UNIVERSITI Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) have made Brunei proud, achieving commendable positions in the renowned Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
It is for the first time UTB has made its appearance in the prestigious global ranking in which the university has secured the 442nd position. UBD leapt up the QS rankings by a substantial 26 places, currently placed at 323 in the world.
Breaking into the QS World University Rankings for the first time last year in the top 1.3 per cent of all universities globally, UBD continues to show remarkable progress for a young 33-year-old university, a press statement issued by the institution said.
QS World Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by QS and viewed as one of the three most-widely read university rankings in the world along with Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Among the indicators used to assess university performance covering Academic Reputation, Research, Teaching and Internationalisation, UBD’s strongest performance indicators are International Faculty where it ranked 51 globally, Faculty Student Ratio (ranked 61) and International Students (ranked 214).
These are significant improvements compared to the previous year. These indicators of teaching and learning show that UBD is fulfilling its vision and mission, continuing to provide the highest quality, state-of-the-art education for its students, the statement said.
The QS survey confirms that research activities at UBD have increased significantly over the years both in terms of research output and research impact.
Recent research publications in international peer-reviewed journals rose by 43 per cent from 706 to 1,010 and the number of QS normalised citations, which measures research impact, also increased by 71 per cent. The university’s latest Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) is 1.38, which shows UBD had 38 per cent more citations in 2017 than the global average. UBD is now considered a “High Research Intensive” university internationally.
“UBD continues to focus on high quality academic research which is aligned with the National Vision, 2035, that not only has high academic value but also has economic and social impact and applied relevance. This includes strategic areas such as alternative energy research, biodiversity and the environment including herbal and medicinal plant research, Islamic banking and finance, Islamic governance, data analytics and cybersecurity.
“This is in line with the titah by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Chancellor of UBD, during the university’s 29th Convocation Ceremony where the monarch highlighted research as a crucial factor in the efforts to raise the status of the university. His Majesty said, ‘Research is the one factor that sets apart a university from other institutions of higher learning,’” the UBD statement said.
A major development for UBD which has an impact on its QS reputation is the establishment of its first overseas campus in 2017, the UBD-FPT Global Centre in Da Nang, Vietnam. It is also the first overseas campus by an ASEAN university in Vietnam.
A collaboration with FPT University, the centre aims to be a leading centre in ASEAN for English Language training.
The overseas campus has already resulted in employment opportunities for a number of Bruneians.
The centre also envisages joint research and development in the field of computing.
UBD takes its research a step further by encouraging its students to additionally develop an entrepreneurial mindset in helping to achieve its goal of becoming a ‘University of Innovation and Enterprise’.
With sustained efforts over the years, UBD has now filed 53 patents in Brunei Darussalam and other international geographies. In the United States alone, UBD has filed 35 patents.
Year 2018 marks a major milestone where UBD signed an agreement with Smart Coating Technologies (B) Sdn Bhd, a homegrown company, to commercialise one of its patents dealing with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal smart coating.
This is evidence of how UBD draws even closer to seeing its students grow beyond the traditional mindset of landing jobs in the government sector immediately after graduating.
“Congratulations to UBD on the fruits of their labour, the clear result of commitment, dedication and hard work,” said Minister of Education and Chair of UBD Council Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman. “To steadily climb up the ranks is something Brunei Darussalam, the institution and its alumni can be proud of,” he added.
While rising up the ranks is a major achievement, UBD’s key mission and focus remains in educating and training of graduates who are future-ready, marketable and able to face the challenges of an ever-changing world. A multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning across the faculties also promotes a holistic development of its graduates.
This is part of UBD’s vision to be a university of lifelong learning. It instils a passion for continuing education among its students and for the citizens of Brunei to upgrade their skills.
The Centre for Lifelong Learning (C3L) recently launched several initiatives including its first online blended learning programme, Bachelor of Science in Digital Economy and recently the Master of Government.
“Alhamdulillah, UBD has continued to grow and enhance its international reputation as a highly recognised and respected institution. This could only be possible with the hard work, collaborative efforts and dedication of all its staff and our students,” Vice-Chancellor of UBD Datin Dr Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Aziz, said.
“Insya Allah UBD will continue to strive to become a worldclass university and fulfil its primary goal of producing highly educated and well-trained graduates with the necessary skills for the workforce and nation building, particularly in helping to achieve the Vision 2035.”
UTB makes grand debut
Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Brunei has made its first appearance in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QRWUR). The university was screened and evaluated against 4,763 institutions from 151 countries taken from the five QS regional rankings.
Although 1,011 universities met the criteria and qualified to be included in the ranking, only 1,000 universities from 85 countries have been published in the QSWUR 2019 this year.
The QS team analysed the institution’s Teaching, Employability, Research Strength and Internationalisation using six main performance metrics, namely Academic Reputation Survey, Employer Reputation Survey, Faculty-Student Ratio, Citation per Faculty and International Faculty.
UTB performed particularly well in the Faculty Student Ratio and International Faculty indicators, globally ranking 158 and 77 respectively and signalling the university’s commitment to high-quality teaching and its attractiveness to academic staff internationally.
UTB is among the eight new universities in Southeast Asia making its debut entry in QSWUR 2019. According to the Deputy Director of Planning and Development Office at the university Dr Lim Tiong Hoo, “UTB is also one of the fastest growing young universities to be ranked in QSWUR, only eight months after being included for the first time in the QS Asia University Ranking 2018 at 165 in October last year.”
Vice-Chancellor of UTB Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman sees this recognition as an impetus for further growth of the young university.
“Alhamdulillah, thanks to the inspiring leadership of His Majesty, the support of His Majesty’s Government and the hard work of everyone in the university, UTB is now standing proudly among some of the world’s reputable universities in its 10th year as a university this year. This achievement is a testament to the immense potential of UTB and a reflection of the quality of higher education in the country.”
According to a statement issued by the university, “The ranking exercise also provides UTB with vital indicators and benchmarks that are useful when it develops its policies and plans strategically for the next phase of its development.
“His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in a titah at the UTB Convocation in 2015, called upon UTB to be more ambitious in positioning itself among the world’s renowned universities through perseverance and quality education system. UTB places high importance to its engagement with the industry stakeholders to enrich teaching and learning at the university.
“Academic programmes are developed and reviewed with close consultation with the industry and other stakeholders.
“Local and international industry practitioners are also involved as adjunct staff of the university, enabling students to benefit from the first-hand knowledge and experience of the industry.
“UTB is also vigorously pursuing professional accreditation of its academic programmes in an effort to ensure that the academic rigour in UTB prepares its graduates for the demands of the various professions, thereby enhancing their employability,” the statement added.