THE International Conference on Entrepreneurship Education and Islamic Finance 2018 concluded with a closing ceremony at the Tarbiyah Hall of the Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) yesterday.

Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar was the guest of honour. Also present was KUPU SB Ra’es Dr Haji Adanan bin Haji Basar.

The closing ceremony saw presentation of keynote papers by Head of Dewan Profesor Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar, Indonesia Professor Dr Haji Azhar Arsyad MA with the title Inovasi Pendidikan Keusahawanan Islam di Kalangan Generasi Muda bagi Mewujudkan Modal Ummah yang Mampu Membangunkan Ekonomi Negara: Peranan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi, followed by a presentation of the seminar’s resolution by Director of the Post-Graduate Studies and Research Centre Datin Dr Hajah Noor Hira binti Haji Noor Kaseh in her capacity as the head rapporteur of the conference.

The resolution highlighted several points such as the need of the appreciation of entrepreneurship and economic ethics in development of Muslims today according to Al-Quran and As-Sunnah; that the appreciation of the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) philosophy is cohesive to economic activities among entrepreneurs and practitioners of Islamic finance; the integration of Syariah discipline with finance and Islamic banking that needs to be the basis of the education curriculum development of entrepreneurship in Higher Learning Institutions; that the disclosure of entrepreneurial culture among students in the tertiary institutions needs to be applied in the current context of modern education; and scientific and educational approach is a mechanism which is most effective in applying Islamic entrepreneurial culture.

The event continued with the presentation of the International Conference on Entrepreneurship Education and Islamic Finance 2018 resolution to the guest of honour followed by the presentation of tokens of appreciation to the conference’s presenters. Organised by KUPU SB’s Core Knowledge Centre in collaboration with the Faculty of Syariah under the theme Inovasi Pendidikan Kewangan Islam dalam Melahirkan Ahli Profesional dan Pakar Kewangan Islam: Peranan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi, the two-day conference saw 25 working papers presented including two keynote papers and three main papers.

About 330 participants comprising students from higher education institutions including Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA), Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB), KUPU SB and Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE), teachers from the Ministry of Education, officers from the State Mufti’s Office, Islamic Studies Department, Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), the Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management (CIBFM), Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei, Bank Usahawan, DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) and members of the public attended the conference.

Among the conference’s objectives were to strengthen entrepreneurship education and Islamic finance at national and international levels, and to identify and address issues related with the theme on a theory and practical basis.