From left: Amb. Christopher B. Montero, UBD Assistant Vice Chancellor Dr. Joyce Teo and UBD Vice Chancellor Yang Mulia Datin Dr. Dayang Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Haji Awang Abdul Aziz discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and academic exchanges in higher education.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN. 18 August 2020 – Philippine Ambassador Christopher B. Montero pushed for closer collaboration between tertiary institutions of the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam in a meeting with top officials of the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD) at the latter’s sprawling campus in Bandar Seri Begawan.

In his discussions with UBD Vice Chancellor Yang Mulia Datin Dr. Dayang Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Haji Awang Abdul Aziz and Assistant Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Global Affairs Dr. Joyce Teo, Ambassador Montero cited the importance of pursuing stronger cooperation and increased educational exchanges between the UBD and Philippine tertiary institutions, particularly in the sharing of best practices on blended learning and other innovative instructional modules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, the UBD officials expressed hope of getting more Filipino student intake under existing scholarship programs offered by the University and the Government of Brunei Darussalam, as well as on-going student exchange programs within the ASEAN University Network, in line with its advocacy for diversity. They also proposed possible future exchanges and collaboration in the area of public health sciences, citing that the Philippines is globally recognized in this field.        

UBD is the first and premier university in Brunei Darussalam, which was established in 1985 and has since become the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered.

At present, the UBD has four (4) Filipino Professors in its faculty, all of whom are alumni of the University of the Philippines. END