New Guinea
Professor David Peiris, Chief Scientist, The George Institute for Global Health
Dr Bobby Porykali, Senior Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health
Aliyah Palu, Research Assistant & PhD Candidate, The George Institute for Global Health
Lalit Mohan Sanagavarapu, Chief Product Officer Quick Heal Technologies
Jaswinder Singh, Director, Security Labs, Quick Heal Technologies.
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