Leading technology facility in Fiji opens its doors to help bridge the digital divide across the South Pacific
- Cisco, the University of South Pacific and Telecom Fiji open the ‘Digital Skills Hub’ on the USP Laucala campus today in a ribbon cutting ceremony
- The Hub is a major milestone in the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 30 November 2023, and is supported by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program to help bridge the digital divide and grow the South Pacific digital economy
- The state-of-the-art facility offers students and community members access to the latest technology across collaboration, cybersecurity and design thinking,
22 October 2026 – Suva, Fiji | Today, Cisco, The University of South Pacific (USP) and Telecom Fiji opened a ‘Digital Skills Hub’ which offers students connectivity in a state-of the art technology lab. The new centre will provide USP students and the wider Pacific Islands community, including small to medium enterprises, with increased access to activities and training modules tailored to some of the world’s most needed digital skills. The hub is supported by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program.
The Digital Skills Centre features state-of-the-art, AI-ready infrastructure. This facility delivers advanced network capabilities, automated threat detection and response, intelligent identity and access management, and AI-powered network visibility and resilience—giving students hands-on experience with the same intelligent, self-defending systems trusted by leading enterprises worldwide.
The facility includes a cybersecurity lab, design-thinking workshop, and collaboration workspaces enabled by Webex which includes whiteboards, Webex boards, a meeting room kit, and room bars. The space is specifically designed to be a hub where students and community members can meet, come together to share ideas, learn and collaborate.
In addition to the Digital Skills Hub in Suva, USP students in Samoa and Vanuatu can now participate in enhanced digital learning opportunities through Webex boards and collaboration technology to facilitate a clear connection for satellite sites of the University.
Offering students industry leading education
The Digital Skills Hub is open to USP’s 30,000 students and the broader community, including small to medium enterprises. Students will have the opportunity to now attain a diploma in cybersecurity, leveraging the Cisco Networking Academy program. This builds on current Cisco Networking Academy modules on offer at USP Fiji, including in-demand certifications such as Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) pathways in Networking, Cybersecurity, and IT.
The Digital Skills Hub will enable students to learn about the best industry practices in the lab, with a focus on networking and cybersecurity. The current cybersecurity workforce gap is estimated to be 4 million professionals, and these skills are in high demand for employers.
Ribbon cutting ceremony opens the Digital Skills Hub
Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony in Suva was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji Manoa Kamikamica, Cisco’s Managing Director of New Zealand, South Pacific and New South Wales Jessica McFadden, The Australian High Commissioner Peter Roberts, University of South Pacific Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council Siosiua Utoikamanu and Telecom Fiji Chief Commercial Officer Joytika Devi. All parties shared the benefits of offering enhanced digital access to students to deliver sustainable growth and development for youth in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji Manoa Kamikamica said:
“The Digital Skills Hub is a partnership between Cisco, the University of the South Pacific and Telecom Fiji. Its purpose is easy to say and hard to do: to build a local answer to a global shortage of people skilled in artificial intelligence, networking and cybersecurity.
The partners here bring what is needed. Cisco works with more than 56 governments through its Country Digital Acceleration program, and Cisco Networking Academy offers training that employers recognise around the world. Telecom Fiji brings the real-world experience of running a national network. And the University of the South Pacific brings its academic strength and its reach across the region. I thank each of you. This is the kind of partnership between Government, industry and academia that our strategies call for.
Digital skills are not only a social policy. They are an industrial policy. They are how Fiji earns its place as the digital hub of the Pacific.”
Cisco’s Jessica McFadden said “It’s a proud moment for Cisco to be here to open the Digital Skills Hub in Fiji to offer communities the connection, skills development and infrastructure to support their growth.
“The technology in this facility is truly state-of-the-art. But technology is only as powerful as the hands that guide it. By bringing these systems into a learning environment, we are providing USP students, and the wider community, hands-on experience with the same intelligent, self-defending systems that secure the world’s leading enterprises and communities.”
USP Pro Chancellor and Chair of Council, Siosiua Utoikamanu, said “Together, these partnerships represent the very best of collaboration between industry, Government, development partners, and higher education.
The Digital Skills Hub stands as a testament to what can be achieved when we work collectively towards a common goal of preparing Pacific people for success in a rapidly evolving digital world.”
In addition to opening of the space, a new memorandum of understanding was signed by USP and Telecom Fiji with an opportunity to translate their academic experience to the real world, with an internship pathway at Telecom Fiji.
The opening of the digital skills hub builds on the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 30 November 2023 with the University of South Pacific and Telecom Fiji to help bridge the digital divide and grow the South Pacific digital economy and was endorsed by Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Co-Operatives, SMEs and Communications, the Honourable Manoa Kamikamica.
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Quick facts
Cisco Networking Academy
- The Hub will provide digital skills training to students, including through the Cisco Networking Academy
- As an authorised Cisco Networking Academy training centre, USP has also helped other educational institutions in the region to grow their digital skills since 2003.
- Cisco Networking Academy is one of the world’s largest and longest-running skills-to-jobs programs offering industry-recognized training and credentials and inclusive workforce development.
- In FY26 for Fiji this has included 1400 students, including 26% female students. Since its inception in 1997, the program has reached a total of 9,400 students in Fiji.
- The University of South Pacific is a Cisco Networking Academy Instructor Training Centre
Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration Program
- The program is enabled by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) Program.
- Since 2015, Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program has made strategic, medium- to long-term commitments and investments in countries around the world. Through partnerships with governments, industry, academia, and local communities, the program harnesses digitalization to address societal challenges, modernise digital infrastructure, connect the unconnected, drive economic growth, create new business opportunities, and build a digitally empowered workforce.
