QIU is proud to announce the appointment of Professor Dr Vijay Kumar Mallan—an internationally recognised expert in postgraduate education—as our new Dean of Postgraduate Studies.
A founding member of the International Doctoral Education Research Network, Prof. Vijay brings decades of experience from the University of Otago in New Zealand and Universiti Putra Malaysia. His global reputation in doctoral training and supervision makes him a transformative addition to our academic leadership.
Just before joining QIU, Prof. Vijay received the 2025 Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Programs and Support from the Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR), recognising his groundbreaking work with the Otago Doctoral Supervision Programme (ODSP), which he led for four years. This is the highest honour in the field of doctoral education.
In another milestone, Prof. Vijay was honoured in 2022 with the Recognised Research Supervisor status by the UK Council for Graduate Education, becoming the first academic outside the UK to receive this distinction.
Notably, he has led doctoral supervision development initiatives across more than 45 universities in 23 countries, leading to significant enhancements in supervisory practice, doctoral examination policies, researcher development, and supervision quality policy influence worldwide.
Prof Vijay also held significant leadership position at the University of Otago, New Zealand where he was conferred the title of Honorary Professor of Doctoral Education in acknowledgement of his outstanding leadership, scholarly distinction and transformative impact in the field. With over 2,500 citations, his work is widely referenced in authoritative books and journals on doctoral education. His handbook on Doctoral Supervision, commissioned by the Malaysian Ministry of Education, is a foundational reference across Malaysian universities.
At QIU, Prof. Vijay will focus on nurturing a vibrant postgraduate research culture and enhancing excellence in supervision, researcher development, and doctoral education.
We are excited to welcome Prof. Vijay to the QIU community and look forward to the leadership he will bring to our postgraduate journey.
