His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) consented to view a special exhibition, featuring the latest scientific findings and innovations.
Accompanying His Majesty was His Royal Highness Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Pro-Chancellor of UBD.
The exhibition, in conjunction with the 35th UBD Convocation Ceremony, features showcases by several sections under the university.
Among them were School of Digital Science (SDS) featuring CareerBN, a digital portal system where recruiters and jobseekers meet, aimed at fulfilling their individual requirements.
Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the portal provides an easy and convenient system for jobseekers to find desired jobs and for recruiters to find the right candidates while the system can recommend jobs/candidates based on user requirements and interests.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (IBER) showcased findings from research on bunga simpur where it found clues from the genome showing bunga simpur produces organic compounds that possess therapeutic properties.
Compounds from bunga simpur plant were subsequently profiled using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry and the plant extracts were then tested against diverse cancer cell lines.
Bunga simpur roots also show potential with an abundance of terpenoid compounds.
Results of the collaborative studies between the Ministry of Health, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore and the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (PAPRSB IHS), UBD were unveiled in their segment of exhibition.
Key findings from the research ‘Immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines and levels of SARS-CoV-2-neutralising antibody in the Bruneian population’ looked into the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in the Sultanate, namely AstraZeneca, Moderna and Sinopharm.
UBD has worked with Duke-NUS Medical School, in developing a virus neutralisation test (cPass) to detect and measure neutralising antibodies, which are the specific antibodies responsible for clearing patients’
viral infection. His Majesty was presented with a pesambah of artworks of both Brunei Darussalam’s national flower, the bunga simpur (sillenia suffruticosa), and Singapore’s national flower, the Singapore orchid (papilionanthe Miss Joaquim). – Lyna Mohamad
