Yahaya Ahmad
- IDIS 2024 Advisor
Associate Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Strategy), Universiti Malaya & Director of AUN-DPPnet
Professor Dr. Yahaya Ahmad currently serves as the Associate Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Strategy) at the University of Malaya and as the Director of the ASEAN University Network-Disability and Public Policy (AUN-DPPnet). He began his academic career at Universiti Teknologi Mara (ITM) in 1989 before joining the University of Malaya in 1995 as one of the pioneering staff to establish the Department of Architecture and the Faculty of Built Environment at the University of Malaya.
He has held several key administrative roles at the university, including Head of Departments, Deputy Deans, and Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment, a position he held for over six years. Specializing in the conservation of historic buildings and the management of heritage sites, Professor Yahaya was seconded to the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage Malaysia as Deputy Commissioner of Heritage (Timbalan Pesuruhjaya Warisan).
He is the first and only Malaysian to date elected by over 130 State Party representatives to serve as a Council Member of UNESCO's intergovernmental organization, The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM/UNESCO), from 2007 to 2011. During this time, he led the team that prepared the re-nomination dossier for Melaka and George Town as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2004-2007) and contributed to drafting Malaysia's National Heritage Act (2005).
His notable restoration and conservation projects include the reconstruction of Bastion Middlesburg, Melaka Fort (2007-2008), the restoration of Sungai Buloh Leprosy Hospital (2010-2011), Sultan Suleiman Mosque in Klang (2011), Sultan Alaeddin Mosque in Jugra, Selangor (2011), and Masjid Jamek Bandaraya KL, among others. He has also been a Conservation Technical Expert for ThinkCity under Khazanah Nasional since 2009, evaluating over 100 conservation grant applications.
Internationally, he has contributed as an expert for the Historic City of Ahmedabad's nomination dossier (India, 2011-2016), the Coral Stone Mosques of Maldives, and the Rumah Gadang Solok Selatan in Indonesia.
Professor Yahaya’s work has earned him several accolades, including Malaysia’s Research Star Award (2019) under the Citation Classic category, UM Excellent Award (ACUM) for Best Academic Administrator (2019) and Arts & Creativity (2013), Highly Commended Award by Structural Survey Emerald Publishing Limited (2017), and third place in the Ministry of Higher Education's Anugerah Pemikiran dan Rekabentuk Semula (2017).
