Lyna Mohamad
The education forum, jointly organised by the Embassy of Oman in Brunei Darussalam and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) aimed to shed light on the opportunities to advance bilateral cooperation between Oman and Brunei in the field of Education while providing opportunity for universities in Oman and the Sultanate to strengthen and broaden ties, said Ambassador of Oman to Brunei Darussalam Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashel Hashel Al-Maskari.
“The forum focussed on promoting Oman and Brunei as key destinations to pursue high-quality education due to the countries’ peaceful and tranquil environments which provide a conducive learning environment, as well as its outstanding research infrastructures and competent academicians at its universities and higher learning institutions,” he added.
Held at UBD’s Institute of Leadership, Innovation and Advancement (lLIA) Conference Room, the forum was part of a series of events under the inaugural the Sultanate of Oman-Brunei Darussalam Cooperation Dialogue from July 5 to July 7 in conjunction with the third Brunei Darussalam-Oman Joint Committee (BOJC) meeting.
Present as guest of honour was Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh.
Oman’s Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Dr Rahma binti lbrahim Al Mahrooqi attended the forum virtually.
The Education Forum saw a panel discussion between the University of Nizwa’s Chancellor Professor Ahmed Khalifan Al-Rawahi and UBD’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Global Affairs) Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean where they said that “in the post-pandemic digital age, international collaboration between universities around the world has transformed the scope, acceleration and deepens the use of digital technologies to increase access and opportunities for researchers and students worldwide.
The pandemic helped to accelerate the digital transformation and created a landscape that will continue to encourage lifelong learning, hybrid learning and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), they added.
