Towards a university of research

Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)
Towards a university of research

University of research: Dr Tong Chee Kiong from the National University of Singapore (NUS) speaking during the public lecture. Picture: BT/Nasroul Hizam
Nasroul Hizam
BRUNEI-MUARA

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

EDUCATIONAL institutions have not turned away from the possibility of collaborating with both the public and private sectors to develop partnerships. Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) yesterday held a public lecture entitled "Towards a University of Research and Enterprise" to showcase strategies necessary for the success of such partnerships.

The lecture was conducted by Professor Dr Tong Chee Kiong, a professor of graduate studies at the Department of Sociology in the National University of Singapore.

Dr Tong began with identifying the attitude of leading public universities which included an emphasis on graduate research education and successful spin-off companies.

Focusing on the issue of research, he recommended that institutions identify key strengths and research foci of their faculties to identify opportunities available. It is also important to have targets within the nation's own goals and interests, he added.

He shared a method where research "cocooning" involves the pooling together of experts, talented students and drawing expertise from graduates to obtain a nucleus of particular areas after a period of time.

He also mentioned that educational institutions should focus their research in areas of current strategic importance such as life sciences, sustainable development and biodiversity, environment and water technologies, interactive and digital media as well as asian studies.

Although infrastructure is important, he stressed that people are needed for any changes to take place particularly the promotion of multi-disciplinary initiatives which would add both scientific and commercial value to the institution.

In doing so, an institution's value needs to be made more aware with increased research output of its staff. The university itself needs to create time and support for their staff to produce journals, books and deliver conference papers. This would also raise the international reputation of its staff.

To add onto the expertise within the institution, it would also need to recruit talent to complement the research initiatives of the faculties. He said that over time, the research culture will develop and continue to attract more researchers and talented students.

In today's knowledge-based economies, universities are described as one of the engines of public growth. Dr Tong suggested that universities start inviting successful CEOs or alumni members to speak to students in order to inspire them so that they may have someone to look up to.

Another way to be enterprising is to cultivate a desire for innovation so that the institution would become a centre for both entrepreneurship and innovation. With that, the university can go on to start up incubators or spin-off companies run by the staff, graduates and alumni members. Ultimately, the institution can then develop global partnerships in both research and enterprise. Dr Tong commented that linking with other institutions will help to shorten the learning curve and save time.

However, the basic foundation still lies in the marketing of high quality and quantity of graduates. Dr Tong suggested that the increase of the international student population will lead to a cosmopolitan vibrancy. He added that students do not just learn from their lecturers but also from one another, so UBD could benefit from a greater pool of students from other asian countries and even Australia.

According to the professor, undergraduates should also be educated with skills and values such as critical and creative thinking, communication skills as well as character-building.

With regards to inter-disciplinary programmes, Dr Tong recommended that students specialise in their chosen fields, learn across their disciplines and extend their learning to the knowledge of ideas. If successful, it would open up institutions to joint-degree programmes based on the country's needs and the reality of situations.

Lecturers and staff of UBD were joined in the lecture by visitors from Institut Teknologi Brunei, Seri Begawan Religious Teaching College Universiti, Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.

Also present were the Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) at the Ministry of Education Hj Daud Hj Mahmud and UBD Vice-Chancellor Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hj Hanafi.

Another issue Dr Tong highlighted was the need to keep curriculum up to date and relevant as knowledge changes very fast.

Saying that a national or public university should have the mission of being in pursuit of excellence in research, enterprise and education, Dr Tong said that a university can distinguish itself from other institutions by evaluating its own needs and carefully operating according to the university's context.

Dr Hj Zulkarnain later commented that he was pleased to have a visitor from a friendly neighbouring country to share strategies and insights into improving Brunei's educational institutions of higher learning. He admitted that people are constantly talking about how to go to the next level through research. He said lecturers should not just undertake research but also demonstrate to their students exactly how important research is.The Brunei Times

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