Siti Hamisah is new Higher Education D-G

PETALING JAYA: Datin Dr

Siti Hamisah Tapsir (pic) is the new Higher Education Ministry director-general.

Its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh congratulated Dr Siti on her appointment.

“I am confident that her experience of over 30 years in higher education as well as leadership will carry Malaysia’s higher education into the future as we embark on our ‘ Redesigning Higher Education’ agenda.

“May the ministry and Malaysia’s higher education ecosystem continue striving towards excellence and con- tinue soaring upwards,” he said in a statement.

Prior to her current post, Dr Siti was Malaysia’s deputy director-general of private education for three years. She has served as deputy director-general in the ministry’s department of Higher Education since 2009.

Among her contributions were the establishment of a rating system for private colleges and the rationalisation and liberalisation of private higher education.

She graduated with a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, and received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in civil engineering from the University of Leeds, Britain.

To add another feather to her cap, Dr Siti was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) degree from the University of Southampton Faculty of Engineering and the Environment last August.

Dr Siti is known for her contribution and role in spearheading a nationwide programme called the Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint 2015-2025, which is aimed at transforming education policies.