The Divine Word University (DWU) community is always pleased to see its graduates return to the university during its calendar events and on other occasions.

DWU is also grateful to the many graduates who have joined the staff ranks in the academic and administration divisions, at different times.

Many members of the DWU alumni participated during two recent calendar events in the main campus in Madang.

The events were the 2018 World Press Freedom Day commemoration on Friday 4th May and the 2018 Open Day on Sunday 6th May.

Two high profile journalists and alumni members Mr Neville Choi and Mr Scott Waide were at the Madang campus and participated in the World Press Freedom Day celebration. The celebration was led by students from their former department, Communication Arts (Journalism), which is now part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. (See separate news reports on this site).

Mr Choi and Mr Waide work for PNG’s pioneer national television network, EMTV. They completed their communication arts (journalism) studies in the mid-1990s and have carved niche careers in the media.

Mr Choi is the Director for News and Current Affairs for EMTV and was recently appointed the President of the Media Council of Papua New Guinea, the peak body of the media industry. He previously worked for the Church-owned Word Publishing Group as a reporter and editor for many years before moving to EMTV six years ago.

Mr Waide is the Lae Bureau Chief of News and Current Affairs and has been with the pioneer national TV station for many years.

In their respective speeches, Mr Choi and Mr Waide spoke well of the university and reminisced about their times as students in the campus over 20 years ago going hunting for news stories as aspiring journalists.

They gave useful insights and tips about the media industry and the journalism profession to the young students in the Communication Arts (Journalism) program and their compatriots in other departments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

On Open Day two days later, a healthy contingent of alumni members was on hand representing the organisations the graduates work in. These organisations included businesses, government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs). They took part as partners of the various academic departments and faculties.

Mr Eddie Tanago was among the alumni who participated on Open Day. Mr Tanago works for good governance advocacy group, Act Now PNG.

Mr Tanago and his team were hard at work talking to students, staff and visitors about the various work they do in terms of advocacy for good governance in PNG. Their signature campaign is the protection of indigenous ownership of land and its resources.

High profile DWU alumni and Member of Parliament (MP) for Madang Honbourable Mr Bryan Kramer was another former student who was at the Open Day.

It was the second DWU calendar event that Mr Kramer attended after his election in the 2017 National Election.

The first event Mr Kramer attended was the annual Cultural Day on August 2017, which was few weeks after his election into office in the National Parliament. (See separate report on this site here: http://www.dwu.ac.pg/en/index.php/news/dwu-news/992-alumni-and-mp-warns-of-poor-role-modeling ).  Report from KEVIN PAMBA.

The history and legacy of Catholic missionary congregations who founded the Divine Word University, starting initially as the Divine Word High School in 1968, was on display at the Open Day on Sunday 6th May, 2018.

The display of the work of the missionaries and their profiles were an eye-opener for visitors and also members of the University community.

The founding congregations of DWU are the Society of Divine Word Missionaries or simply the “SVD”, which is the abbreviation of their Latin name “Societas Verbi Divini” and the Holy Spirit Sisters who are formally known as the “Missionary Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit" which in Latin is “Servae Spiritus Sancti” and go by the abbreviation “SSpS”.

The University’s Mission and Identity directorate headed by Professor Father Philip Gibbs SVD put up the displays of the work of the missionaries in DWU. Professor Gibbs is also Vice President, Research and Higher Degrees.

The booth of Mission and Identity Directorate also featured profiles of all the missionaries that served as headmasters and presidents of the former Divine Word High School (1968-78), Divine Word Institute (1979-1995) and Divine Word University (1996-2015) respectively. More about the missionary work in the institution can be read here: http://www.dwu.ac.pg/en/index.php/about-dwu#historical-background

The founding Headmaster of Divine Word High School was an American priest the late Fr Kenneth Feehan SVD. Fr Feehan was also the founding president of Divine Word Institute (DWI when the high school transited into an Institute in 1979. The first two academic programs introduced in 1979 were Communication Arts (Journalism) and Business Studies, program choices that trace back to the work of the founder of the SVD, St Arnold Janssen. The pioneering work of Fr Feehan is acknowledged in the Uiversity with one of the male student dormitories named as “Feehan Hall”.

An SVD priest from Poland Fr Jan Czuba was the last missionary to head the institution when he completed his 20-year tenure in 2015. Fr Czuba joined the then Divine Word Institute in 1995 from his parish mission post in Ambunti, East Sepik Province and oversaw the transition of DWI into a University in 1996. He was the longest continuous serving head of the institution from 1995 to 2015.

Fr Czuba was replaced in 2016 by the current President Professor Cecilia Nembou PhD, the first Catholic layperson to head the institution since DW High School. Upon her appointment by the DWU Council, Professor Nembou also became the first Papua New Guinea woman to head a university in PNG as President (a position referred to as Vice Chancellor in other universities in PNG).

The University Council headed the chair in SVD missionary and Archbishop of Mt Hagen Archdiocese Dr Douglas Young, recently extended the tenure of Professor Nembou to 2020.

Along with SVD priests and brothers were Holy Spirit Sisters who continued to serve the institution as teachers, lecturers, administrators, counsellors, female wardens and so on.

One SSpS member, Sister Miriam Dlugosz PhD currently serves DWU as an associate professor and is the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

The longest serving missionary on the DWU staff at present is Professor Father Patrick Gesch SVD PhD from Queensland, Australia who joined DWI way back in 1982.

Professor Gesch, an anthropologist, is the Head of the PNG Studies and International Relations program in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Report by KEVIN PAMBA.

A Former student of Divine Word University and now the Member for Madang Honourable Mr Bryan Kramer is proud of the transformation of his former university.

The MP said that he was proud to see his alma mater take a leap into the new digital era, demonstrated through the students’ knowledge on show at the annual Open Day at the Madang campus.

Mr Kramer said this while attending DWU’s annual Open Day on Sunday 6th of May, 2018.

“It is nice to see Divine Word change from its early years, when I used to come here, from an institute to a university; that is changing every year and this transformation is shown in the students,” observed Mr Kramer.

He also said that learning was different when he was a student in the former Divine Word Institute (1993-1995) and the subsequent University years (1998-1999) compared to the present.

Mr Kramer said the methods in which they learnt things was different to the methods which students at DWU learn today. The DWU students of the current era are beneficiaries of the University’s strong investment in information and communication technologies (ICTs) which include 24-hour wireless Internet access and 100 per cent computer access to all students. The latter is due to the DWU’s trend-setting policy to issue one-laptop per student upon full registration several years ago.

Mr Kramer said that he was proud to attend the Open Day this year, saying that DWU keeps changing every year.

“I try to attend Divine Word’s Open Days and when I do come to an Open Day, it changes every year. 

“Every year there is always something new to showcase (here in DWU),” observed Mr Kramer.

Mr Kramer comes from a Catholic background and his roots (the Kramer family members) go back to early missionary workers from Germany who came to live and work in Madang in the colonial era. Back then the ordained Catholic missionaries and mission workers (lay people) from Germany were pioneers in mission work in Madang and Sepik regions.

Kramer completed his Bachelor of Business-Accounting degree in DWU in 1999 and Diploma in Business in Divine Word Institute (the predecessor of DWU) in 1995 and matriculation (also in DWI) in 1993. He did his primary school in Madang International School (Grade 1 to 8) and transferred to St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia and continued Grade 8 there.

He was in St Brendan’s College for four years and upon completing Grade 11 he returned to PNGand completed Grade 12 in Divine Word Institute. Back then DWI had matriculation studies (Gr 11 and 12) and diploma and degree programs. DWU closed the matriculation studies in 2001 to concentrate on university programs.

Meanwhile, Mr Kramer was a hit at Open Day, akin to a celebrity, as DWU students and other youths stopped him to take photographs. The first-term MP is created a public profile for himself as the most outspoken leader on leadership and good governance issues notably on social media platforms including is widely-followed “Kramer Report” platform. As Mr Kramer entered the Open Day arena, the St John Paul II Hall, and moved from booth to booth, students and others could be seen stopping him for photographs and the leader obliged. Report by DWU ANTON SELVE, DWU Journalism Student.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FASS) is the winner of the “best faculty display” award of the Divine Word University Open Day at the Madang Campus. The Open Day was held on Sunday 6th May, 2018.

The victory of FASS was announced at the awards ceremony held after the Open Day the same afternoon at the SVD Memorial Auditorium which was packed to capacity with students and staff eager to know which faculty was the best for 2018.

The FASS dethroned last year’s winners, the Faculty of Business and Informatics (FBI), which came second this year. The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) and the Faculty of Education (FED) finished third and fourth respectively.

FASS collected K10, 000.00 as winners. The runner-up FBI picked up K8000 while FMHS and FED received K6, 000.00 and K3.000 respectively.

The President of DWU Professor Cecilia Nembou PhD commended the students for all the effort they put in to showcasing their respective departments and faculties.

Professor Nembou spoke well of the students’ ability to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) during the displays and engagement with the public at their respective booths.

The Registrar of DWU Mrs Cecilia N’Drower said, on behalf of the judges, that it was difficult for them to pick the winner as everyone showcased their faculties to the best of their abilities.

“I have to say that this year’s Open Day is the best compared to the previous years, as you students are very creative in your presentations. It is very difficult to pick a winner,” said Mrs N’Drower.

The Open Day had many sponsors and partners participating. Report by ELIJAH ALBERT CHAPOK, DWU Journalism student.