Prof. Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohammed Rafiq bin Dato’ Abdul Kadir is a Professor of Engineering and currently serves at the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya. He has held the rank of Full Professor since 2014 and has contributed extensively to advancing engineering education, research, and innovation in Malaysia. He also serves as an EAC Council Member at the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) since 2020. Prior to joining Universiti Malaya, Dato’ Rafiq was the pioneering Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), one of the largest engineering faculties in Asia, comprising nearly 700 academics and 10,000 students. His visionary “Business NOT as Usual” approach steered the faculty to international prominence, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, initiatives such as the Distinguished Lecture Series—featuring 114 professors from 32 countries—and the Captain of Industry Programme—with CEOs from 31 major companies—solidified UTM’s global standing while achieving cost savings of almost RM2 million. In research, Dato’ Rafiq is recognized among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University. He founded the Medical Devices & Technology Group (MEDITEG), one of Malaysia’s most successful research entities, later elevated to a Centre of Excellence (CoE). Under his leadership, the group secured 94 research projects worth RM12 million, graduated 49 PhD and 38 Master’s students by research, and produced 344 Web of Science publications with nearly 8,000 citations. Dato’ Rafiq’s individual h-index is 48, reflecting his strong international research impact. A prolific inventor, Dato’ Rafiq is Malaysia’s No. 1 Inventor (2010–2014) with 27 patents granted during that period, and now holds 38 granted patents and 18 pending inventions. He is an alumnus of both Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge, and is professionally registered as a Professional Engineer with Practising Certificate (PEPC), an ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer (ACPE), and a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the UK Engineering Council.

DR. AHMAD ZAHIRUDDIN MOHD ZABIDI is a Senior Lecturer in the Malay Studies Programme, Academy of Malay Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Before starting service at APM UM, he first served as a lecturer at IIUM Pagoh branch, Johor, and worked as a part-time e-tutor for core subjects such as Tamadun Islam Tamadun Asia (TITAS), Falsafah dan Isu Semasa (FIS) at Open University Malaysia since January 2022. He received his Bachelor of Hons. Public Management from Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah in 2012, MA of Art Malay Studies from Academy of Malay Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2020, and Ph.D. of Islamic Civilization from Institut Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor in 2023 with a thesis entitled, "Pendekatan Dakwah Melalui Penulisan Kisah Nabi dan Rasul Menurut Teks Suntingan Hamdan Hassan Berjudul Surat al-Anbiya' (1990)" (Approach of Da'wah Through Writing The Stories of Prophets and Messengers According to Hamdan Hassan's Editing Text Title Surat al-Anbiya' (1990)). His expertise is Malay Socio-Religous Thought, Malay-Islamic Civilization, and the Methodology of Da'wah Writing. Among his academic books are Pemikiran Satira dalam Penulisan Dakwah (Satire Thought in Da'wah Writing) (Kota Bharu: University Malaysia Kelantan Press, 2022), Pengantar Falsafah & Isu Semasa (Introduction to The Philosophy and Current Issues) (Tanjung Malim: Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Press, 2022) and a chapter in an edited book entitled Ketokohan dan Sumbangan Pemikir Islam Alam Melayu (Prominence and Contribution of Malay Islamic Thinkers) (Kuala Lumpur: University Malaya Press, 2022). His articles have also been published in several journals such as journal Al-Hikmah, BITARA International Journal of Civilizational Studies and Human Sciences, Jurnal Melayu Sedunia, UFUQ International Journal of Arts and Social Science Research, and Al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues. Before assuming the role of a lecturer and academician at the University of Malaya, he had over 15 years of extensive involvement in the publishing industry. During this period, he served as a managing editor and acquisition editor at PTS Publishing House, Institut Terjemahan Buku Malaysia (ITBM), Karangkraf Media Group, and IIUM Press. Additionally, he remained actively engaged in writing and publishing creative and semi-academic works through various popular and private publications, including print and online mass media. As a managing and acquisition editor and writer, he managed the publication of over 100 books across various genres, including academic works, authored more than 30 books spanning diverse genres, and contributed hundreds of articles and essays to newspapers, magazines, and online portals. In addition, he was actively invited as a speaker for book writing workshops. He delivered lectures in universities, mosques, and government/private office premises related to his field of studies, which focuses on socio-religious thought in Malay society, the Malay world, and Malay history.

Concertmaster Yi-Li Chang, who carried it off with confident virtuosity.... - The Boston Musical Intelligencer - A native of Taiwan, Dr Yi-Li Chang has been recognized by Boston Musical Intelligencer as a baroque violinist with “confident virtuosity, and blend as necessary, adding a rich warmth to the group’s sound.”. A founding member of Incendium Novum, she performs regularly across Asia and the U.S. She has participated in festivals such as the Macau International Music Festival and the Boston Early Music Festival and given lectures at numerous institutions, including Universiti Putra Malaysia and National Taiwan Normal University. Yi-Li has performed in prestigious venues like Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Malaysia, Boston University in the U.S., and National Concert Hall in Taiwan. As an orchestral musician, Yi-Li has played with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra and the Lexington Symphony Orchestra. She also served as concertmaster and coach for various ensembles, such as Longy Early Music Orchestra, Philharmonia Moments Musicaux Baroque orchestra, and as guest artist and coach at Tufts University and Montserrat College of Art in U.S. Yi-Li received her master degree (2007) and Ph. D. (2014) in violin from National Taiwan Normal University under Professor Nanette Chen. After receiving her PhD, she went aboard to study historical performance and graduated with a Master of Music degree (2015) and Graduate Performance Diploma (2016) in Early Music from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, under baroque violinist Dana Maiben. During her studies at Longy, she was the winner of the Honors Competition and granted the prestigious Roman Totenberg Award. A well-rounded musician, Yi-Li ‘s knowledge of music goes beyond the modern and baroque violin. In addition to baroque performance, her interests extend to harpsichord, she has studied the harpsichord and continuo accompaniment with Avi Stein and Vivian Montgomery, Dana Maiben, and Douglas Freundlich, and viola da gamba, which she has studied with Jane Hershey and Sarah Cunningham. The most recently she performed the harpsichord concerto of J.S.Bach with KLPAC orchestra in Malaysia. Besides being soloist and being with these groups, Yi-Li is also a dedicated educator, which she has been the faculty of New School of Music, Longy School of Music of Bard College in U.S. As a researcher, Yi-Li is specialized in performance practice in strings, and historically informed performance practice, which some of research has been published. Dr Yi-Li Chang is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia.