Edu-Brunei Project Overview

The EDI-Brunei-HE project is a collaborative initiative dedicated to embedding Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion within Brunei’s higher education sector. Through evidence-based research, capacity-building, and policy development, we aim to transform institutional culture and foster lasting, inclusive change.

A room filled with lots of books and a ceiling fan

Framework Development

At the heart of the EDI-Brunei-HE project lies the creation of a contextually grounded and evidence-based framework for embedding gender equality, diversity, and inclusion (GEDI) within Brunei’s higher education institutions. This framework will serve not only as a diagnostic and planning tool but also as a strategic guide for institutional transformation.

Purpose and Significance

Despite Brunei’s strong educational performance indicators—particularly the high enrolment rates of women in tertiary education—there remains a pronounced disconnect between educational attainment and labour market participation, leadership access, and long-term career progression. These disparities are shaped by institutional, cultural, and policy-related factors that have yet to be fully addressed through systematic reform.

The framework we are developing is designed to bridge this gap. It will provide higher education institutions with a structured methodology to assess existing policies and practices, identify barriers to inclusivity, and implement interventions that are both culturally sensitive and operationally feasible.

Methodological Foundations

The framework will be built on four interrelated pillars:

Policy and Governance Review
Institutional and national GEDI policies will be mapped and assessed using comparative benchmarks drawn from regional and global best practices. This process will identify regulatory strengths, gaps, and areas requiring alignment with international standards such as the SDGs and CEDAW commitments.
Data and Metrics Development
The framework will incorporate tools for the systematic collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data across student enrolment, staffing, promotion, leadership, and institutional climate. These metrics will form the basis for both diagnosis and ongoing monitoring.
Curricular and Pedagogical Integration
Guidelines will be developed for embedding GEDI principles into curriculum design, teaching practices, and assessment strategies. This includes gender-sensitive content review, inclusive learning environments, and equitable classroom engagement.
Capacity Building and Organisational Culture
The framework will support institutions in designing internal capacity-building programmes, including staff training, leadership development for women and underrepresented groups, and the establishment of safe, inclusive reporting mechanisms.

Participatory Design

A key strength of this framework is its participatory development model. Rather than imposing a top-down structure, the framework will be co-designed with institutional stakeholders—including administrators, academic staff, students, and policy actors—through focus groups, interviews, and validation workshops. This ensures not only relevance to Brunei’s socio-cultural context but also a sense of ownership and practical applicability within institutions.

Capacity Building

One of the core components of the EDI-Brunei-HE project is the development of sustainable capacity among higher education stakeholders to support and institutionalise Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI) practices. Our capacity-building strategy is designed to empower individuals, transform organisational culture, and ensure long-term impact beyond the project’s duration.

Workshop-Based Capacity Building

A flagship feature of the project is the in-country capacity-building workshop to be held in Brunei Darussalam. This workshop will bring together key actors from the higher education ecosystem—faculty members, administrators, policy influencers, student leaders, and advocacy groups—for an intensive, participatory training programme.

The workshop will:

Facilitate experiential learning on GEDI principles, inclusive teaching methods, and institutional reform strategies.
Deliver training modules tailored to Brunei’s cultural and educational context, including sessions on gender-sensitive pedagogy, inclusive curriculum design, and equity-oriented leadership.
Provide space for collaborative policy critique and co-design, enabling stakeholders to reflect on current institutional practices and generate action plans aligned with GEDI goals.
Support the formation of peer learning and mentoring networks, which will serve as engines of knowledge-sharing and innovation across institutions.

Post-Project Knowledge Dissemination

To extend capacity building beyond the life of the workshop and project, EDI-Brunei-HE will produce a suite of open-access resources that are designed to inform and influence practice at scale:

A comprehensive final project report will consolidate research findings, case studies, best practices, and policy recommendations, offering actionable guidance to higher education institutions across Brunei.
A series of practitioner-focused policy briefs and toolkits will be developed to support institutional leaders and staff in operationalising GEDI strategies.
Peer-reviewed journal articles will be published to contribute to the global academic discourse on gender equality in education, ensuring the lessons from Brunei reach and inform international scholarship and policy.
Digital materials, including infographics, videos, and self-assessment tools, will be made available on the project website to support self-paced learning and institutional benchmarking.

Long-Term Impact

Our approach to capacity building is deliberately multi-layered: it targets immediate skill development while also influencing structures, policies, and mindsets. By equipping higher education institutions with the tools, evidence, and confidence to champion GEDI, the EDI-Brunei-HE project aims to create an enduring shift toward more inclusive, equitable academic environments.

Crucially, our commitment to capacity building is not transactional—it is transformative. It acknowledges that sustainable change requires not just awareness but actionable knowledge, strategic alliances, and continuous reflection. Through workshops, publications, and stakeholder engagement, we are cultivating a network of informed practitioners and institutions capable of carrying the GEDI agenda forward across Brunei and beyond.

A group of raised hands reaching upwards, set against a sunny backdrop with a clear blue sky and a portion of a building visible. The hands show diversity in skin tones, and one has a blue bracelet. The image captures a sense of participation and unity.

Research Initiatives

As part of the EDI-Brunei-HE project, our research initiatives aim to uncover and address the hidden and systemic inequities within Brunei’s higher education system. We are conducting qualitative and quantitative studies focused on gender-disaggregated data collection, institutional GEDI (Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) policy analysis, and comparative benchmarking against international best practices.

Our research explores:

The underrepresentation of women in leadership and academic governance
Barriers faced by minority and non-binary students and staff
The cultural, economic, and structural factors affecting educational and career pathways
Institutional readiness to adopt inclusive pedagogical and administrative reforms

This evidence base will inform the development of practical frameworks, strategic policy recommendations, and institutional toolkits. By anchoring our capacity-building and policy engagement efforts in rigorous, context-sensitive research, we ensure that change is not only aspirational—but also actionable and measurable.

Ultimately, our goal is to transform research findings into real-world impact—fostering more inclusive, equitable, and empowering environments for all stakeholders in Brunei’s higher education landscape.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is a cornerstone of the EDI-Brunei-HE project. We recognise that sustainable change in gender equality, diversity, and inclusion (GEDI) cannot be achieved through academic intervention alone—it requires the involvement, trust, and collaboration of the broader community.

Our approach to engagement is both inclusive and intentional. We bring together diverse stakeholders—university students and staff, civil society organisations, government agencies, faith-based institutions, and advocacy groups—to co-develop strategies that promote equity and challenge existing barriers in higher education and beyond.

Through in-person and virtual forums, public consultation events, and stakeholder roundtables, we aim to:

Amplify the voices of underrepresented and marginalised groups
Build consensus around inclusive policy reforms
Foster cross-sector dialogue between education, industry, and government
Promote shared accountability for institutional change

Our community engagement activities are designed to not only inform the research and policy development process but also to empower participants to become active change agents in their own institutions and communities.

By cultivating genuine partnerships and facilitating knowledge exchange, EDI-Brunei-HE seeks to embed GEDI values not only in education policies—but in the very fabric of Bruneian society.