| Aziz Idris |
THE First Lady of the Republic of Korea Kim Jung-sook, visited Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) yesterday to observe Korean Language classes and interact with students who have been following advanced levels of Korean Language at UBD.
On hand to welcome the First Lady at the lobby of the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah (PAPRSB) Institute of Health Sciences were Acting Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh and Vice-Chancellor of UBD Datin Dr Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Aziz.
At the lobby, the First lady was given a traditional welcome by a hadrah and gulingtangan troupe. A silat demonstration was also performed by the UBD students.
This was followed with a visit to the Korean Language class sessions, conducted through UBD’s Language Centre by two Korean Language teachers.
Currently, 122 UBD students are taking up Korean Language modules at the centre. Most are learning the Korean Language, which will enable them to pursue their Discovery Year at some of the top universities in the Republic of Korea that are partner universities with UBD.
The Discovery Year is a credit-bearing year out of UBD, for all of its undergraduate GenNEXT degree students to enrich their experiential learning.
The First Lady’s visit ended with an interaction session at UBD’s Business Library, with 20 students who have completed advanced levels of the Korean Language module.
UBD currently has 21 partner universities in the Republic of Korea for academic and research collaboration, including student and staff mobility. In 2015, UBD’s Faculty of Science signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Korea University’s College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology to offer a Dual Degree Programme in Masters and PhD in the fields of Biodiversity, Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering.
This is a joint initiative under the International Consortium of Universities for the Study of Biodiversity and the Environment (iCUBE). Formed in 2011, iCUBE is a consortium bringing together a core group of seven research universities from around the globe, to promote collaborative research and education on biodiversity and the sustainable environment.
In 2018, UBD hosted 29 Korean students who joined its Global Discovery Summer Programme and seven students on its Semester Exchange Programme.
UBD currently has three full-time students from the Republic of Korea in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business degree programmes.
In January 2018, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) from the Republic of Korea sent a team of basketball players to UBD as part of sport exchanges.
The Republic of Korea is a popular destination for UBD Discovery Year students. Since 2011, UBD has sent more than 720 students to the Republic of Korea for their Discovery Year activities.