The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) organised a two-day workshop titled ‘Urban Transformations in Southeast Asia’ from 4th to 5th June 2025.
The workshop brought together 13 invited international speakers and seven speakers from Brunei Darussalam, to present and discuss papers on this theme. The line-up included two keynote speakers: Professor Gavin Shatkin from Northeastern University, United States of America (USA) and Professor Tim Bunnel from National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore.
Other invited international speakers were Dr Erin Collins from Dartmouth College, USA; Professor Erik Harms from Yale University, USA; Dr Dian Irawaty from Rujak Centre for Urban Studies, Indonesia; Professor Abidin Kusno from York University, Canada; Dr Ng Keng-Khoon from NUS College, Singapore, Associate Professor Rita Padawangi from Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore; Associate Professor Redento Recio from University of the Philippines Diliman, the Republic of the Philippines; Dr Napong Tao Rugkhapan from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Associate Professor Claudio Sopranzetti from Central European University, Austria; Dr Courtney Wittekind from Purdue University, USA; and Professor Orlando Woods from Singapore Management University, Singapore.
The seven speakers from Brunei Darussalam included Dayangku Dr Noor Hasharina Pengiran Haji Hassan from Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Professor Hoon Chang-Yau from the Institute of Asian Studies (IAS), UBD; Dr Izni Azrein Noor Azalie from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), UBD; Gabriel Yong from FASS, UBD; Dr Angela Tritto from IAS; and Napak Serirak (UBD), a PhD student at IAS.
The opening ceremony of the workshop on 4th June commenced with welcoming remarks by Professor Noor Azam Haji Othman, the Acting Director of IAS and Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Education) of UBD, before being officially opened by the guest of honour, UBD Vice-Chancellor Dr Hazri Haji Kifle.
At the workshop, Dr Hazri pointed out that urban issues remain key to the understanding of sustainability at the local, national, regional, and international levels. He also highlighted that the workshop aligned well with the UBD Sustainability Master Plan’s pillars, in particular ‘Pillar 1: Driving Innovation through Sustainability Research’ and ‘Pillar 5: Empowering Sustainable and Resilient Communities through Engagement and Partnership.’
Since its establishment in 2012, the IAS has successfully organised a series of research workshops, which are part of the institute’s flagship research activities. The ‘Urban Transformations in Southeast Asia’ workshop contributes to the development of cutting-edge and interdisciplinary urban scholarship at IAS and beyond.
The invited speakers shared that they felt very welcomed in Brunei Darussalam and UBD. For most, it was their first time to the Sultanate and they appreciated the opportunity to visit and to contribute to the workshop. Many of them expressed a keen interest in learning more about the country and UBD.
Professor Gavin Shatkin said, “Everyone I’ve been interacting with, almost to the person, is not only friendly but kind [and] personable.” When asked to use one word to capture his experience, Professor Shatkin said, “Embracing – I feel like I’ve been brought in and welcomed.”
Professor Orlando Woods said, “Although it’s my first time [in Brunei], it feels very comfortable here. UBD is a university that I know and respect very highly. So when I was invited I was very excited to come and visit the university and contribute to the workshop. There is a richness to the discussions [in the workshop] and I’ve been learning a lot.” Similarly, Professor Tim Bunnell commented that the “academic conversations have been excellent”.
Dr Erin Collins said, “I’ve gone to a lot of different workshops in different places, and the level of care is just really clear here. The fact that so many people were so thoughtful about how to organise this experience – you just can feel it; you can notice it. I feel a strong sense of care of labour, care of people, and care of scholarship. It feels like a very caring community.”
Similarly, Dr Courtney Wittekind shared, “I haven’t previously been to a workshop with so many people working on Southeast Asian cities. So it feels very special to be part of that.”
