Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) held the Chancellor’s Scholar Award and Signing Ceremony on 3rd July 2023 at UBD. Present as the Guest of Honor was Yang Berhormat Datin Seri Setia Dr. Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh, the Minister of Education. Also present was Dr. Hazri bin Haji Kifle, UBD Vice-Chancellor and senior management of the university.
The Chancellor’s Scholar Award is a prestigious scholarship awarded annually by UBD to the country’s outstanding youths who seek to pursue an academic career. Scholars receive exemplary education at first class universities for a Masters and/or Doctorate degree. The scholars will also receive personal development programmes, mentorship and placements with academics at UBD and at overseas institutions.
The Chancellor’s Scholar Award was first introduced in 2012 to enhance capacity building, to serve in the academic workforce in UBD in order to provide high quality education and research in tertiary education in Brunei Darussalam. Through that, UBD continues to play an active role in recognising the potential and training of future generations.
Recipients of the Chancellor’s Scholar Award play an important role in the pursuit of excellence and sharing the vision and direction of Wawasan 2035 to build a knowledge-based economy. The scholars will be expected to contribute to the nation’s capacity building and lead the future of Brunei Darussalam as some of its brightest minds. To date, 13 students have received the coveted Chancellor’s Scholar Award.
This year’s award recipients are:
Dayangku Amirah Najibah bte Pengiran Aliuddin who will be pursuing a DPhil in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from UBD where she graduated with first-class honours, specialising in General Engineering. She was also a recipient of the Book Awards for Outstanding Performance in Level 4000 and 5000 modules during the 2021/2022 academic year. She also received the Book Awards for Outstanding Academic Performance in General Engineering with a Concentration in Energy Systems. She also had the honour of representing UBD in the ASEAN Data Science Competition, where she applied her expertise in data analytics to address the UN-SDGs using SAP Analytics Cloud. It is worth noting that her team won the gold medal in the National Finals and secured a top-three finalist position in the Regional Finals. This accomplishment was significant for Brunei as it marked the first time it was recognised among the top teams among the ASEAN countries.
Ahmad Zakwan bin Haji Mohd Salleh, who was awarded the MOE scholarship for his undergraduate studies and achieved a first class in BSc Mathematics from Imperial College London, a world class and highly competitive university. He will be pursuing MSc Finance and Technology at Imperial College London as well. Even before his bachelor’s degree, he was also an MOE scholar, sent to pursue his A Levels in Jerudong International School where he accomplished excellent results of 4 A stars. He was the camp commandant for Kem Ibadah 13, an event held in the Lake District of England, that was aimed to improve Bruneian students’ mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing. He was also previously the president of Brunei Religious Officers Students Association, or more commonly known as BruROSA, the association that organises the annual Kem Ibadah and other events related to maintaining the students’ spiritual well being. With this presidential position, he was also given the responsibilities of the Male Religious Secretary of Brunei Students’ Union where he assisted the Union’s High Council in organising various projects in helping the Brunei students in the UK and Ireland. He was also appointed to the position of president of Brunei Hall Student Committee (BHSC) from 2020-2022 where he worked with his team to create a well integrated community within Brunei Hall.