| James Kon |
THIRTY participants of the 14th Executive Development Programme (EDP) for senior government officials conducted by the Ministry of Defence (MinDef) received their certificates yesterday.
The presentation took place in a closing ceremony after they completed the three-month programme which began on September 3.
The event held at the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (SHHBIDSS) saw guest of honour Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof presenting the certificates to the recipients.
This year’s participants comprised 26 senior Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) officers, a MinDef senior officer, two senior officers from the Prime Minister’s Office and an officer from the Royal Brunei Police Force.
In his speech, the minister emphasised that achieving the nation’s objectives demands the commitment of all and that effective policy solutions require innovative collaboration across all sectors and engagement with stakeholders.
Now equipped with a higher level of proficiency, the participants are encouraged to think in the context of the bigger objectives of national interest and to take every opportunity to pursue initiatives of immediate practical relevance to the country.
This year’s programme was developed and conducted in collaboration with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), National University of Singapore.
It covered various policy analysis tools from horizon scanning and scenario planning, cost-benefit analysis to multi criteria analysis, several case studies and key management and leadership approaches.
These aimed to equip senior officials with the knowledge and skills to be more innovative in understanding policy-making processes and challenges.
Apart from classroom learning, the programme consisted visits to local government agencies for better insights and understanding on strategy formulation, policy-making processes and the various initiatives implemented with particular attention on the whole-of-nation approach and their alignment to the goals of Vision 2035.
Further adding to the learning value of the programme were special talks by guest speakers and a special session with the Minister of Defence II was also conducted, for the first time.
These provided opportunities for the participants to gain insights on the experience, professional knowledge and wisdom of the invited guests.
At the closing ceremony, LKYSPP Co-Director of Executive Education Professor Francesco Mancini made a remark on behalf of the school.
Lieutenant Colonel Siti Isah binti Abu Talip who represented participants of the 14th EDP shared her experience throughout the programme.
Others present were the Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), the Permanent Secretary at the MinDef, the Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force, Service Commanders, Deputy Permanent Secretaries at the MinDef, the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Brunei, the Assistant Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam and senior officers from the MinDef and the RBAF.
The EDP was launched in 2004 and with its 14th series just concluded, the programme has to date successfully trained 329 senior officers.
SHHBIDSS is the only defence, strategic and security studies think-tank in Brunei, has been facilitating and coordinating the annual programme since 2008 in supporting professional development in human resource.