This exploratory study aims to assess and investigate Brunei Darussalam’s readiness in developing and applying big data technologies for its public and private sectors, using Social, Technological, Environmental and Policy (STEP) framework. The results show that the population are digitally literate (Social) and utilises smart devices as well as internet network connectivity that is widely offered by the local telecommunications company (Technology). The government of Brunei Darussalam established multiple digital transformation initiatives including implementation of 5G connectivity as well as digital economy masterplan to digitally transformed in the near future (Environment). Regardless of the absence of national digital data privacy policy (Policy) in Brunei, the recent nation’s successful big data application in public sector – BruHealth Application – to contain Covid-19 community spread was achieved. Alas, the existence of such policy in the near future will create opportunities for the local private sectors to capitalise big data technologies to their business strategies.

Brunei Darussalam has been facing unemployment issue in the past few years. With the upcoming fourth industrial revolution (IR4.0) where there will be extensive use of machineries, robotics, and sensors, a shift in the job market is anticipated. This study aims to investigate the potential challenges on unemployment that Brunei Darussalam will face if it does not move in the necessary direction to embrace IR4.0. In addition to that, this study will analyze the current education system that Brunei implements and the e-readiness of its society to further make conclusion and recommendation on improvements Brunei should focus into as a preparation towards the digitalization era. Literature review is chosen as the most appropriate methodological approach to identify and evaluate the key points of this chosen topic. Multiple systematic literature reviews and research papers revolving around the relevant keywords were used extensively to construct the basic understanding of this paper's topic. Secondary data from previous research papers and national reports from 2014 to 2019 were used for to gain insights of Brunei Darussalam's education system, digital literacy, and e-readiness among the society. In conclusion, this study has shown that unemployment rate in Brunei Darussalam is believed to have not been amplified by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0), given that the current employees are retrained and younger generations are equipped with digital literacy-based knowledge and soft skills.

The purpose of this study is to gain insights on students' and educators' perspectives of the current unconventional learning and teaching methods carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main data is sourced from BruCERT's online survey of 785 students and 664 educators conducted during the closing downs of educational institutes due to preventive measures imposed by the government of Brunei Darussalam. The result shows that 77.96% of students and 72.14% of educators preferred the conventional classes. The main reasons are due to their inability to acquire good internet connectivity and proper area and time management that best suits online classes. In addition to that, the respondents perceived that the aforementioned problems become the root cause of their low discipline, productivity, and motivation to conduct and attend such classes. This chapter would be beneficial as a guideline to synthesize better teaching and learning strategies in online settings in the future.