Ilisapeci Tiko was an intern at the Pacific Community's (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD). Her role involved supporting information and data compilation, collection, and analysis, contributing to upgrading the CePaCT (Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees) data management system.
Can you briefly describe your academic background and how it has led you to pursue this internship opportunity?
I have always been fascinated by science and using it as a weapon for innovation. I recall reading a book filled with amazing discoveries of the natural world where the authors linked science to God’s creations. This captivated my interest in pursuing my studies in Environmental Science with an emphasis on Biology and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Climate Change at the University of the South Pacific. I was familiar with regional organisations, SPC being one of them and the works of The Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) during my tertiary studies. Therefore, when I saw an opportunity to work at SPC in the Land Resources Division, I was excited to take on this challenge.
Can you tell me about your internship work/project and what inspired you to pursue it?
CePaCT works to conserve, protect and utilise plant genetic resources in the Pacific with its objective of promoting a sustainable food secure future. My work as a Documentation Support intern mainly involved providing support to CePaCT’s documentation system in data compilation, collection, digitisation and management of crop and seed data information. I guess it was the fact that I was hopeful to work in a regional organisation like SPC that led me to pursue this internship; it was a start for me to learn something new.
How do you think your involvement at SPC will help prepare you for your career?
My experience at SPC has allowed me to gain experience in something I had limited knowledge of. Given that the only knowledge I had of SPC before I started was what I had read in articles online, working within the organisation was an experience on another level. It has taught me to be confident in taking on new challenges and to be more open to broader perspectives. I was grateful for this opportunity since I got to work on something that was outside my comfort zone.
Are there any specific skills or knowledge areas that you have gained or improved upon?
At CePaCT, I have become better at identifying issues in existing documentation and finding ways to improve them, whether it's through reorganisation and clarification to ensure that documents are precise and accessible. Attention to detail is very crucial in my work since it requires me to go through various documents to verify things such as the legal status of their crop and seed collections. During this work, I also had the time also to view crop and seed information that I found to be very interesting and some things I could apply to further studies one day. Other than that, I was fortunate to work with lab technicians and scientists, where I gained knowledge on the different varieties of crops that are conserved, distributed and acquired from other countries that are in our regional genebank.
One of my favourite highlights during this internship was the training and workshops I attended; I learned and developed new skills. One of these trainings was the tissue culture workshop at the Koronivia Research Station. I must admit it was very exciting to work in a lab. I was also able to learn from scientists and professionals on the importance of specific crops in the Pacific and the role science plays in conserving them.
Any advice you would give young aspiring interns who want to be regional researchers?
Take advantage of any opportunity to learn something new. It’s important to start somewhere, even if it’s not what you expected. Just because there is a roadblock does not mean it’s the end of the road; sometimes you need to take a little detour to get to your destination. You may learn something along the way that relates to your field of interest, which will lead you to expand your horizons. My experience as a student has taught me a valuable lesson that you shouldn’t limit your learning to what is only relevant to your academic background; you need to be open to new ideas. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and get technical. It’s vital that in the Pacific we also train our aspiring researchers because we are more familiar with our context. There are so many research gaps in the region that we need to put a spotlight on, so working with experienced individuals will help you address these gaps. As a young aspiring researcher myself, working at SPC has provided great influence in my studies, where I hope to pursue further studies and research in food security and climate resilience in the Pacific, so Vinaka Vakalevu to both CePaCT and SPC.
