Prof. Dr. Stefanie Shamila Pillai began her career as an English language and literature teacher at a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur after completing her B.Ed. TESL (Hons.) in the UK. She is currently a Senior Professor at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. Her research interests include varieties of English, particularly the Malaysian variety, as well as language use in education (including language policy) and in multilingual contexts. She is also known for her work on Melaka Portuguese (Papia Kristang). She was recently elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.