Dr. Jakaria Dasan is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), where he has served as Deputy Dean of Student Affairs and Alumni since 31 October 2024. He teaches Corporate Communication, Strategic Management, Management, and Industrial Training Preparation at the undergraduate level, and Human Resource Management for the MBA programme.
Dr. Jakaria holds a Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from Universiti Sains Malaysia, an MBA from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from West Texas A&M University, United States.
Before joining academia, he accumulated over 15 years of professional experience in both industry and government sectors. He served as Confidential Secretary and Public Relations Officer to the Minister of Rural Development Sabah (1999–2002) and later to the Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Sabah (2002–2006). He also held corporate positions with Sedcovest Holdings Sdn. Bhd. and MOCCIS Trading Sdn. Bhd., and earlier served as a Secondary School Teacher at SMK Tandek, Kota Marudu (1992–1995). His first appointment at UMS was as Assistant Registrar and Special Officer to the Vice-Chancellor (2006–2008).
In 2010, Dr. Jakaria transitioned fully into academia by joining the School of Business and Economics. Since then, he has held several leadership roles, including:
• Director and Deputy Director, Corporate Communication Centre
• Director, Centre for Sustainable Society Engagement
• Deputy Dean (Student Welfare), Centre for Postgraduate Studies
His research focuses on human resource management, community development, graduate employability, and entrepreneurship. He has published widely in Scopus and WoS-indexed journals, particularly on entrepreneurship models, employee productivity, and flexible work practices. He also contributes to book chapters and national media articles.
Dr. Jakaria co-authored the SHARE Model for Leaders, published under the AKEPT Leadership Programme, and is the lead author of two UMS commemorative convocation books:
• Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Hj Musa Aman: Architect of Sabah’s Economic Development (2023)
• Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Hj Abdul Ghani Gilong: Planner of Sabah Bumiputera Economic Development (2017)
He is also a key architect of the National SDG Leadership Programme, a collaboration between UMS and AKEPT, and has served as Chief Impact Evaluator for the Parliamentary APPGM-SDG Programme in Sabah since 2023, assessing localised SDG impacts.
Beyond academia, Dr. Jakaria remains active in civil society. He currently serves as Vice-President of the Gabungan Persatuan-Persatuan Penjaja & Peniaga Kecil Negeri Sabah (2024–2027) and is a member of the Malaysian Social Science Association, Sabah Writers Association, and Himpunan Ilmuwan UMS (HiUMS).

Professor Madya Dr. Jakaria Bin Dasan holds Doktor Falsafah from Universiti Sains Malaysia , among other qualifications, and has established themselves as a respected expert in their field.