Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam, with the graduates. This year also marked the graduation of the inaugural cohort from the Bachelor of Digital Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence programme at the School of Digital Science. - BB/ANN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: The 37th Convocation Ceremony of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) yesterday set a new record, with 55 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduates – the highest in the university’s history – including 23 local and 32 international students.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam, consented to grace the ceremony and present the certificates at the Chancellor Hall on Wednesday (Aug 13). Accompanying His Majesty was Prince (Dr) Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam. They were greeted by Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Romaizah Mohd Salleh and UBD Vice-Chancellor Dr Hazri Kifle upon arrival at the Chancellor Hall.
The ceremony began with the recitation of Surah Az-Zumar verses 53 to 55 by Muhammad Danial Haziq Abdul Ghani while the translation was read by Meyzah Shahrunie Abdul Rahman Muhammad Shahrizul Hafiz. His Majesty consented to deliver a titah after the vice-chancellor’s speech.
His Majesty presented certificates to graduates with PhD, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Digital Science degrees during the morning session. The ceremony concluded with a Doa Selamat read by State Mufti Datuk Seri Maharaja Datuk Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Haji Abdul Aziz Juned.
Following the presentation of graduation certificates, His Majesty and His Royal Highness consented to sign separate plaques commemorating UBD’s 40th anniversary before proceeding to view a special exhibition featuring the latest research findings, innovations and student achievements.
The ceremony to celebrate the graduating students from the class of 2024 saw a total of 1,177 graduates, consisting of the 55 PhD graduates, 263 Master graduates, 823 Bachelor graduates as well as 36 Graduate Diploma recipients from the 13th batch of UBD’s distinctive GenNEXT programme.
The graduates are made up of six local and international graduates who developed high-demand artificial intelligence (AI) skills that technology and business leaders seek in machine learning, chatbot development, data analytics, automation, deep learning and entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, in collaboration with the School of Digital Science, also produced UBD’s first Master of Digital Public Health graduate.
The postgraduate programme, comprising two components namely Public Health and Digital Science, covers machine learning, predictive analytics, big data handling in the Public Health field, Epidemiology and Biostatistics. For the core Digital Science, modules are delivered in collaboration with University of Michigan, United States using their online learning content and upon completion of this component, candidates receive a certification from the university.
The convocation ceremony continued in the afternoon with His Royal Highness gracing the ceremony and presenting certificates to Master, Bachelor of Health Science, Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Science in Digital Economy graduates, and Graduate Diploma recipients. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
