The University of the South Pacific
Location: Fiji Islands
Term: 2019 – 2021
Currently serving as Pro-Vice Chancellor Flexible Learning and Director, Center for Flexible Learning, at the University of the South Pacific, I have spent most of my professional life in the higher education sector in a variety of roles to do with enhancing learning and teaching practices in distance education, online learning and elearning, as well as in education more generally, and in various jurisdictions and geographical locations around the world.
Naidu served as president of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia for two consecutive terms. And in May 2014 the Open University of Sri Lanka awarded him a D.Litt. (Honoris Causa), in recognition of his extensive contribution to the field of open, flexible, distance and e-learning both regionally and internationally.
Naidu’s 40 year plus career in education started with serving as a high school teacher and a curriculum development officer in the Fiji Ministry of Education, followed by a lecturer role in distance education course design at the University of South Pacific. Following doctoral studies in Canada, Naidu took an appointment as Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at Concordia University, Montreal, and then moving to Australia where he held a number of roles in several Australian Universities. This included roles as Senior Lecturer in Instructional Design and Technology (the University of Southern Queensland), Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Multimedia Education and Head of Research and Evaluation (University of Melbourne), Associate Professor and Director of Teaching and Learning Quality Enhancement (Charles Sturt University), Associate Professor (Learning Transformations) (Swinburne University of Technology).
Naidu’s formal educational qualifications include a diploma in education from the University of the South Pacific, a Bachelor degree in Education (curriculum and instruction) from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, a master degree in education from USP, and a PhD in Educational Technology from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
