Vice-Chancellor to new UBD intake
SOME 500 new undergraduates of Universiti Brunei Darussalam were urged to be professional in their studies and interaction with their colleagues or professors, in their strive to realise their worth in the varsity.
Reiterating His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's titah delivered at the 23rd UBD Convocation last year, UBD Vice-Chancellor, Dato Paduka Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hj Hanafi said his new colleagues were all valuable assets to the nation, but challenged them to question whether their "stay in the university is worth it".
Speaking at the UBD Freshers Week, an orientation programme for the new scholars, Dato Dr Hj Zulkarnain said that the academicians "can only take you to one level, the rest will be up to you".
In this journey he proposed, he stressed it should be carried out in a professional capacity, as "we truly believe you are colleagues because a university, as an institution where new intellectual capital and new knowledge are constantly created, requires people like you".
The vice-chancellor explained that the development of the university rests on the reciprocal relationship between the educators and the students.
"The development of the university, is not just from (the staff) but because of all of you; people who have taken a bold step to actually more towards (a willingness) to be taught, challenged, beaten up mentally and intellectually that is at this university."
"What you read in the books today, may not be valid tomorrow; information nowadays is changing at a rate that is unbelievable," said the vice-chancellor, adding that the university expects the undergraduates to share and exchange their ideas, the vice-chancellor said.
"Challenge your professors, which is okay, because you probably have read things on the Internet which some of us wouldn't have — and it is important for the sake of progress," said Dato Paduka Dr Hj Zulkarnain.
He also urged the students to work hard and also play hard by excelling in academic matters and co-curricular activities.
Dato Paduka Dr Hj Zulkarnain also pointed out something that he found to be lacking which is the ability to talk and hold an intellectual conversation.
"This is what I want to see happening in a university. What happens outside in the world, in Europe, Middle East, you might say it's irrelevant to us, but we might be able to learn from it."
He then commended the existing "star" students at UBD for their "tremendous efforts" in community service projects and teaming up with agencies like the Yayasan Foundation and banks in the nation, adding that they are "life-changing experiences you would not experience just sitting in a lecture hall".
Credit to The Brunei Times
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