Started his research career in the think tank sector, Dr. Lee Chee Leong (Karl) is attracted to the rise of non-traditional diplomacy in the international order today. Such appeal has taken Dr. Lee into new research horizons that started with his Monash University's doctoral research on the Chinese sub-state diplomacy in China-ASEAN economic cooperation. With constructive supervision by Professor Helen Nesadurai and Associate Professor Kuik Cheng Chwee, Dr. Lee completed his doctoral thesis that unravels how a faraway and least developed sub-state of Guangxi managed to overcome its own hurdles, navigate the complexities within the Chinese state and become the frontline actor in China-ASEAN economic cooperation. Following his doctoral completion, Dr. Lee's research on non-traditional diplomacy has expanded into Taiwan’s quasi-state diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Such quest has led him spending at great length in comprehending the concept of soft power, a concept that finds its relevance to Taiwan, which has no official diplomatic with Southeast Asia but is heavily connected to the region and has to rely on soft power in its engagements with these Southeast Asian nations. Taking Malaysia as the first case study of Taiwan's soft power in the region, Dr. Lee is developing the third intervening variable correlating both Taiwanese soft power resources and outcomes, in his course of providing a dynamical explanation for such phenomenon. For the coming years, his research focus and publications will be on the different areas featuring Taiwan-Malaysia and Taiwan-Southeast Asia cooperation such as digital social innovation (DSI) for climate change, industry-based education/training programmes, smart cities, tourism, digital democracy, agriculture, public health and medicine, ornamental aquaculture and aquascape. To date, Dr. Lee was the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships in Malaysia and overseas: University of Malaya’s Graduate Fellowship (2010-2011); Monash University’s Merit Scholarship (2016-2019); Chinese Government Scholarship (2018-2019); and Taiwan Fellowship (2020). Prior to his appointment as Senior Lecturer at the Institute of China Studies (ICS), he was the Visiting Scholar at Guangxi University for Nationalities (GXUN) (2018-10992019), Taiwan Fellow at National Chengchi University (NCCU) (2020) and Associate Fellow at ICS UM (2016-2019).He welcomes any potential PhD candidate who would like to work on Taiwan-Southeast Asia relations, Taiwan's soft power in Southeast Asia and Taiwan-Malaysia DSI cooperation for climate change. He is also willing to discuss with potential doctoral candidates on proposals related to the Chinese sub-state (provincial) diplomacy toward ASEAN, China's soft power in ASEAN, Southeast Asian sub-state diplomacy, comparative cases of sub-state diplomacy around the world and conceptual innovation of sub-state diplomacy as well as soft power. 

As an educator, researcher, and innovator in Software Engineering, I treat values and purposes with topmost priority. I believe individuals and organisations guided by righteous values and noble purposes make the difference in the world; realistically making the world a better place to live for all. Thus, in my 20 years of career life, I have devoted my time contributing to education, research, and innovation in and beyond Software Engineering, benefiting the current and future generations. My total grants from research, consultancy, and software development projects amounted to nearly RM3,000,000. In recent year, I started a few future education initiatives such as innovation and work-integrated learning lab (iWILL) in response to the changes brought about by disruptive technologies.

Professor Shireen Anne Nah is a senior consultant paediatric surgeon and Head of the Division of Paediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Shireen draws on a wealth of experience working overseas. Upon completion of paediatric surgery specialist training at the Paediatric Institute, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, she underwent a 2 year clinical research fellowship at the UCL Institute of Child Health & Great Ormond Hospital for Children in London, UK. This was followed by 8 years as a paediatric surgeon in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, before she returned to Malaysia in 2019. Shireen’s areas of research interest are congenital colorectal conditions in children, health outcomes, and quality of life. She is passionate about quality and standards in postgraduate training, and champions sustainability and diversity in surgery. She is also engaged in multiple international collaborative networks in Singapore, UK, Europe and North America, and hopes to increase loco-regional collaborations in ASEAN nations. Shireen is a proud UM alumna, who completed her undergraduate medical degree and postgraduate surgical training at the Faculty of Medicine.