James Kon
In yet another milestone for local higher education institutions, Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s (UBD) General Engineering Programme has become the first in the country to obtain accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
In a statement, UBD said that its Bachelor’s degree programme in General Engineering has been conferred full accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programmes in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.
This is the first engineering programme in Brunei Darussalam to be accredited by ABET, which is based in the United States of America and founded in 1932.
ABET accreditation assures that programmes meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.
Developed by technical professionals from ABET’s member societies, ABET criteria focusses on what students experience and learn. ABET accreditation reviews programme curricula, faculty, facilities and institutional support, conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia, and government with expertise in the ABET disciplines.
ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programmes in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance.
The General Engineering Programme in UBD is offered by the Faculty of Integrated Technologies (FIT), established in 2012.
The programme allows students to stream in three majors: Information and Communication Systems, Energy Systems and Manufacturing Systems.
Dean of the Faculty of Integrated Technologies Professor Dr Liyanage Chandratilaka de Silva said, “From the inception of the faculty of Integrated Technologies, it emphasised on a quality design-centric, broad-based engineering education with an innovative curriculum that enhances students’ personal and professional development.
“It is indeed a proud moment that as a result of passion and dedication towards quality education, the faculty has obtained this prestigious ABET accreditation retroactively with effect from October 2017.”
Vice-Chancellor of UBD Datin Dr Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Aziz said, “Alhamdulillah, full ABET accreditation of UBD’s General Engineering Programme assures great confidence that our engineering programmes meet high international standards essential in preparing graduates to enter critical STEM fields in the challenging global workforce environment.
“It also positions UBD as an international player in competitive and cutting-edge education from the viewpoint of technology, innovation and enterprise. Alhamdulillah, this is a truly remarkable milestone for UBD, and for this attainment, we are thankful for the strong support of 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”.
ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organisation with ISO 9001:2015 certification. It currently accredits 4,144 programmes at 812 colleges and universities in 32 countries.