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BIODATA
Assoc Prof Dr Farhana Diana Deris is a Senior Lecturer at the Language Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). She obtained her Bachelor of Science with Education (TESL) in 2006, followed by a Bachelor of Education (TESL) in 2009, and completed her PhD in Education (TESL) at the same university in 2016. Her PhD thesis, titled A Framework for Developing Community and Promoting Language Use in the Online English as a Second Language Learning Environment, was awarded the Merit Thesis Award – PhD by the UTM School of Graduate Studies. Her expertise, research, and publications span across TESL, technology-integrated teaching and learning, and intercultural communication.
She has served UTM for 18 years, beginning in 2006 as an English Language Instructor under the Centre for Teaching and Learning. In 2016, she was appointed as a Senior Lecturer. During her time at the Centre, she led English Language Support Programmes, served as speaker and trainer for communication courses, facilitated English-medium instruction training for UTM and international university lecturers, and was appointed to the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Task Force for developing online English teaching and learning materials for the national project Malaysia Online Resources for Learning in English (MyLinE). Her contributions include the development of 165 copyright-protected English learning materials, collaboration on the enhancement of English language instruction across Malaysian public universities, and outreach projects for schools in Johor. She has also taught Bangladeshi students in partnership with the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
Between 2018 and 2022, she served at UTM International under the Office of the Vice-Chancellor as Manager (Partnerships), overseeing relations and coordinating UTM’s activities across more than 20 international consortia. She also held executive roles, including Coordinator for the Asia Technological University Network and Secretary of the ASEAN Learning Network. Since 2023, she has served as Assistant Dean (External and Global Engagement) for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Her expertise in global engagement and English language education has earned her appointments as a Board Member of the Linguistics Association of Korea and Editorial Board Member of the Society of Teaching English through Media (Korea). She is also an Associate Member of NEAS Quality Assurance in Education and Training (Australia), which has recognized her as a subject matter expert in English Language Teaching. Additionally, she is a member of APACALL, AsiaTEFL, and MELTA.
Aligned with UTM’s vision, mission, and enVision UTM strategic plan, Dr. Farhana is committed to delivering impactful service as an educator, supporting educational, innovation, and community development ecosystems at local, national, and international levels. She actively contributes to strengthening UTM’s international partnerships through bilateral and multilateral collaborations with universities across Asia and Europe.
Research and Publications
She is a member of the Technology in Language Education research group under the Smart Digital Community research cluster. She has led four research grants, including institutional, matching, and international grants, totaling RM110,000. As a co-researcher, she has contributed to 19 research projects with a cumulative value of RM6.43 million.
Her projects include the development of the Self-Training Public Speaking Courseware Framework for ESL Learners, use of Storybird’s Narrative Artwork for vocabulary development, and several English language enrichment programmes for teachers and lecturers. These include:
- Technology in Education for English Language Enrichment
- English Language Enhancement Programme for the State of Johor
- Promoting and Enhancing Language Use of Non-option English Language Teachers
- Teaching Speaking and Listening Skills in English
- UTM-UNMC Collaboration for the Bangladesh College Education Development Project (BCEDP) via MyLinE
Her current research focuses on language, culture, and communication for the Border Tourism and Malay Culture Development in Bintan, Indonesia, in collaboration with Universitas Airlangga. She is also involved in projects with Johor Tourism and the Terengganu State Sports Council to enhance English proficiency among tourism operators and athletes.
She has contributed to youth employability and STEM initiatives in Johor and participated in several Erasmus+ international grants, including:
- ASEAN Network for Green Entrepreneurship and Leadership
- Promoting Modern Talent Management Practices in Asian Higher Education Institutions
- Malaysia Sustainable University Campus Network
She has authored 98 publications, including 36 indexed articles (11 in SCOPUS, 9 in Web of Science, and 12 in ERA), with an H-index of 4 and 72 citations in SCOPUS. Additionally, she has published 2 books and 5 book chapters, including titles like A Systematic Review on Literature in Educational Research, Ways of Language Learning, and Research & Design in Challenging Environment Series 1 focused on educational technology.
Teaching and Supervision
Assoc Prof Dr Farhana Diana has graduated 24 students under her supervision (6 undergraduate, 17 Master’s, and 2 PhD). Recently, five of her PhD students have successfully completed the viva voce. She has taught over 60 courses, particularly in English language teaching and communication. Her TESL undergraduate courses include:
- Fundamentals of Grammar
- Structure of English
- Computer-Assisted Language Learning
- Language Games in the Classroom
- Academic Skills for Teachers of ESL
At the postgraduate level, she teaches Description of English and general language proficiency courses such as Academic English Skills, Advanced Academic Skills, and English for Professional Purposes.
She remains dedicated to English proficiency development across diverse audiences—from students and educators to industry professionals. Using MyLinE, she supports English programmes for schools under the Johor State Education Department and Malaysian public universities. She has collaborated with the Terengganu State Sports Council on professional communication training for athletes and staff and worked with Johor Tourism to improve the English of local tourism operators. She has also led international cultural and communication programmes, including Online Global Classroom (ATU-Net) and Summer School with Iloilo Science and Technology University, Philippines.
Leadership and Administrative Experience
In addition to her teaching, research, and international engagement portfolio, Dr. Farhana Diana Deris has held several key leadership and administrative roles at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. These roles reflect her capacity for institutional governance, strategic planning, and global engagement.
From 2018 to 2022, she served as Manager (Partnerships) at UTM International under the Office of the Vice Chancellor. During this period, she was also entrusted with executing the duties of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) for a week, showcasing her leadership agility and deep understanding of international higher education management. Her responsibilities included overseeing bilateral and multilateral partnerships, representing UTM in international consortium activities, and strengthening institutional collaborations across Asia and beyond.
Since 2023, she has held the position of Assistant Dean (External and Global Engagement) at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, where she leads the faculty’s internationalisation strategy. Her portfolio includes research and academic partnerships, alumni engagement, industry and community collaboration, and institutional visibility. She has played a pivotal role in upholding the faculty’s branding and marketing initiatives, particularly in enhancing digital communications and web management to align with UTM’s global eminence agenda.
Beginning January 2024, she was also entrusted to perform the duties of Deputy Dean (Research, Innovation, and Development), supporting faculty research governance, strategic direction-setting, and innovation outreach. Currently, she is serving as the Director of the Corporate Communications Centre, under the Office of Strategy and Global Eminence, Chancellery Department under the Office of the Vice Chancellor. In this role, she spearheads the university’s strategic communications, international visibility efforts, and branding initiatives in alignment with UTM’s vision of global eminence.
Her leadership style is characterized by strategic foresight, effective collaboration, and a commitment to amplifying the university’s impact both locally and internationally.
Conclusion
The accomplishments outlined above reflect Dr. Farhana’s strengths in identifying and developing collaborative opportunities with international institutions, ministries, industry, and local communities—delivering impactful value to students, staff, and UTM at large. Her specialization in TESL, technology-integrated teaching and learning, cultural communication, and global engagement—combined with the positions she has held—makes her uniquely positioned to contribute positively to UTM’s advancement. Ultimately, as a steadfast academic, she is committed to delivering excellence in teaching, supervision, research, publication, consultancy, and professional service. Her mission aligns with UTM’s overarching vision of knowledge empowerment, inspired by the guiding principle: “In the Name of God for Mankind.” She is confident that this philosophy will continue to yield profound and far-reaching impacts for both personal and institutional growth.
Find me at other platforms
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/farhanadiana/
- UTMScholar https://utmscholar.utm.my/Scholar/ScholarInfoDetails/2gaJ
- Scopus Author ID 56285335200
- Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Farhana_Diana_Deris
- Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F9h6bQUAAAAJ&hl=en
