Outstanding Academic Institutions

Several academic institutions in the country have achieved notable milestones over the past year.

Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) held its 34th Convocation Ceremony to celebrate its graduating students from the class of 2022 in August 2022. Last year saw a total of 1,028 graduates, consisting of 18 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduates, 296 Master graduates, 703 Bachelor and 11 Diploma recipients.

Following the convocation ceremony, UBD honoured the achievements of its excellent students at the University Medal and Book Prize Awards Ceremony. A total of 88 University Medals, Book Prizes, and Excellence Awards were presented to 81 students during the ceremony. One student received the Vice Chancellor’s Medal and five received the coveted University Silver Medal Award.

Amongst the recipients of the University Book Awards, 13 students and 68 students from Master’s Degree and Bachelor’s Degree programmes respectively received the prestigious award for their outstanding performance. The 10th Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) Convocation Ceremony was held in September 2022, conferring certificates to 381 graduates including PhD to two graduates, Master’s Degree to 66 graduates and Bachelor’s Degree to 274 graduates.

In conjunction with the convocation ceremony, 105 graduates and students were awarded during the Excellence Awards held in the same month for the University Excellence Awards; the Dean’s List Awards; the Co-curricular Activities or Student Achievement Passport (SAP) Awards; and the People’s Choice Awards. New categories were introduced for postgraduate students, namely the Publication Award and the Outstanding Research Paper Award. Of the total, 54 Excellence Awards went to graduates; 43 Dean’s List Awards to students; five Co-curricular Awards to graduates; and three Final Year Project Awards to Graduates from the People’s Choice Awards.

Held recently in Pakistan, the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards is an annual international awards programme which aims to raise ICT awareness in the community and assist in bridging the digital divide. One of Brunei’s representatives was Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Girls Arabic Religious Secondary School (SUAMPRIPAHS) who won a Merit Award for mobile app SignSpeak, designed to help people with disabilities such as blind or deaf people. In July 2022, International School Brunei (ISB) was re-accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the International Baccalaureate (IB). These accreditations are fundamental to the school as they provide external validity as to ISB’s quality and enable the school to function as a recognised educational body around the world.

Passing both accreditations highlights that ISB has met the highest professional performance in international education, focussed on teaching and learning quality as well as students’ well-being.