Professor Dr. Mohd Rafie Bin Johan is an Award Winning Scientist and International Keynote Speaker. He is true example of how theoretical and fundamental research leads to remarkable progresses in the applied, engineering and industrial use of nano-designed advanced materials. Born in Melaka, in 1968, Professor Rafie graduated with a BSc(Hons) in Physics from University of Malaya, Malaysia, in 1993 and BEng in Chemical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2023. He continued his studies at Institute for Advanced Studies, Universiti of Malaya, where he obtained his MPhil in Quantum Optics in 1997, moving then to Department of Physics, University of Malaya where he obtained his PhD in Theoretical Physics in 2005. From 1999 to 1991 he was also Head of Biomedical Engineering Program in Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya. He later moved to Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya where from the year 2005 until 2009, as a senior lecturer and played the role of Coordinator for Materials Engineering Undergraduate Program. In 2010, he is promoted to Associate Professor to steer research in Nanomaterials Engineering. Then, in 2015, he is promoted to Professor of Materials Engineering. In 2016, he is transferred to Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT), University of Malaya Centre of Excellence (UMCOE), an internationally well-recognized center with the mission to be the world leader in “nanotechnology and catalysis” coining sustainability resources and green technology. In 2017, he is appointed as a Director of NANOCAT. Prof. Rafie is well recognized internationally in the field of Nanotechnology. Testimony to this, he has been elected in Evaluation Panels for AET and ITR clusters and UPGP and for grants applications at UMRG, PRGS, FRGS, and Qatar Foundation. He also has been appointed as panel for Yang di Pertuan Agong Scholarship and COMSTECS for Islamic Organization Country for evaluation of best scientific papers for Muslim Scientist and Qatar Reseach Foundation. Prof Rafie also has been invited as a speaker to numerous talks and conferences and also Guest Editor for Symmetry (ISI journal) and editor for Asean Engineering Journal. In 2010, he was a visiting scientist at Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Cambridge and at 2012, he was a visiting scholar at Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy. The educational contribution of Prof. Rafie may be summarized in few numbers: 40 PhD completed (20 on-going), 30 Master completed (10 on going). These supervised students span over a quite broad scientific area going from science (chemistry, physics, material science, biology) to engineering (chemical, material). He had published more 350 ISI papers with H index 40 (WoS) and 44 Google scholar with 7791 citations. He had various research project (National, International (Jica) and Industry (Petronas, Hartalega and NanoMalaysia) with total amount more than RM 19 million. He is awarded Top Research Scientist Malaysia (TRSM) 2021 by Academy Sciences Malaysia and winner of Top in Tech Innovation Award (Most Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration. He was awarded UM Excellence award for Best HICOE-UMCOE (2022) and elected as Fellow Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) 2023. He was promoted to Senior Professor (VK6) in 2023. Recently, he was elected as  Fellow Academy Science Malaysia in 2024.

Roy Anthony Rogers is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Strategic and International Studies, University of Malaya, having joined the department in 2001. Served as the Head of Department from 2012 till September 2020. He has a Master in Strategic and Defence Studies (M.SDS) from the University of Malaya. He has also taught at the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College (MAFSC) and the Malaysian Defence Armed Forces College (MDAF). In 2012 he obtained Ph.D. from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and his research interest are government and politics of the Central Asian republics and human rights conditions in Xinjiang. His area of specialization includes Political Science, International Relations (Theories of International Relations) and History (China and Central Asia). He has been invited by the Institute of Diplomatic and Foreign Relations (IDFR) Malaysia to lecture at the Diplomatic Training Course for ASEAN Attachment Officers. He is one of the Media Resource Persons for Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM), Sinar Harian and Astro Awani. Received the Excellence Service Award in 2016, 2008 from the University of Malaya, International Visitor (IV) from the US State Department in 2006.

Vilashini Somiah is an anthropologist who is a senior lecturer at the Gender Studies Programme at Universiti Malaya. She received her PhD from the National University of Singapore, an MA from Ohio University, an MRes from Universiti Malaya and a BA from the Universiti Malaya. She maintains a keen interest for underrepresented narratives of women, migrants and Borneans living in the interiors. She is the co-editor of “Sabah From the Ground: The 2020 Elections and the Politics of Survival (SIRD/ISEAS, 2021), and her first book, “Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance'' with Palgrave Macmillan (TBC 2022). Outside of academia, she writes ethnographic articles on the local socio-political landscape.