| Danial Norjidi |
AN INNOVATIVE Sayf songkok project saw a team from Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Damit Girls Arabic Religious Secondary School being named the champions of the Brunei Entrepreneurship Education Scheme (BEES) Convention Second Chapter on November 17.
For finishing as champions in the competition, the team won a trophy, certificates and a total cash prize of BND2,500 – BND1,000 as seed money for the school, and BND1,500 for the students.
The members of the team behind the project are Mohd Fakhri bin Abdul Wahab, Md Yusri Rusydi bin Md Yusrin. Muhammad Alif Aiman bin Jais and Mohammad Shaffiq bin Mohammad Azlan. They were guided by teachers Mohamad Helmme bin Haji Ramli and Haji Arif bin Haji Ahmad.
In an interview with the Bulletin, Muhammad Alif said, “We feel very happy, and this was unexpected. Since last year we have taken part in BEES, finishing as first runner-up.”
He said that it was very helpful to have taken part both last year and this year, as they were able to learn a lot by doing so.
“Sayf is a product that we invented. We have innovated the songkok to help people, especially students that wear songkok daily, like we do.”
Muhammad Alif explained that the inspiration behind the project came after they identified problems and tried to solve them.
He noted some of the Sayf songkok’s features. “Inside it there is microfibre to absorb sweat, and it is washable.” It was also shared that the Sayf songkok has several pockets to store money (both notes and coins) as well as a special sejadah and a sunshade attachment.
He noted that they have already sold some units through Instagram. Speaking on their future, plans, he said, “We will create a Facebook page and a website to reach a greater audience and also get a business licence to open a business bank account for online payment. From there, it will be easier to do business.”
The BEES Convention Second Chapter was jointly organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE), Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), and took place at the Ballroom of the Hua Ho Manggis Mall.
The BEES Second Chapter focussed on nurturing the entrepreneurial mindset of the participants by forming a three-year (2016 – 2018) strategic-based thematic programme namely ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset on Pitching’ in 2016, ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset on Innovation’ in 2017 and ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset on Sustainability’ in 2018.