Yang Mulia Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Global Affairs) of Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Yang Berbahagia Profesor Datu Mohd Fadzil bin Abdul Rahman, the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Leadership and Development) of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak in a group photo with the members of the 6th Borneo Studies Network Scientific Committee Meeting, that was held in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak on the 10-11 May 2024.
The 6th Borneo Studies Network (BSN) Scientific Committee Meeting (SCM) was co-hosted by Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kuching, Sarawak on 10-11 May 2024. The BSN SCM was chaired by Yang Mulia Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean, the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Global Affairs) of Universiti Brunei Darussalam, attended by the BSN Members Universities from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Universitas Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universitas Balikpapan (UNIBA), Universitas Islam Kalimantan (UNISKA), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universitas Mulawarman (UNMUL), Universitas Palangkaraya (UPR), Universitas Tanjungpura (UNTAN), STAKAT and Institut Teknologi Kalimantan (ITK).
Yang Berbahagia Profesor Datu Mohd Fadzil in his welcoming remarks highlighted on the importance of promoting Borneo Studies together as a consortium. The SCM gathered the BSN focal persons from the universities above to discuss the academic matters, research collaborations and the governance of BSN, including the proposal on the BSN Postgraduate Degree Programme (Masters) and micro-credentials among BSN Members Universities for the forthcoming years. The Programme is seen as an extension of the current student mobility activities, hence signify its purpose by producing a more concrete outcome from BSN. Micro-credentials are common approach in this digital era and BSN would like to take this opportunity by offering staffs or students to learn more diverse courses or modules to enhance their knowledge, skills and to improve their studies on Borneo Studies.
Another highlight from this SCM is the proposal on the 3rd BSN Conference with the theme ‘Smart City Transformation, Biodiversity and Green Supply Chain in Borneo’ which is scheduled in 2025. The theme of the conference and various trends was agreed during the SCM, which relevant to the BSN five research clusters: Borneo Biodiversity, Borneo Cultural Heritage & Ethnic Groups, Borneo Renewable Material Science and Energy, Borneo Sustainable Community Transformation as well as Borneo Economy & Banking. YM Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean, Chair of BSN Scientific Committee Meeting, shared that the five research clusters have led to productive research publications and BSN has organised a series of workshops to increase international collaboration among the BSN Members Universities. The Head of BSN Secretariat, YM Dr Rosnah Abdullah expressed her positive views on the proposals for future BSN which serves to produce more professional collaboration and capacity buildings within BSN. The BSN Work Retreat on 11 May talked over on the way forward for BSN initiatives and activities to be aligned with the trends of Digital Transformation, Sustainability and Climate Action.
BSN vision to promote and make distinctive contributions for Borneo island through education and research on Borneo with focus on People, Economy and Environment. By tapping into the expertise and strategies from all BSN Member Universities and Institutions, BSN aims to produce higher quality of innovative academic and research outputs that will bring positive impact to Borneo.