Are you looking to identify, nurture and polish your communication skills? The right place has just opened for you. Articulation, a division of Rhymin & Partners (Coaching and Consultancy), is a training centre that specializes in communication courses and programs segmented for organizations, adults and youth.

All the courses are conducted by Stuart Lee, who is a seasoned trainer and Toastmasters member. Stuart has been training in Brunei for the past few years to government agencies and corporates. I attended his “Getting Things Done” (GTD) course before and I was amazed at how comprehensive he was in helping us understand how to be productive and I was quite moved, considering how unproductive I can be and a huge procrastinator. It’s not surprising since he is a speaker who has won many speech contests, the most significant being the first District (Brunei, East Malaysia, Indonesia) champion from Brunei in 2013.

Stuart Lee mentored two speakers,Pooja Shivanand and Allen Ang and both were successful, reaching the highest accolade in respective categories of Toastmasters contest. This contest was held in Brunei last October 2016 where they competed against Malaysia and Indonesia for the contest.

Since then, he has trained hundreds of speakers. He has an innate ability to identify potential in speakers and nurture their talents to proper skills. He has mentored a few international speech champions in Toastmasters, and one even made it to Finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking. That’s one impressive record!

One thing about Stuart is he uses somewhat unconventional methods in his training, not just textbook theories. He understands the psyche of speakers who have stage fright or going blank during presentations, so his courses are suited to help nervous speakers overcome these problems. He also believes it takes meticulous trainings to convert ‘talent’ into skills, as he has seen many speakers who are even naturally talented, but are unable to channel the gift into proper, controlled skills. So being talented doesn’t mean you have what it takes.

An auditorium for training purposes

Over the years of training adults in government agencies and corporate companies, Stuart realized it’s best to start speakers early, especially during their teenage years. Good news is that he now even has courses specially catered to youth. Stuart believes the youth must be able to communicate to complement academic excellence. So among the many courses that Articulation offers, I find “Presentation Skills for Youth” to be of much value. I’ve seen many students in our local schools fear speaking and presenting in public. Even some of the smartest students are uncomfortable when asked to verbalise their thoughts in front of people. This could hinder not only their academic performance but also their future career opportunities. These are soft skills that are not taught in local schools. So this course is meant to prepare the youth to speak up in schools and tertiary to achieve their full potential.

Another flagship course is “Presentation Skills for Adults”, which is designed to help working individuals who are afraid to speak up at work and miss opportunities for growth in career. The course teaches them to deliver presentations, and articulate ideas during meetings among others. Both these presentation courses are over 8-weeks period.

There are also many other courses such as skills for interview, pitching, business English etc. that you might be interested in.

The courses will be conducted at Articulation Training Centre which is a customized stage to simulate public speaking experience. Speaking on the stage will definitely be a tough experience, but it will help to prepare the participants to battle stage fright. I think this is a great venture since communication is a life skill and being able to communicate effectively can take us places.

Personally I always learned a thing or two whenever Stuart gives his evaluations in toastmasters when it comes to speaking and presentation skills. It was also one of the main reasons I joined toastmasters so I have more opportunities to benefit from his sharing. I’m glad that he has ventured into training of his own. Congratulations, Stuart!

If you wish to know more, go to www.articulation.co or visit his Facebook Page or simply contact him at stu@rticulation.com

Ranking for Universiti Brunei Darussalam

A milestone to be proud for. Universiti Brunei Darussalam made it to the Top 400 of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. According to the ranking, it reached its highest with a rank of #349 among 26,000 universities around the world.

This means UBD is among the 1.3% of universities worldwide which is a very outstanding ranking, considering Brunei Darussalam being one of the smallest region in the world.

UBD was established in 1985 and it currently offers 8 academic faculties, 7 research institutes and 2 support centres. It has a total stat of 495 with 251 international staff. It houses almost 3,000 students.

So how does the QS World University Rankings work? The universities were evaluated according to the six metrics.

1. Academic Reputation
2. Employer Reputation
3. Faculty/Student Ratio
4. Citations per faculty
5. International Faculty Ratio
6. International Student Ratio

This was written at the QS World University Rankings website —— > Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) has come a long way since opening its doors in 1985 as the country’s premier national university. Guided by its four core values – people, expertise, relevance and leadership – in 2009, UBD implemented the groundbreaking GenNext Programme, which provides students greater flexibility in tailoring studies to the individual student’s learning style. UBD also offers diverse graduate studies with graduate research scholarships. With eight academic faculties, eight research institutes and two academic service centres, UBD is well-equipped to provide multidisciplinary programmes in a bid to produce students with greater adaptability, independence and drive to succeed.

Congratulations once again to Universiti Brunei Darussalam for reaching the milestone. I’m pretty sure His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuanof Brunei Darussalam will be very proud of this achievement. Let’s hope they strive harder to aim higher in the ranks.

The Top 10 ranking universities worldwide

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuanof Brunei Darussalam, Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam during the UBD Convocation last year

Shazali Dato Hj Sulaiman with his students during the UBD Convocation

Friends graduating from UBD

Towards contributing to the accountancy profession in Brunei, the UBD School of Business and Economics (UBDSBE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) during the BICPA 30th Anniversary Dinner held on 5th May 2017 at the Tarindak d’Polo Restaurant, Royal Polo and Riding Club, Jerudong. Image courtesy of UBD website.

Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), through the Centre of Networking, Employment and Career Training (CoNECT) is organising an on-campus corporate profiling event, in collaboration with Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd (Progresif). Image courtesy of UBD website

Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) held the “Alumni Networking Event” on 13th May 2017 at the UBD Business Library organised by the Office of Alumni Relations and Advancement (OARA). Image courtesy of UBD website

Over 100 attended a public lecture about heart attacks by Nursing Lecturer Md Khairulamin Sungkai on 24th May 2017 held at the Lecture hall of the PAPRSB Instutute of Health Sciences (IHS). Image courtesy of UBD website

Group photo of the Impact 2017 students with the invited guests. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong. Click image to enlarge.

Yes, this is a delayed post on the @ubdimpact2017 event that’s taking place at Art Gallery, Chancellor Hall, Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

The event is called Impact 2017: Art & Design Graduation Exhibition. The project is led by Nonnie King Siaw Chin, the Director, handling over 50 graduating students. With the theme, A Greater Spectacle, it is now in its 5th edition. I was fortunate enough to be view previous events and I am truly amazed by our local talents.

The art installations, paintings, computer graphics, animations and product designs are some of the things you can expect at Impact 2017. For your info, all these finished displays are only part of their module in terms of assessment points. Other marks and points will come from other areas such as presentations. They will be assessed by Associate Professor Kong Ho and Dr. Martie Geiger-Ho.

What’s interesting about the pieces are the story behind them. Why do they create that particular artwork or installation? Professor Kong has been involved with the students by challenging them with ideas and unlock their potential by translating their personal ideas and memories into an art form. Yes, the stories make a huge difference on the audience in appreciating their artwork even further. This exhibition is not something that you simply walk around after having a 3-5 second look. Their finished works required a little more attention and you will be amazed how a simplified artwork tells a lot of stories from the artist. This is the beauty of Impact 2017.

Just to give you some teaser, some of the stories depicts internal struggles, losing your loved ones, social and cultural issues to name a few. There are a few stories on bullying as well. Do connect with the artist to find out more about his or her particular art piece. He or she will appreciate it more. Congratulations to all the students and I hope all of you earned awesome marks from your lecturers 🙂

Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean, UBD’s Assistant Vice Chancellor (Global Affairs), gracing the opening of Impact 2017

Titled “Helpless”, a painting installation by Noor Aqilah binti Hj Abu Bakar. The image depicted of her memories as a kid when her home at Kg Ayer caught on fire.

Titled “Seni Sribuza”, pattern design &art installation by Dk Nur Izzatul A’mal Pg Abd Rahim. Seni Sribuza means the art of Brunei. She’s a big fan of decorative patterns on Brunei traditional handicrafts and architecture. Her favourite colour is blue and she spent around BND 4,000 on her installation.

Titled “Use it or Lose it”, graphic design by Md Wafiuddin bin Hj Ahmad. I kinda like this art piece. There’s an interesting story behind this. I shall let you visit Impact 2017 to find out more.

Sentimental Attachment, a photo-realistic drawing by Nurnabilah Awang Hj Mohammed Ismail. She spent a few months finishing her drawing and the items she drawn are something meaningful to her.

The exhibition was officiated on 12th April 2017 at the lobby of the Chancellor Hall by UBD’s Assistant Vice Chancellor (Global Affairs) Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean. Also in attendance were Dato Paduka Hj Idris Hj Abas, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) Dr David Koh, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Dr Hjh Asiyah Hj Ahmad Kumpoh, Principle Officers of UBD and sponsors.

During the opening ceremony, Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean pointed out that the creative economy is not only a rapidly growing sector of the world economy but also a highly transformative one in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. She quoted the UNESCO website which said between 2002 and 2011, developing countries averaged 12.1 percent annual growth in exports of creative goods.

“I would like to encourage the Art and Creative Technology programme to continue their pursuit in making this programme unique and multidisciplinary,” she added. “Where each piece of work can also bring in the collaboration from other perspectives such as engineering and entrepreneurship for example.”

The exhibition will open to the public and will conclude on Saturday, 20 May 2017. Gallery hours are from 9am to 7pm Monday through Thursday and Saturday, and the Art Gallery is closed on Friday and Sunday.

For updates, you can follow them on IG @ubdimpact2017 and their Facebook Page. You can also read reports from UBD news and Sutera.

Theressa having fun playing with this art installation by Hjh Noraziah binti Hj Ismail.

Window of Faith, a painting installation by Syakirah Jamali. She’s always fascinated by the colours of light passing through the stained-glass window which evokes the divine presence and a sense of hope.

Kattaleya, an art installation by Azreena Rakawi. She’s fond of flowers since she was a kid. I believe it was her grandma that gave her an orchid when she was little girl. I’m impressed with this installation as it has many layers of glass panels

Theressa wrote many love notes to the students as a sign of appreciation and encouragement.

Sublime, a shadowbox installation by Michelle Lieu. Her idea behind her art project is to change the perception of natural found objects which can be an art form itself. She hopes her project can open the mind of viewers to appreciate the beauty of nature in their surrounding environment.

Regrets and Lies, a videography by Md Hanif Khairuddin Hj Ahmad Shah. Another interesting perspective on why people lie and his video shows the trend in our society on how lies are being perceived.

A Fiery Path of War, a video game design by Wilfred Achong. He created this heavy duty animation game on his own and this alone thats up a few terabytes. Again, we were quite amazed that this was done by him alone. The game shares the effects and the misunderstandings of war.

Affection, an augmented reality graffiti by Md Nur Huda Firdaus bin Jamil. He shares his affection on his late mother. He has a gift on painting murals.

Treasure Cove @ UBD’s Business Library

Yang Mulia Datin Dr. Hajah Anita Binaural Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Hj Awang Abdul Aziz, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Brunei and Dr. Chris Woo, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, UBD

Finally something different to offer from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). I remembered Dr. Chris Woo hinting me about a gift space in UBD a few months ago and today, I saw it with my own eyes. It was called Treasure Cove, the first gift and souvenir brand, initiated by the Office of Promotion and Events Management under the Corporate and Administration office of UBD. Apparently under the direction of Dr. Chris Woo, a group of alumni UBD students were involved in this project.

The inaugural event was celebrated with UBD’s corporate partners that has helped UBD in numerous of activities. So yes, there were a tons of familiar faces to begin with.

It’s good to see UBD creating their own unique house brand and the idea of Treasure Cove will help to support the creative, artistic as well as entrepreneurial talents of UBD students and alumni. The majority of Treasure Cove products are originally created by the inspired efforts of UBD’s graduates. From what I was told that some of the alumni were involved in previous UBD Spectacle, a UBD art module that exhibits students’ talents in the field of arts and design. Treasure Cove is indeed UBD’s testament and commitment to continually provide the support and encouragement to Brunei’s entrepreneurial minds.

Dr. Chris shared that there will be more products that will be made available as they are in production. The Treasure Cove space is located next to R&C cafe at UBD’s Business Library. Congratulations to the team behind the project. I hope to see more UBD merchandise product and I’m already impressed with their locally designed pens. You can follow their updates on IG @treasurecovebn

The launching event was graced by Yang Mulia Datin Dr. Hajah Anita Binaural Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Hj Awang Abdul Aziz, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Also present was Hjh Rubiah binti Hj Yacub, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Corporate and Administration) who delivered a welcoming remark.

Hjh Rubiah binti Hj Yacub, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Corporate and Administration)

Some of the items for sale at Treasure Cove

Locally made pens

My favourite design of the lot

Guest of honour touring the showcase

With representatives from Progresif Cellular

Dr. Chris Woo and his team from the Alumni

Press release: Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA), Radio Television Brunei (RTB), the Employee Trust Fund (TAP), as well as related agencies and financial institutions, held its first National Savings Day 2017 roadshow at Chung Hwa Middle School, Bandar Seri Begawan on Tuesday, 7 Rejab 1438 corresponding to 4 April 2017.

The Guest of Honour for the event was Yang Berhormat Awang Ong Tiong Oh, Member of the Legislative Council who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Chung Hwa Middle School. Also present during at the roadshow were senior officers from AMBD, as well as senior officers from Ministry of Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Brunei and Muara District Office, and Chung Hwa Middle School.

With the theme “Financially Literate Generation”, the roadshow is hoped to increase awareness of the importance of savings, financial independence and to make individuals and households, in particular students, to be more financially-savvy in the future. This is in line with AMBD’s efforts to develop a financially literate generation and also Brunei Vision 2035’s objectives towards achieving a dynamic and sustainable economy, as well as highly-skilled population.

100 students from secondary schools in the Brunei-Muara District were invited to participate in interactive financial-related games and activities organized by AMBD, TAP, Baiduri Bank, Junior Achievement and Great Eastern. The games and activities gave introduction on financial management and also local currency.

The next roadshow will be on Thursday, 6 April in Brunei-Muara District, followed by roadshows in Belait District, Tutong District and Temburong District on Monday 10 April, Thursday 13 April and Tuesday, 18 April respectively.

Other events planned in conjunction with the National Savings Day 2017 are the Financial Fun Fair, which will be held at the Jerudong Park Colonnade on Sunday, 30 April 2017 from 2pm to 10pm, which will feature a host of family fun-filled programs and interactive activities; and a Financial Showcase on Saturday, 20 May 2017 from 2pm to 8pm at the Airport Mall.

For more information on National Savings Day 2017, members of the public can visit AMBD’s website at www.ambd.gov.bn/nsd2017; download AMBD App from the App Store or Google Playstore; or follow AMBD on Instagram at @autoriti_monetari. Images courtesy of @tap_brunei @baiduribank

Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah binti Pengiran Haji Salleh Ab Rahaman stressed on ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for the present and the next generation, added that the next generation is the next best hope in securing a favourable future on this planet.

Her Royal Highness in her sabda at the opening ceremony of the 13th International School Brunei (ISB) Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) at the International Convention Centre (ICC), said to realise the full potential of the next generation, we need to invest in them.

“We need to further increase their awareness of the problems the world will face and equip them with the tools to solve them. We need to constantly build up their capacity. Education is more than what we receive in a classroom. Events like the BGIC refine the other important life skills that include communication, persuasion, negotiation, networking and character development,” Her Royal Highness said.

“In particular, I hope that the students’ active participation in the format of a model United Nations conference can allow them to take the perspective of world leaders and inculcate in themselves a strong understanding of how debate, negotiation, protocol, mutual understanding and compromise can slowly but surely advance the causes that they care about,” she added.

“We need to give today’s youths more platforms like BGIC to let them act according to their conscience and sense of responsibility,” Her Royal Highness added.

It can be a catastrophe if the objectives of ending global poverty and inequality are not met. Her Royal Highness also touched on climate change that has impacted public health, the environment, food and water security, migration, peace and security.

Her Royal Highness reminded us the quote by the former UN Secretary-General famously stated, “There is no Plan B, because there is no planet B.”

I can’t believe this is the 13th edition of the BGIC. I used to be involved as a social media partner in helping creating awareness of what happens during BGIC and I have to salute the team and organiser behind the BGIC project. It’s never an easy feat to pull off a huge event and kudos to all of them.

The ISB Borneo Global Issue Conference (ISB BGIC) is an annual student led model UN conference where participants represent various countries, addressing their views on current and real world issues among their peers. The conference is an initiative aimed at the expansion of students’ understanding of global citizenship and improving public speaking and negotiation skills. The four day event came to a close yesterday at International Convention Centre.

It also good to see the involvement of different local schools in this project. Over 150 students from 21 schools were involved and this is a great platform for them to learn to negotiate and create resolutions between one another.

BGIC also had three keynote speakers – Kenny Peavy, Dr (Hon) Wong Siew Te and Karan Jerath.

Click image to enlarge

Haji Sairul Rhymin C.A Mohamed, CEO and trainer for Getting Things Done™ (GTD) at the Young Executive Seminar (YES) 2016 at Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur last November

Young Executive Seminar (YES) 2016 was held from the 1-2nd November last year at Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This prestigious event was organized by Irshad HR Consulting, an executive partner of our local coaching and consultancy firm Rhymin & Partners. Irshad believes that young executives should be inspired to develop their leadership skills, where in return these young executives will lift up the performance of everyone who works with them.

With “PURPOSE. PASSION. PERFORMANCE” as the theme for last year’s YES 2016, participants was served with an array of influential and experienced speakers and facilitators to meet the seminars objectives. Haji Sairul Rhymin C.A Mohamed, CEO and trainer for Getting Things Done™ (GTD) was invited to present a 2-hour taster of Rhymin & Partners’ franchise GTD training.

One of the testimonials from a participant

Getting Things Done™ is a work-life management system that has helped countless individuals and organizations bring order to chaos with stress-free productivity. In essence, GTD™ is a powerful method to manage commitments, information, and communication. It has earned a reputation as the gold standard in personal and organizational productivity. GTD™ has helped more than 40% Fortune 500 companies and their employees with a minimum of 20% improvement in the personal productivity and effectiveness. Implementing GTD™ will enable greater performance, capacity and innovation. It helps alleviates the feeling of being overwhelm by instilling focus, clarity and confidence with a simple, trusted and personal system.

Rhymin & Partners have offered services to help develop the public and private workforce not only locally but internationally as well, as they are the official franchise holder for GTD™ in Malaysia and soon to be Singapore. They also offer other trainings which are Effective Communication Skills which is led by Stuart Lee and also Coaching where they bring in Alex Tan from Avidity Malaysia to come in and help organisations improve their company’s health. Some of their well-known clients are Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Development, Telbru, JPH, RB, UBD ILIA, BIBD, Mixmedia, BAG, AITI, BEBD, TM (Malaysia) and Kaspersky (Malaysia) just to name a few. I even had a one day session of GTD two years ago and I find it quite useful and educational.

Should you require further information on how Rhymin & Partners can help your organization, please contact them at enquiries@rhyminpartners.com or at +6732450710.

Jim Noble, renowned mathematician talking in his key lecture, ‘Mean Girls: Mathematics and the MEANing of Life’

Jerudong International School was buzzing with excitement recently in both the Senior and Junior School as the annual Maths weeks took place once again. The guest for the week was Jim Noble, a renowned mathematician who JIS and Shell Brunei brought into School. His key lecture ‘Mean Girls: Mathematics and the MEANing of Life’ was well received by students of all ages in the magnificent Arts Centre Auditorium. This sponsored event also included students from the International School Brunei, Chung Lian School, Seri Mulia Sarjana, St. Andrews School, STPRI School, SMJA and St. George’s School.

The new Head of the Maths Faculty, Rebecca Baker, an Oxford University Graduate who has worked in schools in the UK, Europe and Central America before joining JIS in August 2016, was delighted with the way students seized the opportunity to focus on Maths that week.

Jim Noble, who runs maths workshops, conferences and writes in two mathematics websites for teachers (www.teachmathematics.net and www.thinkib.net.mathstudies) was also very positive about his time in Brunei as evidenced in his tweets at @teachmaths.

Mr Noble spoke to JIS students as well as 7 invited schools in the Auditorium of the JIS Arts Centre

JIS Seniors participating in House Sprint Maths in Maths Week

A display of Geodesic Domes made by Year 10 students from the workshop with Mr Noble

Oxford graduate, Ms Rebecca Baker, the new Head of Maths at JIS Senior School

Throughout the week, the maths faculty held various maths workshops such as ‘The Exponential Experience’, where students modelled the spread of disease as a way of understanding exponential growth. The ‘Geodesic Domes’ workshop taught students to use rich and engaging maths to make impressive geodesic domes. ‘Code Breaking’ challenged students to try to break different types of codes for students using logic, reasoning and creativity. Sprint Maths competitions were held for different age groups of students at lunchtimes.

On Friday, the Mathematics faculty, joined by Maths teachers from ISB, had an enriching workshop with Maths Week guest speaker, Jim Noble, where they had the opportunity to exchange ideas about teaching mathematics. Maths Week at JIS has always been a popular event amongst the students & is one of the most anticipated in the academic calendar. It looks as though the week with Mr Noble will continue this tradition! Press release by JIS.

Yang Mulia Dr. Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh, Permanent Secretary (Core Education) of Ministry of Education handing over mock key to Mr Barnaby Sandow, Principal of Jerudong International School for the new Sport Complex last Wednesday

Mr Barnaby Sandow in his welcoming remarks before the hand over

The Board of Directors and Principal of Jerudong International School (JIS) held a “Handover Key Ceremony” of the new Sports Complex designed by local architects, EcoBumi on Wednesday, 15th February.

The guest of honour was Yang Mulia Dr. Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh, Permanent Secretary (Core Education) of Ministry of Education. Other distinguished guests included guests from the Ministry of Education, Darussalam Assets and the Board of Directors of Jerudong International School. For your info, JIS is now under Darussalam Assets.

The ceremony started with the recital of surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat by Cikgu Mohammad Norisham bin Hj Kamis followed by opening remarks by Mr Barnaby Sandow, Principal of JIS. “The new Sports Complex provides JIS students with further opportunities to be the best that they can be. We look forward to welcoming the Bruneian community at our community sports events in the future too.”

Following the ceremony, the guest of honour and distinguished guests were given a guided tour of the newly established sports complex. The key features of the new sports complex are the two large indoor multi-purpose courts, an indoor 8-lane, 25 metre swimming pool, a fitness suite and 2 classrooms. The excellent indoor multi-purpose courts will facilitate students to be able to do team sports such as Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, 5 a-side Football and other court games.

Director of Sports, Chris McGeorge raised that, “students have missed at least 50 hours from PE time in the past academic year due to poor weather conditions such as lightning and now with our new indoor facilities we are able to run PE classes smoothly despite any bad weather we may encounter.”

Located near JIS’ Boarding houses, Ugama block and the current V-Block sports field, the new Sports Complex is a wonderful addition to the facilities at Jerudong International School.

The 8 lane 25 meter swimming pool

It also has a security code (lock) to enter

The guests having a tour around the Sports Complex

The multipurpose sports hall and they were training indoor tennis then. Cool 😀

Guest of honour with associates from Darussalam Assets touring the premise

This is another sports hall

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, and Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Brunei’s (UTB) has urged UTB to create a curriculum that reinforces entrepreneurial spirit among graduates.

Delivering a titah at UTB Convocation Ceremony 2016, His Majesty said, “Alhamdulillah, I have heard that graduates from UTB are capable in meeting the needs of the job market. But at the same time, their involvement in entrepreneurship is still at a low level. Therefore, it is time for UTB to put in efforts to reform its curriculum to ensure that entrepreneurial spirit and opportunities are better developed at a much earlier stage.”

His Majesty hailed UTB for upgrading its status and the successful expansion of study programmes, as yesterday’s graduation ceremony involved 12 degree programmes.

It was the 4th Bachelor’s Degree graduation convocation and the 25th Higher National Diploma (HND) convocation of the university.

His Majesty congratulated UTB’s new graduates and wished that their achievement will be a catalyst for future success. The monarch also congratulated the parents and guardians of the new graduates as well as the academicians who worked hard to ensure the students stayed on the right path throughout their studies.

Commending the decision to upgrade Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) to UTB after reaching 30 years of its establishment, His Majesty hoped that with the new name, UTB will augment its efforts to fulfil the objective, mission and vision of the institution. Whatever is planned and implemented must conform to the national philosophy of Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB), the monarch reiterated.

Acknowledging the success of the university which saw the first graduation of students from 12 degree programmes that were first introduced in 2012 (in 2009-2011, UTB (then ITB) only had four programmes), His Majesty said that this is a proud achievement for UTB that has diversified or enlarged the number of study options available for students, and urged UTB to continue expanding and introducing other study programmes that are relevant towards realising the nation’s economic development.

Touching on sources of jobs from the non-oil and gas sector, His Majesty took note of the establishment of the School of Applied Sciences and Mathematics that offers Bachelor’s Degree programme in Food Science and Technology. “The programme, among others, is hoped to support the growth of the country’s food industry and make it more competitive in the international arena.”

His Majesty also stressed on the importance of accreditation for professional programmes, stating that efforts towards it can enhance the level of skills and marketability of graduates.

“I am delighted to know that the UTB School of Computing and Informatics has been accredited by the British Computer Society, which is an international professional body. In a period of global economic uncertainties, the initiative towards accreditation can save the cost of training incurred by employers,” the monarch said.

His Majesty also urged that in facing the world economic crisis, UTB and other public higher learning institutions must show prudence in spending and not rely fully on government. Text by Azaraimy of Borneo Bulletin and images by @haqimie267