It was an unforgettable day for 384 graduates yesterday for it was the day they received their hard-earned Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates from His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, during the 20th Convocation of Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB).

The ceremony, which was held at the Indera Samudera Grand Hall of The Empire Hotel & Country Club, was for ITB students who completed their studies in 2010.

Since completing their studies, a number of ITB graduates have found jobs in either the public or private sector, while others have been accepted by various higher learning institutes to further their degree-level studies.

One of the best student award recipients, Awang Amali bin Abdul Rahman, told the Bulletin that he would fully utilise all the skills he acquired during his time at ITB to contribute to the country's economic development in future.

Dayang Hajah Siti Nurismah binti Haji Ismail, the best student award recipient under the Business Management programme, noted that the biggest challenge that she had to face during her study years at ITB was meeting the tight deadlines to complete assignments.

While it has been a tough journey, Dayang Hajah Siti Nurismah, who plans to pursue her degree programme in Business at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) next year, said it was all worth it in the end.

"What's important is that all of us made it," she said.

Three other graduates who received best student awards were Dayang Rahimah binti Ibrahim (Construction Engineering & Management), Dayang Nor Azarina binti Moksin (Internet Development & Multimedia) and Awang Muhammad Syamsul Hudaa bin Muhammad Hairolrani (Mechanical Engineering).

The best overall student (Communication & Computer Systems Engineering), 15453 Corporal Awang Arizal bin Haji Md Hussain of the Royal Brunei Air Force, who received in-service training at ITB, said he was grateful and proud to have successfully completed his studies as he had to overcome many obstacles in term of juggling time between studying and working.

"I would not be where I am today without the support of my family and friends," he said.

Dato Paduka Dr Haji Omar Haji Khalid, the Vice-Chancellor of ITB, meanwhile, highlighted past accomplishments of ITB since it was upgraded to become a university in 2008.

According to him, ITB has made big strides in terms of cooperation by signing several Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with foreign universities and private companies in the Sultanate.

In August this year, ITB will begin to offer Masters and PhD programmes. Part-time degree programmes in Internet Computing and Business Information Technology will also be introduced this year, he said.

The number of graduates for this year's convocation increased by 75 compared to the previous year.

Out of the 384 graduates, most of them (47) studied Civil Engineering, followed by 45 (Mechanical Engineering), 40 (Information Systems), 35 (Computing), 34 (Communication & Computer Systems Engineering), 32 (Electrical Power & Control Engineering), 30 (Internet & Multimedia Development), 29 (Business Management), 25 (Business Accounting), 25 (Network Engineering), 16 (Construction Engineering Management), 14 (Business Marketing) and 12 (Business Finance). - Borneo Bulletin (26th May 2011)