12 September 2019 – 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 Teknologi Brunei (UTB) consented to officiate the UTB Convocation 2019, held at the Plenary Hall, International Convention Centre (ICC), Berakas.
His Royal Highness Prince (Dr.) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Pro-Chancellor of UTB was also at the Ceremony.
The arrival of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the ICC was greeted by the Minister of Education and Chairman of the UTB Council, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman; the Acting Vice-Chancellor of UTB, Yang Mulia Awang Haji Ady Syarmin bin Hj Md Taib; and the Registrar & Secretary of UTB, Yang Mulia Awang Lim Chui Hua.
Soon after the arrival, Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Dr. Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz bin Juned, the State Mufti, led in the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah.
The Procession of the Chancellor into the Plenary Hall then followed, led by the Bentara (mace-bearer) holding aloft the Mushaf Al-Quran.
Verses 29 – 33 of Surah Al-Baqarah in the Holy Quran were recited by Yang Mulia Awang Abdul Qawi bin Haji Mohamed Hussain, a student from the Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering. Meanwhile, Yang Mulia Awang Haji Abdul Haadi bin Haji Ali Hassan, a graduate from the Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering read the lessons from the verses.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor of UTB then delivered the Sembah Alu-aluan.
His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Chancellor of UTB also consented to deliver the Titah (Royal Speech).
His Majesty then consented to deliver a Titah conferring the Master’s Degree and Bachelor’s Degree to recipients listed in the Convocation Book. This was immediately followed by the call of ‘Allahu Akbar, Wa Llillah il Ham’ by the graduates and all present. His Majesty then consented to present Master’s Degree to 100 graduates and Bachelor’s Degree to 351 graduates.
At the end of the ceremony, the Doa’ Selamat was read by the State Mufti. Before leaving the ICC, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince consented to mingle with the graduates and their family members.
Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) is an Engineering and Technology University in Brunei Darussalam that specialises in the niche areas of Engineering, Business, Computing, Applied Sciences & Mathematics, and Design.
UTB was first established in 1986 as Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB), a higher learning institution offering Higher National Diploma programmes in Engineering, Business and Computing. These programmes were aimed at producing para-professionals for the industry. In 2008, ITB was upgraded to a university and was renamed to Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) on 1 March 2016.
Since the upgrade, the university has seen tremendous development including the expansion of its academic programmes portfolio, establishment of partnerships with industries and universities, embarking on the process of programme accreditation by professional bodies, and intensification of research activities.
UTB’s ethos has always been based around the idea that effective instruction, hands-on approach and industry-based programmes equip students with fundamental knowledge, competence and marketable skills. This guiding principle has helped UTB produce graduates highly valued by local employers and readily accepted by universities in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Canada and around the world.
UTB achieved another milestone in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking (QSWUR) at No. 379, evaluated against 1,620 institutions from 82 countries around the world. It has risen by an astounding 63 places from its first appearance in the QSWUR last year at 442. In the 2019 edition of QS Asia University Rankings, UTB is among the top 200 universities ranked at 181, the top 36 per cent among over 500 institutions across the continent. With a five-star ranking, this makes UTB the only University in the country rated Five Star by the QS Stars Rating. UTB is also the first university in the country that successfully acquired the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certification by Bureau Veritas.
UTB’s vision is to become a global university impacting society and its mission is to nurture socially-responsible talents that are deeply-rooted in Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) values and committed to building a global and entrepreneurial society in pursuit of innovation and industry-relevant capabilities, towards the fulfilment of Brunei Vision 2035.
UTB currently offers 25 Undergraduate Degrees including its part-time degrees and 10 Master’s Degrees and PhD programmes. To date, UTB has produced over 5,141 BDTVEC HND; 295 Higher National Diploma Level Five; 1,784 undergraduates and 199 Master’s degree graduates from academic programmes offered by the Faculty of Engineering, School of Computing and Informatics, and UTB School of Business. This include Master of Science (Hons) in Information Security, and Master of Science (Hons) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, offered by School of Computing and Informatics and Faculty of Engineering respectively. This year would be the very first cohort for these programmes to be graduated.
