| Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
A GRADUATION ceremony to honour 649 students from Laksamana College of Business (LCB) in Business, Hospitality and Computing and Survey Development courses was held last night at Songket Ballroom of The Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong.
The evening session, for University of Chester UK degree students, was graced upon by the guest of honour, Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman.
Other dignitaries at the ceremony included British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, Richard Lindsay; Pro Vice Chancellor of Chester University, Dr Chris Haslam; Chairman of Kensington College of Business, London (KCB), Dr Lawrence Watson; Principal and Director of KCB and LCB, Ian Pirie; Director of LCB, Haji Suhaimei bin Haji Besar; and Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Principal, Sivarajah Subramaniam.
The graduation ceremony commenced with a recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah by Ahmad Shafiq bin Haji Osman and followed by welcoming speeches by the Principal of Kensington College of Business Laksaman College of Business, Ian Pirie; High Commissioner Richard Lindsay and the Minister of Education.
In his speech, the minister said that LCB has been dedicated to providing quality education to Bruneians for the past 14 years, and continues to support the country’s needs by offering relevant programmes and developing the country’s future workforce, in addition to offering programmes relevant to the needs of industry in Brunei Darussalam.
“An institution of higher learning should continuously strive to improve the quality of the programmes offered, including collaborative programmes with institutions abroad, by increasing its institutional reputation locally and internationally. I am happy to note that LCB has alumni who have graduated from top universities like the London School of Economics, and other universities in the UK such as Aston University, University of South Wales, Keele University and a student who has completed her doctorate degree at Surrey University. Congratulations, I hope to hear more of such success stories.
“On that note, I wish to reiterate the government’s emphasis on quality, and urge LCB to continue with its mission to enhance the quality of its education, by partnering with reputable universities overseas. It is notable that some of LCB’s graduates are pursuing their higher education in the UK under the Ministry of Education’s Education Loan Scheme.
I was informed that two are in the University College Birmingham undertaking a BA (Hons) in Marketing Management and will be completing the programme next year in January. This scheme is very much in line with what is in our Vision 2035, that is to produce highly skilled highly educated people of Brunei Darussalam,” he said.
The first batch of graduates for the University of Chester UK degree programmes are from various degree courses that encompasses BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance, BA (Hons) in Business Management, BA (Hons) in Marketing, and BSc (Hons) in Computer Science. There are 63 graduates from the University of Chester university and five graduates secured First Class Honours degree.
Among them were Haji Muhd Taufiq bin Haji Suhamin (BA Hons in Accounting and Finance), Siti Sarah binti Syed Ibrahim (BA Hons in Accounting and Finance), Muhammad Nazree Asli (BA Hons in Business Management), Nur Haziyah Syafiqah binti Hasni (BA Hons in Business Management), and Sahrin bin Haji Abdul Rahman (BSc Hons in Computer Science).
First class students are not only recognised but are also awarded BND5,000. Scholarships were also awarded to three students for their outstanding and exceptional achievement and active participation in college activities.
This year, scholarships were awarded to Michelle Esher Sasha Kameleoy (1st year student in Computer Science), Kong Xiang Yun (2nd year degree student in Computer Science) and Redzwan Hasim (Final year student in Computer Science).
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