DISCOVER UBD JULY – SEPTEMBER 201605the sights and sounds of the rainforest at KBFSC at the comfort of their home or school, while also learning other courses in their home university. Upon completion of the iCUBE MOOC, students can continue the subsequent modules either coming to the KBFSC or staying in their home country for the field project. Even if a student cannot come to Brunei, they can still continue their learning through a virtual rainforest, composed by videos and the real soundscape of leaves and animals collected by professors who went into the real KBFSC.While the programme is currently only available for iCUBE university students, Dr Joyce Teo added that the Consortium is deliberating the possibility of opening the programme for other non-member universities. This meets with the Consortium’s objective to disseminate knowledge and promote awareness and understanding of issues related to biodiversity and the environment.In addition, the Consortium hopes to expand the programme to cover social sciences, policy and other aspects of environmental studies as Dr Joyce Teo pointed out the iCUBE MOOC is “one good platform to promote multi-disciplinary learning”. Since its establishment in 2011, iCUBE aims to promote collaborative research, disseminate knowledge and promote awareness and understanding on issues and problems related to biodiversity and the environment. Members of the iCUBE consist of University of North Carolina (UNC), Korea University (KU), University of Auckland (UA), University of Bonn (UB), Monash University (MU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).A number of fruitful outcomes have resulted from collaborations among iCUBE universities such as a collaborative research efforts and recently, the dual degree programme in biodiversity studies between UBD and Korea University, which received its first students this year. Phasmid, one of the many cryptic insects that can be found in Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre. Photo: Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental ResearchParticipants of the iCUBE Climate Change Workshop conducting research at the Kuala Belalong Field Study Centre. Photo: UBD/Kuala Belalong Field Study CentreTHE ICUBE MOOC OFFERS FREE ENROLMENT FOR STUDENTS FROM ICUBE UNIVERSITIES TO ACQUIRE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE TROPICAL FOREST AREA.
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