Dr. P’ng Tean Hwa is Senior Professor and Director of the Institute of Music at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur, where he has served since 1997. Under his leadership since 2009, the Institute of Music has consistently been at the forefront of tertiary music education in Malaysia over the past decades. UCSI University is the first private tertiary institution to offer home-grown bachelor’s, master’s and PhD programs in music in Malaysia, and is ranked No. 42 in the QS World Ranking in the subject of Performing Arts in 2024.

At UCSI University, Prof. P’ng is a member of the University Council in 2016–2020 and 2024–2026, a long-standing member of the University Examination Board, and has served as the Chair of the Senate Learning and Teaching Committee in 2007–2010. He has played an active role in establishing UCSI University’s International Piano Festival and Competition (serving as the chair of the judging panel for the Finals round) as well as the Piano Pedagogy Conference, which are held biennially in alternate years since 2014. In 2023, he started the Talent Development Program in UCSI University to groom young Malaysia talents from the community at the highest level.

Alongside his teaching duties and leadership roles at the university, Prof. P’ng has been actively involved with performances, both locally and abroad. Over the years, he has appeared in numerous public concerts as a soloist as well as collaborative pianist in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Hungary, and the USA. As a clinician, he has presented numerous lectures, workshops, and seminars to both piano teachers and the general audience. He has conducted many piano masterclasses nationally and internationally; in 2022 he was invited to Armenia as a Guest International Distinguished Professor in the Meknark State Target Developing Program for specially-selected young Armenian pianists. He is frequently invited to serve as a guest examiner and also to adjudicate competitions, including the Mozart Piano Competition in Thailand, the Asia International Piano Competitions in Taiwan and in South Korea, the 5th German Irmler (Qingdao) International Piano Competition in China, and the Harmonium OnlinePlus International Piano Competition.

As a scholar, Prof. P’ng has been invited to contribute as a blind peer reviewer for several music journals. At the national level, he has acted in advisory capacity in the formation or review of national standards and policy in arts and music education. He is a panelist in the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) Review of Programme Standards for Performing Arts in 2023–2024, and an executive council member of Southeast Asian Directors of Music (SEADOM) Association in 2023–2025. He is a life member of the Malaysian Association for Music Education and the scholastic honor society of Phi Kappa Phi (USA).

Prof. P’ng is a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. He holds doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees and the FTCL and LTCL diplomas in piano performance, a chemical engineering degree, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching.