Pacific Islander superstars of the National Rugby League have gone to the top of the class after flexing their thinking muscle at ANU.

Proving that they are all brawn and all brain, 15 players of Pacific Island heritage have just completed a 10-week, online Pacific studies course at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

The course ‘Navigating Pacific studies’ is part of an ongoing collaboration between the NRL and the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific that aims to strengthen and benefit Australian Pacific communities through academic outreach and education.

It also builds leadership qualities in elite athletes.

Convenor Dr Roannie Ng-Shiu said that the course provides players and staff with an introduction to Pacific studies, including the settlement and history of the region and understanding of key contemporary issues facing Pacific communities in Australia.

“The course also provides a framework to build competencies in leadership and Pacific culture,” she said.

“For elite athletes of Pacific heritage this course provides them an opportunity to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Pacific region and its peoples and therefore can provide them the cultural knowledge and skills to be Pacific leaders in their respective communities, clubs and in the game of rugby league.

“The highlight has been seeing the younger players in the course grow and develop in to more confident young men. Seeing the reactions and responses of the students to the content and material which has fuelled their desire to help improve the social outcomes of Pacific communities in Australia and region has given me a lot of satisfaction and has made this whole process worth it.”

The players were presented with graduation certificates as part of Pacific Day 2013 – an annual event which celebrates Pacific culture and heritage at ANU and in the ACT.

Dr Ng-Shiu said the Pacific Day 2013 was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the players’ academic achievements.

“Pacific Day is a celebration of Pacific cultures at ANU. It is an opportunity for all Pacific student groups at ANU and other Pacific school cultural groups from Sydney and ACT to come together and put on a cultural performance festival for the wider ANU community,” said Dr Ng-Shiu.

“Spectators see a variety of performances including songs and dances from Samoa, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tahiti and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

“This year Julia Gray, director of the Pacific contemporary dance company Sunameke completed a solo performance of Tahitian dance. Special guests from the NRL, who were part of the Navigating Pacific Studies course, also talked about their experiences and the importance of education for Pacific communities.”

Find out more about Pacific studies at ANU here.