UTP Dr Zahiraniza Mustaffa Wins National Academic Award for Teaching Category
Associate Professor Ir Dr Zahiraniza Mustaffa from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has been awarded the National Academic Award for the Teaching Category (Engineering Cluster) by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).
“I am extremely honoured and privileged to be the recipient of this award, and I appreciate the recognition from MOHE.
“This achievement would not have been possible without the support from UTP Management and the academic division. UTP has been grooming me in my career and self-development. It is an institution that supports its staff in various ways, thus it has been my aspiration to place UTP at par with other institutions in highlighting the efforts being put by PETRONAS and UTP in developing mankind,” Dr Zahiraniza said.
The AAN is the highest recognition for Malaysian scholars from institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. It aims to acknowledge and honour academics who are committed and have contributed immensely to the discovery and development of knowledge for the country.
“This award is a recognition of my continuous dedication in teaching for the past 10 years. I started small in developing my career’s excellence in teaching, and it keeps on growing to where I am today. With this award, I would be able to share my teaching journey, and it will be heard not only within UTP, but at a much higher level.
“Winning this award provides a platform for me to disseminate my teaching beliefs and aspirations in educating the young generations. These generations portray their educators, thus educating them with the right pedagogy approach not only emphasising on the technical competency, but also the ability for them to think rationally in making engineering decisions. These factors are important for students so that when they graduate, they will become ‘humanised engineers’,” she said.
“In the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the students see me as a role model in technical and non-technical aspects. They also see me as the ‘mother figure’, a place for them to share their happiness and challenges, as well as a friend to talk to. They have seen my progression through teaching and research, as well as when I became a Professional Engineer. Apart from this, the strong network I have with the Women Engineers of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia has played a significant role as well,” she added.
Dr Zahiraniza received the award from the Prime Minister Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaacob and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad during the 14th National Academic Awards held recently.
To know more about AP Ir Dr Zahiraniza’s achievements, please click the links below:
