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Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2023
Universities and Colleges
Universiti Brunei
Darussalam
Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD)
is the national university of Brunei
and is internationally recognised
for its high-quality education and
research. Established in 1985, UBD is
a comprehensive research-intensive
university that offers a wide range
of academic programmes at the
undergraduate and postgraduate
levels.
In order to facilitate high-impact
research contributions, UBD provides
capacity-building
opportunities
within and outside the country. Close
collaborations with experts from
internationally renowned institutions,
government, private sectors, various
industries and agencies have resulted
in active student and staff mobility,
robust technology transfer, expansion
of professional research and education
networks as well as synergistic
partnerships with collaborators all over
the world.
The university continues to rise up
the recent Times Higher Education
(THE) World University Rankings, which
placed UBD within the 301-350 band.
This is the highest placement for UBD
to date compared to when it first
entered THE rankings in 2019.
UBD has also strengthened its position
as one of the best ASEAN universities,
ranking third in the region behind
National University of Singapore and
Nanyang Technological University.
UBD ensures that it stays ahead of
strong competition with its growing
strength in teaching and research.
Out of the five pillars used by THE,
UBD demonstrated improvements
in Teaching, Research and Industry
Income compared to the previous year.
International Outlook was the highest
ranked pillar, placing UBD 163
rd
in the
world. For both International Outlook
and Citations, UBD outperformed 75
per cent of all 1,799 institutions ranked
by THE. This fortifies the university’s
status as an internationally recognised
institution excelling in teaching
and research. UBD was also ranked
worldwide in specific disciplines:
201-250 for both Engineering and
Technology as well as Social Sciences,
and 401-500 in Physical Sciences.
The university’s latest Field-Weighted
Citation Impact (FWCI) is 1.43, the
highest since 2019. This shows that
UBD’s publications currently have
43 per cent more impact than the
global average. The increase in
citations shows the credibility of UBD
researchers as well as the importance
and reach of their studies worldwide.
UBD’s rise up the ranks is a reflection
of the university’s ongoing efforts to
improve its teaching and research,
producing future-proof graduates
relevant to the industry and academics
who make significant impact in their
respective areas of research and
teaching.