The Institute of Asian Studies

The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is a research institute dedicated to producing and disseminating cutting-edge knowledge about the societies, economies, politics, cultures and histories of the Asian region. With a core staff and affiliated researchers producing multidisciplinary scholarship, and located at the heart of Asia on the beautiful and ecologically diverse island of Borneo, the IAS serves Brunei as well as the global community in elevating our understanding of this dynamic region of the world.

News & Events

IAS Researcher Co-organises Workshop on Research and Teaching on Migration Mobilities in Southeast Asia

Senior Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies Koh Sin Yee co-organised the Workshop on Research and Teaching on Migration Mobilities in Southeast Asia with Dr. Alice Nah (Durham University, UK) and Dr. Sharuna Verghis (Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia). The workshop was held on 27 November 2024 at Monash University Malaysia. The participants […]

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Seminar on Anthropology of Southeast Asia

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “An Anthropology of Southeast Asia? The Interaction between Discipline and Area and Rethinking Introductory Texts” by Distinguished Professor Victor King (IAS). For more information, please see the flyer below.

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Seminar on Sociology and Southeast Asia

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “From the Sociology of the “Social” to the Sociology of the “Cultural”: East-West Parallels and the Southeast Asian Context” by Distinguished Professor Victor King (IAS). For more information, please see the flyer below.

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IAS Researcher Participates in the 8th NACAI International Symposium

Senior Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies Koh Sin Yee participated in the 8th Network of ASEAN-China Academic Institutes (NACAI) International Symposium on 14th November 2024 in Shanghai. The symposium was hosted by the Center for China’s Relations with Neighbouring Countries, Fudan University.

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New Journal Article on International Student Mobility by IAS Staff

Senior Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies Koh Sin Yee recently published a journal article entitled Post-2020 Mainland Chinese Student Mobility to Malaysia: Trends and Drivers in Asian Population Studies. The article is co-authored with Professor Brenda Yeoh (National University of Singapore). The article provides a brief report on the recent trend characterised by a substantial […]

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Seminars on “Digital and Green Transitions” and “Census-Taking”

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held seminars on “Digital and Green Translations: Opportunities and Challenges for Europe and China” by Professor Roberta Rabellotti (University of Pavia (Italy)) and “Census-Taking and the Colonial Project: Sarawak and Brunei” by Professor Lian Kwen Fee (IAS@UBD). For more information, please see the […]

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Staff

The staff of IAS consists of researchers in the Institute and research fellows from across the University. While the main focus of the IAS staff is on conducting research and publishing, IAS researchers also regularly teach modules for such majors as Anthropology & Sociology and History & International Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), as well as supervise graduate students in IAS, and both graduate and undergraduate students studying in programs in other faculties.

Scholarship

The core mission of the IAS staff is to engage in research and to publish.

These are some recent representative publications.

B. Jetin (2018). “Production Networks of the Asian Automobile Industry: Regional or Global?”. International Journal of Automobile Technology and Management, 18 (4), pp. 302-328. DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2018.097346

Franco, F.M. and Minggu, M.J. (2019). “When the Seeds Sprout, the Hornbills Hatch: Understanding the Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Ibans of Brunei Darussalam on Hornbills”. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 15 (46). DOI: 10.1186/s13002-019-0325-0

Victor T. King (2019). “Truth’s Fool: Derek Freeman and the War over Cultural Anthropology”, International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 15 (1), pp. 183-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13063

Paul J. Carnegie (2019). “National Imaginary, Ethnic Plurality, and State Formation in Indonesia,” in Ratuva S. (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0242-8_165-2

Chang-Yau Hoon and Esther Kuntjara (2019). “The Politics of Mandarin Fever in Contemporary Indonesia: Resinicization, Economic Impetus, and China’s Soft Power”, Asian Survey, 59(3): 573-594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2019.59.3.573

Liam C. Kelley (2020). “The Centrality of ‘Fringe History’: Diaspora, The Internet and a New Version of Vietnamese Prehistory,” International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 16 (1): 71–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21315/ijaps2020.16.1.3

Seminar Series

To exchange ideas with other members of the University community and the public, the IAS holds a regular seminar series.

Working Paper Series

The Institute also maintains a working paper series to highlight and disseminate the cutting-edge work of IAS researchers, UBD faculty, and other scholars working in and on the region.

Book Series

The Institute maintains a book series with academic publisher Springer on “Asia in Transition.”

Video Interviews

The Institute creates video interviews with IAS staff members, IAS research associates, UBD lecturers who research about Asia, and visitors to IAS who share their knowledge on topics ranging from the Belt and Road Initiative to Hornbills in Brunei.

Graduate Studies

IAS offers research-based MA and PhD programmes in Asian Studies.

Conferences

The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.

Internationalisation

The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.