Nur Hidayah Bte Abu Bakar

Nur Hidayah is a design-educator engaged in furthering design thinking and education in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Her expertise lies in design curriculum branding and identity, design for communication strategies and advertising communication. 

Prior to joining LASALLE, Nur Hidayah worked in a full portfolio of design communication systems ranging from copywriting, design and art direction projects across major industry segments. This coupled with her extensive teaching experience of more than 15 years, Nur Hidayah has been instrumental to the transformation of the Faculty of Design into a leading faculty for Southeast Asia. 

A deep believer of the interconnectedness of design aesthetics, education and industry, Nur Hidayah has initiated several collaborative partnerships with various design institutions. She presented a research paper at the Ubuntu International Design Symposium 2011 in Seoul, which covered The Role of Design Education. With faculty staff members, she is currently developing design capability programmes with communities in Asia and investigating issues around social enterprise for a more inclusive design culture. She has led the research and study of design cultures in contemporary Asian cities between Singapore, Seoul and Shanghai and undertaken the Global Design Initiative involving five international universities looking at design as a research tool.

Over the years, her excellent interpersonal and management skills have enabled her to inspire many students. Her vision and foresight has helped nurture these students into leaders that have contributed to Singapore’s creative landscape. Under her leadership, the design programmes have achieved great success at regional and international design competitions and showcases, including D&AD Student Awards, The Crowbar Awards, Furniture Design Awards and Graduate Fashion Week in London.

Today, Nur Hidayah continues to serve as an expert on various boards in Singapore. Her current appointments include the National Gallery Singapore, Singapore Note and Coin Advisory Committee (Monetary Authority of Singapore), and member of the Design Education Review Committee Workgroup, DesignSingapore Council (Ministry of Communications and Information). Her past appointments include the Malay Heritage Foundation (National Heritage Board, 2011), Malay Heritage Centre (National Heritage Board, 2012) and advisory member for MDA's Malay Programmes Advisory Committee (InfoCommMedia Development Authority of Singapore (2016–2018).