Zuwati Hasim

Zuwati is an expert in the field of language assessment – a crucial issue for teachers, especially in her home country Malaysia.

“Language assessment is a really important area. Sadly, there aren’t many experts in the area – at least, not in Malaysia,” she says. But she’s committed to changing that. She’s currently leading a research project on school-based assessment with researchers from New Zealand and Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) from the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.

Before studying for a PhD at the University of Waikato, Zuwati was an English language lecturer and English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher trainer at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She came to Waikato as the recipient of a scholarship from the University of Malaya and the Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education. She chose Waikato for its reputation and expertise in applied linguistics and education.

Her PhD research focused on ESL writing and formative assessment, and she says she gained a lot from the process. “Doing a PhD isn’t without its challenges. However, I learnt to overcome the challenges I encountered and to persevere when the going got tough.”

“I was able to work collaboratively with my supervisors who continuously challenged and supported me during my study.”

Zuwati is proud to now work as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya, one of the top-ranked universities in the world. In a day, she can go between teaching to researching, to supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students.