| Hakim Hayat |
UNIVERSITI Brunei Darussalam (UBD) continues to climb up the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asian University Rankings, going up five places from last year in the annual report, placing it among the top 100 in Asia and maintaining its place in the top one per cent among universities in the region.
UBD first broke into the rankings at 171-180 in 2014, then rose rapidly to 118 in 2015, 105 in 2017, and is currently in 100th place.
UBD performed particularly well in several key indicators, and is among the top 25 in Asia in five areas. It ranks number one in Asia for Outbound Students for four consecutive years and number one in Asia for Inbound Exchange Students two years in a row.
These indicators offer insight into internationalisation activities, ensuring that students receive real-world experiential learning.
UBD was also placed 13th in Asia for International Faculty and ranked 15th for Faculty-Student Ratio, which measures the ratio of full-time academic staff per student, which is indicative of the high quality of teaching UBD students receive.
For international students, UBD ranks 23rd, attesting to a dynamic campus that offers a diverse learning and cultural experience.
UBD’s Academic Reputation also continues to climb up to 148th place, reinforcing its strong academic reputation within the international community.
As part of the ranking exercise, QS measures research productivity and impact. Research activity has increased exponentially in UBD, with the number of high-quality papers published in top peer-reviewed journals.
UBD published only 26 papers in 2006, and the number continued to grow throughout the decade, hitting a peak of 340 publications in 2016, attesting to the high impact of UBD’s publications.
Furthermore, over two-thirds of UBD publications in top tier journals have at least one international collaborator.
In a short span of 10 years, QS recognised UBD as a ‘moderate’ research university in 2017 and a ‘high’ research university in 2018. For the first time ever in 2019, QS has now classified UBD as ‘very high’ research intensive, the highest level of recognition for this category and a trait possessed by other top universities in the world.
It continues to focus on key areas of research which have academic and economic relevance, impactful and important in national development. UBD’s peaks of research excellence include Biodiversity, Energy, Asian Studies, Islamic Studies and Governance, and the latest addition of Herbal and Medicinal research.
The recent opening of the Botanical Research Centre and establishment of research groups studying local plants have expanded UBD’s reach, providing valuable data on flora which carry great pharmaceutical potential.
This year, QS introduced a new ‘International Research Network’ indicator which assesses the degree of international research collaboration and transnational research partnership among institutions. UBD did very well in this measure, ranking 108 in Asia, placing it at the very high 73rd percentile of universities in Asia.
UBD also conducts joint-research with some of the top universities in the world. In Biodiversity and Environmental Studies, UBD maintains close ties with top institutions such as Korea University, Monash University and National University of Singapore (NUS).
In Asian Studies, UBD has strong connections with Fudan University, Oxford University and Kyoto University, while in Energy Studies, UBD has formed solid links with Osaka University, Australia National University and Ecole Polytechnic Lausanne.
In Islamic Studies, a key area of research emphasis, UBD is linked with Columbia University, Cambridge University and Islamic International University of Malaysia.
In Data Analytics, UBD works closely with University of Tokyo and Imperial College London.
These international linkages are part of UBD’s long term developmental plan with collaborative research that spans the globe and contributes significantly to the teaching and academic training of its students.
While UBD participates in the ranking exercise, its critical focus remains on high-quality teaching and the training of its students through state-of-the-art education which prepares its graduates for the workforce.
“Alhamdulillah, it is a great honour and achievement for UBD to break into QS Asia Ranking’s top 100,” said UBD Vice Chancellor, Datin Dr Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Aziz, while adding that this could only be possible with the unwavering support by the Government of 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.
“While the ranking exercise helps us to gauge our ability to provide quality teaching to our students, we have to continue to ensure that our main objective remains in effectively equipping our graduates with the necessary skills and knowledge that will secure their future in a challenging, ever-growing job market,” she added.
“Insya Allah, high-quality graduates will contribute greatly to the nation’s development and the realisation of Brunei Darussalam’s Vision 2035.”
Earlier this year in the QS World University Rankings, UBD climbed 26 places to 323 in the world. It also climbed three places to 34th in the world by QS for young universities globally.
In a titah during UBD’s 30th Convocation Ceremony last month, His Majesty, the Chancellor of UBD, lauded the university’s emphasis on sophisticated 21st Century skills for education and research, since academicians and graduates need to collaborate with the public and private sectors in building the nation through a knowledge-based economy.