Daddy is famous! hehe

UBD Alumni Urged To Spearhead Change

Bandar Seri Begawan - To change the view that Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) cannot produce quality graduates was one of the issues discussed in a dialogue with the UBD alumni yesterday.

This view was coupled with the perception that organisations in the country prefer to employ graduates from foreign universities than from UBD. While the perceptions may be true, Hj Mohd Zulazrin Hj Mohidin said that "as UBD students, we should prove others wrong". A graduate of BA (Hons) Economics in 2002, Hj Mohd Zulazrin said that a graduate's competence is evaluated not according to his degree classification or place of study but rather his soft skills. "Soft skills include networking, public speaking, team player and proactive," he said as one of the

panelists during the dialogue. The certificate of degree is "just a passport" to employment - not a guarantee that one will manage throughout his career life, said Hj Mohd Zulazrin, an employee at Brunei Shell Petroleum. In reference to this view, Hjh Nurliati Hj Mohd Idris from the Ministry of Finance, another panelist, said that "there are things (which) are beyond our control".

"However, if others can achieve (with all the limited resources), why can't we do it too?"

Albert Tan, an entrepreneur at Vincci, said that students should make use of the facilities provided.

He advised students not to look at Brunei as the only source of employment.

Referring her challenges as a Japanese speaking student studying at UBD, Chieko Tokuyama, a UBD graduate with a Masters Degree in Economics by Research in 2006 urged students not to run away from their mistakes but learn from the mistakes.

"The MoE is striving towards providing a complete landscape for higher education," he said, adding that the three universities, where two were newly established, should not duplicate in terms of the courses offered but complement one another.

The evolution in Brunei's education system is changing for the better and that two per cent of the country's GDP will be allocated for research and development. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times