Surinderpal Kaur is a Professor and the Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics at the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She holds a PhD from Lancaster University, UK. With a career spanning over three decades, she has made significant contributions to the fields of linguistics, critical discourse studies, and multimodality. Her expertise lies in Critical Discourse Studies and Multimodality, with research interests spanning discrimination and prejudice, particularly in migration, Islamophobia, far-right extremism, terrorism, gender, and sexuality. She has been invited to speak by the Director-General of the OIC on Islamophobia at the UN for the International Day Against Islamophobia in 2024. She has also been invited to speak on Islamophobia by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. She has published extensively in reputable journals, contributing to the global understanding of how discourse shapes and reflects social realities.​ Currently, her work centres on climate change communication and education, reflecting her commitment to addressing pressing global challenges. She is also the Co-Chair of the University Malaya Committee for Climate Change which functions as a part of the technology advisory panel for Climate Change for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. As Co-Chair, she is focused on ensuring that UM obtains observer status at the Conference of Parties for Climate Change, and also for UM to take the lead in climate-related research in the nation. She is also the SDG Champion for Climate Change for Universiti malaya. She has represented Malaysia and UM at COP29 (UNFCCC) in Baku on Humanising Sustainability. She is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics at UM. She is also the Acting Chair, and Vice-Chair for the Malaysian Language Deans Council, and is leading the taskforce for all public universities on Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL). She is committed to embedding digital humanities in the teaching and learning of languages and is focused on establishing a Digital Humanities Centre at the faculty, which will be the hub for TELL for the nation and ASEAN.  Beyond academia, she is actively involved in capacity-building initiatives for Punjabi and Sikh youth in Malaysia, fostering leadership and community development.  Her career reflects a deep commitment to inclusive education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the application of linguistics to address pressing social and environmental challenges. She continues to shape national and international discourse on the critical role of language in society.  

Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud is an Associate Professor in the Department of Syariah and Law at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya (UM), where he served as Head of the Department from 2019 to 2025. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Syariah (Islamic Law) with Honours, as well as a Master’s and a PhD in Syariah and Law, all from the University of Malaya. Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud specializes in Islamic Estate Planning—covering Hibah, Wakaf, Islamic Inheritance, and Islamic Wills—as well as Islamic Banking and Finance, Islamic Social Finance, and Contemporary Islamic Law. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator for a project titled "Management of Islamic Trust Assets at the Baitulmal," funded by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (GA022-2024), running from September 23, 2024, to March 23, 2025. Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud is also collaborating internationally with UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang on the project "Religious Moderation in Higher Education in Indonesia and Malaysia." Previously, he led a Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education-funded project titled "Individual Behaviour in Dealing with Property Distribution Issues: A Study of Muslim Estate Planning" (FP017-2020) under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS). He has also collaborated on various research initiatives, including projects on Islamic Inheritance Management, Islamic Law Practice in Malaysia, Wakaf financing for higher education, and the role of Muslim women’s NGOs in promoting gender equality in ASEAN. Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud is an active speaker at national and international conferences. Recent notable presentations include "Legal Frameworks in Islamic Social Finance for Promoting Social Welfare in Malaysia: Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" at the International Conference on Law & Justice, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah in Jakarta (September 27, 2024); "Zakat as Islamic Philanthropy in Malaysia: An Overview from a Legal Perspective" at Karabuk University, Turkey (September 29, 2022); and "Legal Aspects and Management of Islamic Philanthropy in Malaysia" at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (July 25, 2022). He has also recently presented in Vienna, Austria; Malang and Jakarta, Indonesia; and Pattani, Thailand (2024). Previous years included presentations in Salzburg (Austria), Barcelona (Spain), as well as Palembang and Bandung, Indonesia (2023 and 2022, respectively). Beyond teaching and research, Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud served as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (August to December 2013), and completed a three-month research fellowship at Cairo University's Kuliyyah Darul Ulum (May to August 2010). His extensive publication record includes articles in national and international journals, contributing significantly to the field of Islamic law. Throughout his career, he has offered expertise to institutions such as JAKIM and MAIS on Islamic law issues and previously served as the Shariah Adviser for ZICOlaw Shariah, providing advisory services to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Malaysia Berhad from 2014 to 2016.    

Dr Shamshul Bahri received his PhD from Brunel University, London, his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Malaya, and his Bachelor of Business Adminstration (BBA) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi. Before joining University of Malaya in 2000, he worked as an officer at the New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, Jalan Riong Bangsar. There, he assisted the Central Region Circulation Manager in coordinating the Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, and Kelang circulation offices.  He lead the Department of Operations and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya in two stints: 2011 to 2014 and 2018-2019. His speciality is in the area of information systems (IS), especially IS implementation, payment systems, healthcare information systems, and social media. His current research interests lie in the area of finance technology (Fintech) and big data analytics. He was a Visiting Fellow at the School of Information Systems and Technology Management, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia in 2014 and a Visiting Professor at Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia, in 2020.  As an academic, Dr Shamshul had scored many firsts. He was the first academic from Malaysia's public universities to co-chair the program committee of the Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS). It happened in the conference's 21st edition (2017) held in Langkawi Island, Malaysia. He was also the first from Malaysia's public universities to be selected as an associate editor (the Human Behavior and IS Track) at the premier International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) when it was held in 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was also the first from Malaysian universities to get the outputs from his joint-research with colleagues from UNSW and NUS, published in the Information Systems Journal (ISJ) and European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS). The two journals are listed in the "IS senior scholars' basket of eight" publications considered to be the most prestigious in the field of information systems. He is also currently a senior editor for the Pacific Asia Journal of Information Systems (PAJAIS) and an editorial member for the International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering. In recognition of his contribution to the Association for the Information Systems (AIS) and to the field, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, he was recently awarded by the Association for Information Systems (AIS) the title of "Distinguished Member of the AIS", the first, and currently the only academic from Malaysian universities to receive the honour.  Although less athletic, Dr Shamshul likes to play tennis. His hobbies include reading and singing.