Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak

Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (short name: Dzul) is the Rector of the International Islamic University. He is the Immediate Past President of the International Association of Universities (IAU), a UNESCO-affiliated Organisation, based in Paris. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and was instrumental in introducing many new ideas and concepts that led to USM being acknowledged by the United Nations University as one of the pioneering Regional Centres for Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development beginning 2005.

He had served as the Regional Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Region in the International Research Project: Reorienting Education and Training Systems to improve the Lives of Indigenous Youth, led by UNESCO Chair at York University, Toronto, Canada.Dzul was awarded the prestigious 2017 Gilbert Medal in recognition of “his long term commitment to a sustainable approach to international higher education.” He is a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the World Academy of Arts and Science. He received the 2017 Asia HRD Contribution to Society Award from The Asia HRD Awards “for his transformational work in the field of education”. He has received Honorary Doctorate of Science from various Universities internationally including University of Portsmouth and Nottingham – for “numerous leadership positions in global education and science bodies”, as well as from Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania for “extraordinary achievements developing independent and democratic higher education, fostering internationalization and strengthening humanistic culture and freedom [sic] supported by mutual university cooperation.