Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) Women’s Leadership Forum 2023, a featured event of UTB-STE Connect 2023, commenced with an opening ceremony at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Berakas yesterday, marking the beginning of an empowering journey for women leaders.
The event highlighted the university’s commitment to promoting gender equality in science, technology and engineering (STE) industries.
The forum set the stage for inspiring discussion, insightful panels and engaging sessions to empower women leaders and foster connections, demonstrating UTB’s commitment to providing a platform for women leaders to share their experiences, learn from experts and inspire future generations.
UTB Vice-Chancellor Datin Paduka Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman delivered a keynote address on ‘Zero to Hero: A Case for UTB’.
The event also featured three panel discussions.
The first focused on ‘The Women Professionals of Today’ and featured three panellists: Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Global Affairs) of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean, Acting Finance Manager of Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd Melissa Zainal Abidin and Chief Marketing Officer and Chair of the Sustainability, Transformation Group at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Md Jaafar. The panel was moderated by UTB’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor (External and Industry Relations) Dr Mohamad Saiful bin
Haji Omar.
The second session delved into the theme ‘Women Leaders in STEM – Addressing the Gap’, featuring three panellists – Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Hajah Rosmawatty binti Haji Abdul Momin, professor in digital literacy and e-learning at Malaysia’s Universiti Kebangsaan Professor Datin Dr Norizan binti Abdul Razak and Head of Seria Energy Lab Dr Nur Karnina binti Karim. The session was moderated by lecturer of School of Applied Sciences and Mathematics at UTB Dr Aida Maryam binti Haji Basri.
The third session explored work-life balance, moderated by Director of the Centre of Transport Research at UTB Dr Wida Susanty binti Haji Suhaili.
The panellists were External Relations of Brunei LNG Head Malai Ayla Surya binti Malai Abdullah, Assistant Rector (Academic) at Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) Associate Professor Dr Siti Sara binti Haji Ahmad and Chief Executive Officer of Progresif Sdn Bhd Hajah Nurul Haniah binti Haji Mohd Jaafar. – Azlan Othman
