Dr Wan Chang Da holds a DPhil. from the University of Oxford and was prepared as a financial expert at the University of Malaya and National University of Singapore. Currently, he serves as the Deputy Director at the National Higher Education Research Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Chang Da has been engaged with ventures with UNESCO-Bangkok, UNICEF, OECD, Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility (CTEF), Asia Pacific Higher Education Research Partnership (APHERP) Research Cluster, the Head Foundation, Bait al-Amanah, and the Ministry of Higher Education/Ministry of Education Malaysia. He was a colleague of the Higher Education Strategic Plan Review Committee to survey the Malaysian National Higher Education Strategic Plan.

Chang Da is additionally a Life Member and EXCO of the Malaysian Society for Higher Education Policy and Research Development (PenDaPaT), and a member of Global Young Academy.