DISCOVER UBD08iCUBE Steers Biodiversity Research, Hosts Expedition to Bukit TerajaThe International Consortium of Universities for the Study of Biodiversity and the Environment (iCUBE) held its 4th Scientific Committee Workshop to identify ways members can further improve research and collaboration among its researchers.Participants of iCUBE’s Bukit Teraja expedition were given access to the diverse flora and fauna in the area. Photo: Azhar IsmatDuring the 4th Scientific Committee Workshop held in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), participants pitched their respective universities’ research strengths and together identified three areas of common interest for research. These included continuing to conduct research into biodiversity and environmental research towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), conducting ecosystem and biodiversity inventory as well as study freshwater and landscape ecology.There was a proposal for a potential iCUBE research project on “Influence of Development on Biodiversity and Sustainability” with Brunei Darussalam as the “best case scenario” because there has not been much pressure being put on Brunei’s forest currently. Members agreed to come up with a project that would not only be useful to Brunei Darussalam but also that would be of interest to iCUBE universities and aligned with the mentioned SDGs. Members would bring back results from the discussions to their respective universities and consider taking the necessary steps and provide input which can be realised into viable projects from the universities’ iCUBE experts. The workshop also saw the proposal for the “iCUBE Graduate Students Workshop” which aims to provide training to iCUBE graduate students in the latest technologies. A skill development workshop, it would utilise modern techniques in research which would be relevant for the students. It is then important to understand and determine the area of skills that students would be interested in, followed by determining the experts that can be brought to the workshop. Recently, iCUBE conducted the Bukit Teraja Expedition, giving researchers from member
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