| Azlan Othman |
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, and Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) yesterday congratulated UTB for reaching the 442nd place in QS World University Rankings and 57th position in Young Global University for universities below 50 years.
“The latest achievement is it obtaining a five-star rating in the overall assessment,” the Sultan said. “Without doubt, it is a very important achievement for UTB as a young university which is 10 years.”
Delivering a titah at UTB’s 6th Convocation at the International Convention Centre (ICC), His Majesty said the excellence of a university depends much on it successfully producing graduates and research that can contribute to economic growth and nation building.
His Majesty said in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution, technology plays a crucial role in shaping the way of life and the way we work.
“As a technological university, I see that the present era brings challenges to UTB to equip such an institution with knowledge and skills,” said His Majesty.
“However I wish to remind UTB not to be complacent, but be pro-active in framing-out an action plan for teaching, including intensifying its research efforts. Another priority for UTB and to all tertiary level education institutions is to focus on their academic workforce,” the Sultan said.
“I hope all higher level institutions give a detailed provision to the human resources plan in line with the needs of the university and national development. I was made to understand that UTB’s planning and future direction in the next phase is to implement a strategic plan for the next five years with the new vision – A Global University Impacting Society,” the monarch added.
His Majesty also said UTB’s performance will always be assessed, among others, through the quality of its graduates, marketability and effectiveness towards the society and research.
“On research, I am pleased to note the success of the Innovative Engineering Centre at UTB which has received funds from ICT Virtual Organisation of ASEAN Institute and NICT (ASEAN IVO), which is an ICT Virtual organisation which has members from several research institutions, ASEAN universities and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan whereby UTB has been entrusted to lead the smart technology project based on computer-vision application and artificial intelligence in the tourism industry. Two other projects are aimed at integrating smart technology in the area of environment protection and agricultural industry,” said His Majesty.
Touching on the research field in agriculture, His Majesty welcomed the establishment of the Centre for Research on Agri-Food Science and Technology (CrAFT).
“I was made to understand that the centre plays a role in enhancing agricultural capability through the use of technology such as Internet of Things (IoT) in smart farm. The centre will also carry out research to support and broaden the food industry. I hope that CrAFT will cooperate with various government agencies, the private sector, institutions of higher learning locally and abroad,” the Sultan added.
His Royal Highness Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Pro-Chancellor of UTB was also present.