James Kon
The recipients of Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) Excellence Awards have become UTB ambassadors. As ambassadors, they will carry the image of the university and continue to excel in all aspects of work and contribute to the development of society. Their success will reflect the success of UTB.
This was said by Vice-Chancellor of UTB Datin Paduka Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman at the UTB Excellence Award Ceremony in conjunction with UTB Convocation Ceremony 2022 at the Plenary Hall of the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Berakas yesterday.
Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh, who is also Chairperson of UTB Council, was the guest of honour.
The ceremony saw 10 academics and staff awarded for excellent service to the university this year while another 105 awards were presented to graduates and students for their academic achievements.
The awards included the Staff Excellence Award (SEA); the University Excellence Award; the Dean’s List Award; the Co-curricular Activities or Student Achievement Passport (SAP) Award; and the People’s Choice Award. New categories were introduced this year for postgraduate students, namely the Publication Award and the Outstanding Research Paper Award.
Dr Hajah Zohrah said, “Today’s ceremony celebrates and promotes the culture of excellence at UTB.
“The staff excellence awards aims to reward outstanding staff who have positively impacted the university in achieving its goals.”
Touching on the strict criteria for the award selection she said, “UTB received 34 nominations but only 10 staff members will receive awards today. I hope that the recognition from UTB will further motivate the recipients and inspire others to follow their footsteps.”
Datin Paduka Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah also revealed the breakdown of the other 105 awards at the ceremony – 54 Excellence Awards went to graduates; 43 Dean’s List Awards to students; five Co-curricular Awards to graduates; and three Final Year Project Awards to Graduates from the People’s Choice Award.
“These awards recognise those who have shown excellence in their academic programmes, co-curricular activities as well as in their interactions with the UTB community and the public about their projects.”
The minister presented awards to the recipients of the SEA in Teaching and Research; Administrative Excellence Award for Academic staff and Non-Academic staff; and Special Mention Award. The recipients were each awarded with a plaque, certificate of recognition and BND1,000, while recipients for Special Mention Award received a certificate.
The SEA was introduced in 2015 and celebrated annually to reward outstanding academic and non-academic staff.
The minister also presented the Graduate Excellence Award in various categories to graduates who have completed their studies and excelled in their programmes.
The Graduate Excellence Award categories included the University Excellence Award; Best Final Year Project Award; Petrokon Utama Sdn Bhd (PUSB) Best Final Year Project Award; PUSB Best Student Award; Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Best (Masters) Student Award 2022; BIBD Most Progressive Award 2022; Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) SCI Best Student Award 2022; Datastream Digital Sdn Bhd (DST) SCI Best Final Year Project Award 2022; The Institution of Mechanical Engineering Brunei Darussalam (IMechE-Brunei) Best Mechanical Engineering Graduate Award; IMechE-Brunei Best Mechanical Engineering Final Year Project Award; PUJA Prestige 2022 Students Award; British Computer Society (BSC) Award 2022; Publication Award; and Outstanding Research Paper Award.
Sponsors of the Graduate Excellence Award include the Embassy of China in Brunei Darussalam; Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd; Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd; McDonald’s Brunei; Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd; Wood Private Limited Company; Shiham Sdn Bhd; Jetwires Trading and Electrical Services; TGT Sdn Bhd; and an anonymous contributor.
The sponsors of the Special Awards included PUSB; BIBD; IMechE; PUJA; AITI; DST; and BSC.
The event then continued with the presentation of the Dean’s List Award, Co-curricular Activities Award or SAP Award, and the People’s Choice Award.
About 43 recipients who have demonstrated commendable academic achievement in their studies received the Dean’s List Awards, whereas five recipients were also awarded for Student Co-curricular Activities which include Outstanding Life Skill Achiever, Top Religious Award (Male), Top Religious Award (Female), Sports Man of UTB, and Sports Woman of UTB. Meanwhile, three recipients were awarded the People’s Choice Award for the UTB Project Showcase 2022.
Also present were Ambassador of China to Brunei Darussalam Yu Hong; Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) at the Ministry of Education Dr Haji Azman bin Ahmad; Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim; and members of the UTB Council.
