Universiti Brunei Darussalam Joins SHARE Partner University Network in Southeast Asia
The SHARE Programme is pleased to announce the participation of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) in the SHARE Partner University Network. UBD is the 33rd higher education institution from the ASEAN region to join the SHARE Partner University Network.
UBD administrators and faculty members have been active participants in many SHARE events and activities in the past year, including the SHARE Policy Dialogues, becoming a member of the SHARE Higher Education Harmonisation Community of Practice (CoP), and participating in capacity building workshops held by the SHARE Programme to support the digital transformation of higher education internationalisation in the ASEAN region, through Virtual Exchange (VE) and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) programs and the development of digital credentials.
UBD students have also actively participated in the Alumni and Student Mobility Workshops held by the SHARE Programme in cooperation with the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE) and NUS Centre for Future-Graduates (CFG), last November 2021.
This year, despite the mobility limitations caused by the ongoing pandemic, the SHARE Programme has adapted through a digital transformation to provide scholarships for VE / COIL courses co-created by SHARE partner universities to support intra-ASEAN student mobility. Although driven by the need to adapt to challenging times, this initiative will further enhance student mobility in the region by providing ASEAN Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with a platform to conduct the virtual exchange. Due to the lower costs and fewer barriers to mobility associated with the virtual exchange as opposed to physical student mobility, this would provide more opportunities for more students to participate in international student exchange, increase internationalisation at home (IAH), as well as become a complementary tool to physical student mobility once conditions return to normal.
Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean, Assistant Vice-Chancellor and Vice President for Global Affairs at UBD, remarked, “It’s a great honour and privilege to join the SHARE Partner University Network. On behalf of the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD), I believe participation in this network will strengthen our collaboration in student mobility. Mobility plays a crucial role to help students to develop their intercultural and global competency skills and enhancing their employability. We look forward to working closely with SHARE to facilitate the exchange of information and aim to move towards enhancing mobility and collaboration in higher education.”
UBD, in partnership with the University of Santo Tomas (UST) from the Philippines, who is also a member of the SHARE Partner University Network, has developed a COIL course that is currently being implemented in the first batch of the SHARE VE / COIL Scholarship programme. Around 60 students led by their respective lecturers from the two institutions will be exploring the benefits and challenges of intercultural teamwork in a digital learning environment through this exciting method of virtual student exchange and international collaboration. (***)
