05DISCOVER UBD JULY - SEPTEMBER 2015Class of 2015 proudly showing their scrolls after the 27th Convocation Ceremony. Photo: UBD/Hasnan KahanHis Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Chancellor of UBD, speaking with Haziq Sahminan, an alumnus who started a business in the creative industry. Photo: UBD/Azhar Ismatpropelled them to their current entrepreneurial success. UBD’s Centre of Networking, Employment and Career Training (UBD CoNECT) with the support of the Office of Alumni Relations and Advancement (OARA) introduced their website and mobile applications, which are specifically designed to help job-seeking alumni find career opportunities, provide tips to refine their curriculum vitae and succeed in their job-searching endeavours.With graduate students making up 36% of students receiving their scrolls at the Convocation, this year marks a milestone for UBD in its effort to become a world class graduate training centre and a research-intensive university. Since its journey to become a research university that began in 2009, UBD has made remarkable achievements in research such as the invention of an improved system for analysing halal content of food, finding solutions for early detection of cancer biomarkers, and invention of energy saving technologies. As of this year, UBD has filed 33 patents for its research, 20 of which have sought international protection. UBD now has six granted patents in total – four local patents and two international patents, one each in Singapore and the USA.This year’s convocation saw the first cohort of graduates for the Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM), consisting of graduates from East Asian Summit (EAS) participating countries – the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russian Federation and Brunei. The MPPM Programme is a joint programme with leading public policy schools in the United States. This unique interdisciplinary programme focuses on policy areas that are distinctive to Brunei Darussalam, namely: Islamic Governance, Energy Policy and Management, and Environmental Policy and Management.This year, UBD was ranked the top university in Asia for student mobility in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Ranking. UBD was positioned number 1 in outbound students, and number 2 in inbound students. Overall, UBD made a significant jump in 60 places in the rankings; from 171-180 last year to 118 this year. The university was ranked 6th in international faculty, 14th in international students and 23rd in faculty student ratio.
< Page 4 | Page 6 >