| Azlan Othman |
A NUMBER of prominent higher education institutions from Brunei and abroad as well as several foreign missions and education agencies will take part in the two-day Higher Education Expo 2018 which will be held from February 10-11 at the BRIDEX Hall 2, Jerudong.
Organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE) through the Higher Education Division, Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) and Scholarship Section, the annual event aims to be a “one-stop information centre for higher education” which will unite all post-secondary educational institutions, government and private institutions of higher learning within and outside the country under one roof to provide an overview of the post-secondary and tertiary education landscape in the country.
The expo will feature a wide range of routes to higher education and highlight the opportunities available on lifelong learning in the country and abroad, Siti Zuliana binti Haji Abdul Samad, Head of the Higher Education Division at the MoE said in a press conference yesterday.
Also present at the conference were Dr Chin Wei Keh, Director of IBTE and Julaihi bin Mohamat, Head of the Scholarship Section at the MoE in his capacity as Chairman of the expo.
The MoE hopes that the expo will be a platform to facilitate students, who wish to raise the level of their academic studies, to interact directly with educational institutions and agencies in the country and abroad.
Siti Zuliana welcomed students from within and outside the country who are interested in pursuing higher education, especially those with ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level qualifications, NTec, HNTec or diploma Level 3, 4 and 5, degree, master degree as well as professional and alumni degree to attend the expo.
“Some 10,000 visitors participated in last year’s expo. With the recent release of GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level results, students can learn more about their interests from this expo,” Siti Zuliana added.
The third edition of the expo is aimed at displaying various educational routes; sharing information on institutions of higher learning in Brunei Darussalam in terms of programme offered, criteria of enrolment, processes and procedures; providing opportunities for students to interact directly with their institution of choice, and for professional practitioners to exchange views with experts from other institutions; and granting registration opportunities to public and private higher education institutions within or outside the country.
Government institutions participating in the expo are HECAS, Scholarship Scheme, Education Loan Assistance Scheme (SBPP), Brunei Darussalam National Accreditation Council (BDNAC), Career Unit and Department of Schools.
Higher education institutions attending the event are Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA), Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB).
Technical and vocational institutions such as Politeknik Brunei and IBTE; private institutions such as Laksamana College of Business, Kolej International Graduate Studies (Kolej IGS), Kemuda Institute, Brunei Darussalam Institute of Certified Public Accountants (BICPA), Micronet International College and Cosmopolitan College of Commerce and Technology will also take part in the expo.
Overseas missions from USA, Japan, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia as well as overseas education agencies such as HRDs Services, Findlay Sdn Bhd, James Hon Marketing and Management, British Council and BLau Services will also present at the expo.
Meanwhile, Julaihi said not many scholarships are available to study overseas nowadays compared to the previous years.
“We are focussing on the development of our local institutions that offer several courses. UBD has started offering medical courses, and recently dentistry, while many engineering courses are available at UTB, so too is the Islamic Law course which is now available at UNISSA.
“The situation has further brightened with the development of local institutions like IBTE and Politeknik Brunei that have also expanded,” he added.
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