James Kon
Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) students and staff who have excelled in their respective fields yesterday received recognition of their hard work during the Excellence Award Ceremony 2021 held in conjunction with UTB Convocation Ceremony 2021 at An-Naura Hall of the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex.
This year, the award ceremony celebrated the Staff Excellence Award, the Graduates Excellence Award, the Dean’s List Award, Student Co-curricular Activities, and the People’s Choice Award.
Minister of Education and Chairman of the UTB Council Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman was the guest of honour.
Also present were Minister of Energy and Deputy Chairman of the UTB Council Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mat Suny bin Haji Mohd Hussein, UTB Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman and other members of the UTB Council.
Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah in her welcoming address said, “The Staff Excellence Award aims to provide recognition for the outstanding and valuable contribution of staff to the university’s success in achieving its strategic goals.
“Today’s awards ceremony was set against the backdrop of the university’s significant success, where UTB improved in QS Global ranking to 344th place, QS Asia to 126th place and was given a 5-plus Star rating comparable to the world’s prestigious universities. This would not have been possible without the commitment, dedication and hard work of UTB staff and students. I hope we will continue to make significant changes to UTB.”
Recipients were awarded for their efforts in teaching, research and administration for Academic Staff and Special Mention Award.
This year also marked UTB as the first higher institution to present the Chancellors’ Medal Award.
There was also a presentation of the Dean’s List Award to 29 recipients from various schools and faculties for having demonstrated outstanding academic achievements in their studies, six for Student Co-curricular Activities which includes ‘Outstanding Life Skill Achiever’, ‘Religious Awards’, ‘Sports Man of UTB’, ‘Sports Woman of UTB’ and ‘Top Cultural Achiever’ award and four for the People’s Choice Award.
Other awards included the University Excellence Award; the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Brunei Darussalam (IMechE-Brunei) Award for Best Mechanical Engineering Graduate; IMechE-Brunei Award for Best Mechanical Engineering (Final Year Project); Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects (PUJA) Prestige 2021 Student Awards; Petrokon Utama Sdn Bhd (PUSB) Best Final Year Project Award; British Computer Society (BSC) Award 2021; Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association (BITA) Award; Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Award; Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) Award; and Datastream Digital (DST) Award.
Chancellor’s Medal Award went to Dayang Rohadatul’ Aisy Nabilah binti Irwan, a graduate from the Bachelor of Business (Hons) in Technology Management for her astounding accomplishments. This award is the first of its kind to ever be awarded to graduates from Higher Education Institutions in the Sultanate.
Rohadatul’ Aisy Nabilah in an interview with the Bulletin said, “Obtaining the prestigious award means the world to me because it represents yet another milestone in my academic life while also served as a stepping stone for me to pursue my academic career in the future.
“Alhamdulillah, during my final year, the pandemic did not really disrupt our learning experience as Brunei managed to flatten the curve. I was fortunate to have most of my classes in a physical setting.”
Meanwhile, Awangku Muhammad Wafiy bin Pengiran Haji Amir Isa, a graduate from Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Computing with Data Analytics, received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for his outstanding academic achievement.
He said, “The award reflects the sweat and tears I shed all these years studying and making use of my time to contribute to the university as much as I could.
“One of the challenges that I encountered during the pandemic was communication. The absence of interaction with my lecturers during online learning was stressful. I had difficulties understanding the assignments and tasks as social media was the only platform on which we could interact.
Naderah Nabelah @ Derah binti Haji Mohd Faderin Lee from Bachelor Science (Hons) in Creative Multimedia received University Excellence Award and DST Award.
“It feels great being acknowledged and recognised for all my hard work in the past four years. The awards serve as reminders of why I continue to strive for success. The awards also allow me to look back at my time as a UTB student with great pride and joy, while motivating me to continue to perform as well as I can, even when I’m past my studies, and into the working life.
“COVID-19 came at an unfortunate time for my cohort as it happened during our internship period. It was a time of uncertainty because our internship was put on hold for a couple of weeks.
“Work from home meant we couldn’t fully experience the office environment. But during the time at home, I honed and refined my skills as a creative, familiarising myself with 3D modeling tools in my free time to prepare for my final year project.”
Some of the sponsors of the Graduate Excellence Award include The Embassy of The People’s Republic of China in Brunei Darussalam; Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sendirian Berhad (BSP); PUSB; Brunei LNG Sendirian Berhad; Makan Ceria Sendirian Berhad; ADN – A.K. Studio; Wood Private Limited Company; BIBD; IMechE-Brunei; PUJA; Shiham Sendirian Berhad; Asprint Enterprise; BITA; PDO Chartered Architects; AITI; Dynamik Technologies; TGT Sendirian Berhad; Jetwires Trading and Electrical Services; DST; and British Computer Society.
