| James Kon |
FOUR young Bruneians will be heading to Korea’s Yeungnam University to pursue post-graduate education, after receiving scholarships under the university’s first Masters programme for Asean Specialists on Saemaul Community Development.
Siti Nurafiqah binti Mohd Noor will be pursuing a major in Public Policy, and Hazimah binti Haji Mohd Din will be studying Forest Resources and Ecological Restoration, while Liew Ya Yuin and Muhammad Adi Safwan bin Haji Dullah are taking Environmental Management and Policy.
Kwon Mi-yeon, the First Secretary at the Korean Embassy in Brunei Darussalam, invited the students for lunch yesterday afternoon, during which she expressed hope that they would someday help to forge even closer ties between Brunei and South Korea.
For Siti Nurafiqah, this will be her second study programme in South Korea, having already spent time there during her discovery year in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
“I like Korea and its people,” she told the Bulletin. “The life there is so much different, and I would like to learn and understand more about Korean culture.”
A group photo of the recipients of the scholarship programme and Kwon Mi-yeon, the First Secretary at the Korean Embassy in Brunei Darussalam. – JAMES KON
She added that her interest in Public Policy came from her participation in the Youth Forum of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, held in Malta last year, where she came to appreciate the importance of public policy in national development.
Meanwhile, Hazimah has opted to major in forest restoration, given South Korea’s vast experience on the subject since the 1950s.
She hopes to bring back new and efficient approaches to help restore forest areas in Brunei, which were destroyed by fires.
Her interest in forest resources and ecology restoration stemmed from her participation in various projects, while working as a research assistant in UBD.
The scholarship programme specifically targets promising students from all over Asean, providing them with support and further education, to create regional leaders who will play a pivotal role in the eradication of poverty and for the betterment of their respective communities.
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