| Izah Azahari |
UNIVERSITI Brunei Darussalam (UBD) recently hosted the ‘Incu Festival 2017’, an entrepreneurship showcase from students who are undergoing the ‘Incubation Programme’ in their Discovery Year.
A joint collaboration between UBD’s School of Business and Economics (UBD SBE), the Centre for Lifelong Learning (C3L) and the University Incubation Programme (U.Inc.Startups), the event was coordinated by the Entrepreneurship Village (EV) – the university’s platform for an entrepreneurial education and ecosystem.
UBD Assistant Vice Chancellor (Global Affairs) Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean attended as the guest of honour.
In a speech, Adna Shatriremie bin Haji Abdul Rahman, the Head of UBD’s Entrepreneurship Village, pointed out that the university has set its sight on a multi-disciplinary incubation programme to allow students to come up with more fruitful and sustainable ideas.
Dr Teo also in a brief speech noted that when the Entrepreneurship Village was first launched in 2014, many of the participants were still unfamiliar with the business environment.
“The goal of the Entrepreneurship Village is to instil an entrepreneurial mindset in each and every one of our participants,” she said.
“What we are very glad to see, nearly three years later, is a group of very dedicated young entrepreneurs in the country.”
The guest of honour observes displays at the Kava booth
ABOVE & BELOW: Photos show UBD Assistant Vice Chancellor (Global Affairs) cum guest of honour Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean in conversation with participants at the exhibition. – PHOTOS: IZAH AZAHARI
UBD Entrepreneurship Village Head Adna Shatriremie bin Haji Abdul Rahman delivering his speech
A section of the attendees at the event
There was also an IncuFest Coffee Chat session featuring a line-up of speakers including Hiro Tien, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Social Deal and Escape Square; Ikmalina Hakimah binti Haji Md Yunus, a DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) board member and CEO of Itsybytes; Saedah binti Haji Hasnal, the CEO of BRUVERA; and Javed Ahmad, the CEO of DARe.
Eight of the incubation students also delivered talks on topics such as ‘Incubation Journey: The Real Story’, and ‘The Hardship in Entrepreneurship’.
Meanwhile, under the theme ‘Multidisciplinary Incubation at the University’, the students’ entrepreneurial efforts – both pragmatic and theory-based – were gathered under one main event, with more than 70 ideas and businesses including app development, videography, logistic services, food and beverages, and retail and fashion (including KAVA which will be representing Brunei Darussalam during the KL Fashion Week in September 2017).
The main goal of the one-day event was to provide a public platform for these newly-founded ventures to reach their target markets, while also conveying the message that the students are gearing towards self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship.
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