Thursday, 9 March 2023, Bandar Seri Begawan – A four-day seminar was conducted in collaboration with the University of Bradford, United Kingdom as a joint effort with Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) under the British Council Grant entitled “Learning from Covid-19 Pandemic: Best Practice Exchanges on Student Placement in Higher Education and Exploring Partnership on student and staff mobility”. The research is led by Dr Hajah Halimaturradiah binti DSS Haji Metussin, with co-researchers Hajah Nurul Nabilah binti Haji Ali and Dr Amnisuhailah binti Abarahan. This seminar is one of the output activities conducted as part of the Memorandum of Agreement between Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) and the University of Bradford.

Several discussions and ideas were exchanged between executive officers and lecturers throughout the seminar to better understand University of Bradford’s best practices. It also focuses on having a student-centered approach in academic excellence and staff professional developments, as well as giving various opportunities not only to students but also staff members – through experiential learning in mobility and placement programs. On the third day of the seminar, a topic was delivered by Alison Hedley, the Employer and Placement Services Manager from University of Bradford, on student placements with guests’ attendance from Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Universiti Teknologi Brunei. Finally on the last day, invitations were extended to various ministries and related organisations to attend a session conducted by the Head of Social Sciences from University of Bradford, Professor Peter Mitchell, a topic on “Do Autistic People Have Readable Minds? If Not, What Are the Consequences?” – whereby it highlights that it is still possible for those with special needs to be excellent in the ways they can be, if given the right guidance and treatment through education.