HIS Royal Highness Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Pro-Chancellor of Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) officiated the first ITB ‘Pesta Konvo’ or Convocation Festival yesterday morning at the atrium of the campus.

Upon arrival, His Royal Highness was greeted by Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awg Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong, the Minister of Education in his capacity as the Chairman of the ITB Council; Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awg Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the ITB Council; and Associate Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman, Acting Vice-Chancellor of ITB.

The ceremony commenced with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat led by Pehin Datu Imam Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Awg Haji Abdul Hamid bin Bakal.

His Royal Highness later delivered a sabda to officiate the ‘Pesta Konvo’ and watched performances by representatives from Exco of the Student Representative Council of ITB that highlighted on the themes that are relevant to the respective Exco.

His Royal Highness then launched ITB’s Staff and Student Centre as a one-stop centre for staff and student services and the ITB Gallery which is housed in ‘The Pearl’ building using a mobile web application designed by a group of ITB students.

Meanwhile, outside the ITB Gallery, students showcased their innovative projects, some of which had won in local and international competitions such as the Brunei Info-Communication Technology Awards (BICTA) 2013 and 2014; Asia-Pacific Info-Communication Technology Alliance (APICTA) 2013 and BEDB Brunei Water Hackathon 2014.

Among the projects on showcase were ‘Autisay’ that won in BICTA 2013 and earned a Merit Award in APICTA 2013; ‘Smart Shower’ that won the Higher Education Institution category at the BEDB Brunei Water Hackathon 2014; and ‘Land of Zikir’ that won a Special Mention Award in BICTA 2014.

His Royal Highness also launched the ‘Autisay’ application which helps people to interact and communicate with autistic children. Before departing the ITB Gallery, His Royal Highness received a ‘pesambah’ from the ITB Student Representative Council.

His Royal Highness later toured the new ITB Library building. ITB students lined up along the way and waved small flags to express their joy.

A briefing regarding the facilities offered at the library was held during the tour prior to a group photo session which was held outside the ITB Library. Before his departure, His Royal Highness mingled with ITB students.

More than a hundred ITB students participated as it is one of the biggest events in ITB’s academic calendar. Themed ‘360 degrees’, the ‘Pesta Konvo’ reflects the desire of ITB to produce well-rounded graduates who not only possess academic knowledge or skills but make themselves distinctive from others.

ITB will equip the students with better values, make them more marketable and employable in the job market both locally and internationally. At the same time, every effort will be made to make ITB as a centre of knowledge development and research that develops quality graduates as well as instil strong values of Malay Islamic Monarchy and responsibility towards the community. - Borneo Bulletin (1 October 2014)