Factors impeding students' research raised in meeting

Factors impeding students' research raised in meeting
Khairunnisa Ibrahim
LONDON

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

PROBLEMS in accessing resources and data on Brunei for academic work was a major issue raised at the first Brunei Postgraduate Symposium in London, United Kingdom last Saturday.

Long delays in getting responses from relevant agencies and outdated information on official websites were some factors that local students studying in the UK said impeded their research on the Sultanate.

Other research-related issues put forward at the symposium included the unavailability of Bruneian journals and publications online, and the lack of an information bank on research done on the country by local and foreign academics, which could serve as a resource for future students and help avoid redundancy in research.

About 50 people attended the symposium, which saw 10 Bruneian postgraduates sharing their research work and proposals with the audience.

Divided into three separate panels on education, national identity and public policy, the topics ranged from inclusive education, architecture and obesity to e-government and transport studies, among others.

Also featured were three top officials from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (Unissa) and Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB), who spoke about the significance of research and how it is conducted at their respective institutions.

UBD's Vice-Chancellor Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hamzah, Dr Hj Yusop Hj Damit, the deputy rector of Unissa and ITB's Dr Hj Supry Hj Ladi in their respective keynote speeches touched several common themes: growing recognition that research can positively contribute to national development, incentives for local students and staff to undertake more research and the need for constructive application of research findings.

The symposium was an eye-opener for Siti Munawwarah Awang Tarif, who said getting a glimpse of other students' research work was informative and thought-provoking.

"Seeing other people's work and perspectives in various disciplines opened up ideas for me," said the Masters in International Health student, and hoped that the symposium would become a regular event.

Hazwan Azri, a PhD student in Chemical Engineering, agreed, but hoped future symposiums would also include research on science and technology.

Sponsored by the Brunei Students Unit and organised by representatives from the Brunei Students' Union, the one-day event was held at the Brunei Hall of the School of Oriental and Asian Studies at the University of London.

The Brunei Times