Prior to his current role as Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Dzul Razak was Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM, 2000 – 2011). From 2005, he also held the role of Convenor of the Regional Centre for Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development based at USM, one of seven pioneering centres worldwide. In 2021, he was invited to serve as an expert for the Futures of Higher Education Project at UNESCO’s Institute for Higher Education (IESALC).