Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (Abbreviation: UNISSA) is Brunei's second university. It was established in 2007 as an Islamic university. The idea of an a second university in Brunei was suggested by the Sultan in 2004 at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam's 16th convocation and in 2005 he made clear at the 17th convocation that the new university would be an Islamic university. The overall aim of the new university is to become a centre for the spread of Islam in the region . The University took its name from Sharif Ali who was the first sultan to embrace Islam and the first to build a mosque in Brunei . The first intake of students joined in August 2007 when 152 students were accepted for the programmes. 125 were undergraduates, 26 Masters students and one was following a PhD. On its launch UNISSA absorbed staff and students from the Sultan Hj Omar Ali Saifuddien Islamic Education Institute (IPI SHOAS) which was until that point part of Universiti Brunei Darussalam.