Soft Launching Of PSR Workroom For UBD Postgraduates
By Lyna Mohamad

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Vice Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Dato Paduka Dr Hj Ismail Hj Duraman, yesterday officiated the soft launching of the Postgraduate Studies, Research & Development (PSR) Workroom at the first floor of the Student Affairs Building, UBD.

The Dean of PSR, Dr Diana Cheong, in her welcoming speech, said that UBD, which marked its 201" anniversary last year, has embarked on a more ambitious strategic plan to achieve the vision of being a firstclass international university with a national identity.

"One major strategic initiative is the expansion of the university's range of postgraduate programmes," Dr Cheong said.

Even though the number of PhD students currently enrolled at UBD is still relatively small, it is a number that was achieved in a very short time, she said, adding that this was a very promising sign.

Combining Masters and PhD students, there are now approximately 210 students (about five per cent of the student population), she said.

"This figure would be considerably higher if we included postgraduate certificate students."

Currently the university has 24 PhD students in the field of Malay Literature, Applied Linguistics, Mathematics Education, Economics, Business Administration, Petroleum Geosciences, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Biology.

The majority of the PhD students are in Petroleum Geosciences.

"The university is also aware that as student numbers grow and to remain globally competitive, educational facilities for postgraduate students must also be upgraded accordingly," Dr Cheong said, adding that the PSR Workroom was one of the new initiatives by the university to provide quality educational facilities for its postgraduate students.

The PSR Workroom is specially designed for the university's PhD students so that they can work on their thesis and conduct research.

Dr Cheong hoped that many more positive facilities for postgraduates could be launched in the near future.

To date UBD has successfully produced two PhD holders: a Thai woman who was the university's first international PhD holder in 2004; and a local who received his PhD at the university's 18th Convocation ceremony last year.

The Thai woman was a full-time PhD student majoring in Mathematics Education in the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education (SHBIE).

Meanwhile, Pg Hidup bin Pg Hj Samsuddin was the first local PhD holder to emerge from UBD last year. His thesis was on "Research of Culture and Royal Customs and Tradition in Selected Brunei Malay Literature".

Also present at yesterday's soft launching of the PSR Workroom were UBD principal, administrative officers and postgraduate students. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News

Brunei's Fastest Growing Website with