BY: Michelle Liew
Associate Prof Dr Zahiraniza Mustaffa from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) has won the National Academic Award (AAN) for the Teaching Category (Engineering Cluster) from the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).
AAN is the highest recognition for Malaysian scholars from local institutions of higher learning aimed at recognizing and honouring academics who are committed and have made significant contributions to the discovery and development of knowledge for the country.
UTP in a statement today informed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad had presented the award to Zahiraniza during the 14th National Academic Awards held recently.
Zahiraniza said that she was very honoured to receive the award and expressed her appreciation for the recognition from the MOHE.
She said the award was in recognition of her continued dedication in the field of teaching over the past 10 years and would not have been possible without the support of UTP management and the academic division.
“UTP has guided me in my career and personal development. It is an institution that supports its staff in many ways, hence, it is my aspiration to put UTP on par with other institutions in highlighting the efforts made by Petronas and UTP for human development.
“I started from the bottom in enhancing my career excellence in teaching and continue to grow to my current level. With this award, I am able to share my teaching journey and it will be heard not only in UTP but at a higher level,” she adds.
Zahiraniza said winning the award also provided a platform for her to spread the ideology and aspirations of teaching in educating the younger generation.
“The current generation describes their educators, thus educating them with the right pedagogical approach not only emphasizing on technical competence but also the ability for them to think rationally in making engineering decisions.
“This factor is important to students so that when they graduate, they will become humanitarian engineers,” she said.
