Short Courses & Continuing Education

Short, practical courses for people already in work — public servants, professionals, NGO staff and small business owners. No formal entry requirements, and most run in five days or fewer.

Study Without Enrolling in a Degree

Not everyone who needs something from the University needs a degree from it. Short courses put a School's teaching in front of people who have a job to do: a public servant writing a policy submission, an accounts officer moving to a new reporting standard, an NGO coordinator running a survey.

Courses are delivered by the Open College and the Centre for Human Resource Development, taught by the same academics who teach the degree programs, and can be run in-house for an organisation that has a group to train.

Course Areas

Indicative offerings. Each course runs when a viable group has enrolled, and dates are confirmed at the start of each semester.

Public Policy and Public Administration

Open College

Policy analysis, submission writing, budget literacy and programme evaluation for officers in national and provincial administrations.

Duration
5 days
Mode
Face to face, Waigani
Fee
From K1,800

Financial Management and Accounting

School of Business & Public Policy

Financial reporting, acquittals, procurement and internal control for finance officers in government, business and the NGO sector.

Duration
5 days
Mode
Face to face, Waigani
Fee
From K2,200

Human Resource Management

Centre for Human Resource Development

Recruitment, performance management, workplace relations and PNG employment law for supervisors and HR staff.

Duration
3 days
Mode
Face to face or in-house
Fee
From K1,400

About the Centre

Research Methods and Data

Cross-school

Survey design, sampling, basic statistics and report writing for staff who have to gather and use evidence in their work.

Duration
4 days
Mode
Face to face, Waigani
Fee
From K1,900

Professional Writing and Communication

School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Report writing, plain English drafting, media handling and presentation skills for professionals whose work is read by others.

Duration
3 days
Mode
Face to face or in-house
Fee
From K1,400

Public Health and Clinical Update Courses

School of Medicine & Health Sciences

Continuing education for health workers, delivered at the Taurama campus with clinical teaching alongside Port Moresby General Hospital.

Duration
2 to 5 days
Mode
Face to face, Taurama
Fee
On application

How to Enrol

Individuals enrol directly. Organisations with five or more participants should ask about an in-house course instead.

  1. Choose a course and check the dates

    Contact the Open College with the course area you are interested in. It will tell you when the course next runs and what it will cover.

  2. Register your place

    Complete the registration form with your name, employer and contact details. There are no formal entry requirements, but courses assume working English and relevant work experience.

    Employers sponsoring staff should register on their behalf so the invoice is raised correctly.

  3. Pay the fee

    Fees are payable before the course starts, by bank transfer or at the Bursary. Sponsored participants need a purchase order or a letter of undertaking from their employer.

  4. Attend

    Courses run on campus from 8:30am to 4:00pm with materials, morning tea and lunch provided. Bring photo identification for the gate on the first morning.

  5. Receive your certificate

    Participants who attend the full course receive a UPNG certificate of completion. Short courses do not carry academic credit unless the course notice says otherwise.

In-House and Custom Courses

Any of these courses can be delivered at your workplace, or redesigned around a problem your organisation is facing. In-house delivery is quoted per group rather than per participant, and can be run outside Port Moresby where travel is covered.

  • Minimum group size of 10 for in-house delivery
  • Content agreed with you before the course is scheduled
  • Delivered by UPNG academics in the relevant School
  • Certificates of completion issued by the University

Course Enquiries

Short courses are coordinated by the Open College, with the Centre for Human Resource Development delivering the management and HR programmes.

Open College — Short Courses

About the Open College

Course areas, durations and fees on this page are indicative and are confirmed when a course is scheduled.