Dr. Li Ran is Senior Lecturer at Institute of China Studies, Faculty of Art and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya. She obtained her doctoral degree in Economics from Department of Economics, Universiti Malaya in 2014. Her specialization is in the transformation of China’s state enterprises, state enterprise system and China’s political-economic system, and her current areas of research include China’s global strategy and China-Malaysia economic relations. Her previous writings have appeared in a number of international journals such as China: An International Journal, Cities, International Journal of China Studies, and Journal of Contemporary Asia. Moreover, her doctoral thesis was published as a book by a reputable publisher Palgrave Macmillan. She also wrote for Sin Chew Daily as a column author regularly.

Short biography Dr. Mohammad Ismath Ramzy is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Educational Foundation & Humanities, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur. He has more than 10 year’s experience in teaching, research and Academic thesis supervision He is the Chair of Education for Humanism and Social Advancement Research Centre (EHSAn), Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, and he served as an Editor of the Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Management (MOJEM-Scopus indexed)- (https://mojem.um.edu.my/) for more than four years. Dr Ramzy's background is in Intercultural and interreligious education. He obtained a Licentiate Certificate in Islamic studies from Jaamiah Nalemiah, Sri Lanka and completed undergraduate studies in Arabic linguistics at the Peradeniya University of Sri Lanka in 2001. He received a Master's in Comparative Religion from the International Islamic University Islamabad. He studied Shavism of Hinduism for his Master's thesis. Ramzy completed his PhD in Comparative Religion in 2012 at the International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM), where he studied the legacy of Ven. Prof. Walpola Rahula Thera of Sri Lanka to peaceful coexistence. Upon completing his PhD, Ramzy joined the Universiti Malaya (UM) as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in October 2012 in the Center for Cilivizational Dialogue, University of Malaya (CCD-UM). He was promoted to Research Fellow in 2013 at the same place. In 2015, Dr. Ramzy joined the Faculty of Education, UM, based on the merits of his research and publications. He is actively involved in research on Intercultural Competence. He has published over 60 research articles in reputed academic review Journals including social science indexed journals in educating different level of people on intercultural studies and governing the cultural and religious diversity. In addition, he has written several chapters of books and contributed seven entries to the Encyclopedia of Indian Religions (Springer Publication). He also co-authored a book published by UM Press in 2023.  Dr Ramzy supervises more than 26 PhD and 12 Master thesis and have evaluated more than 36 MA and PhD Thesis. Further he served as editor of Scopus indexed journal and reviewer of social science and other indexed journals. Dr. Ramzy has been awarded seven international honours for research and coordination and received a Southeast Asia Fellowship from The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition, he was recently bestowed a 'Senior Fellowship' at the Global Peace Institute in the U.K. Dr Ramzy served as visiting scholar in Prince Songkla Unviersity (PSU), Patttani from 24 April to 05th of May 2023 and the Research Scholarship Centre, King Khalid Unviersity (KKU), Abha, Saudi Arabia from 14-27 February 2024. He has been invited as a keynote speaker in many international seminars and conferences and has participated as a guest speaker at many international forums, including Britain, Australia, South Korea, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. He has presented research papers at various international conferences, including Australia, the U.K., South Korea, Qatar, Turkey, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. In addition, Dr. Ramzy has conducted more than seven international webinars on research. Dr. Ramzy is not only a researcher but also a peace activist. He is involved in Organizing interfaith initiatives in Malaysia and Sri Lanka and has also participated in programs conducted by the UNESCO Activity Club and various youth interfaith programs. He actively involves in Muslim-Buddhist dialogue and coexistence. He can be reached at ismathramzy@gmail.com.  

I'm a Senior Lecturer at the English Language Department, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics. After more than two decades of working in language, communication and skills development, I joined UM in 2019 to contribute to progressing the field of health(care) discourse in Malaysia and beyond. In my current role, I teach languages and linguistics courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, while supervising and conducting research. Research Focus - Improving Health & Wellbeing by Applying a Discursive ToolkitI study matters related to language, health(care) and wellbeing, applying qualitative and discursive perspectives to address problems and inform practice in provider-patient interaction, health education and other related topics. I am particularly interested in analysis of real-life interaction, to answer questions on how people "do things" with language in health-related contexts. For example, how do doctors and patients collaboratively make decisions about treatment, manage chronic health conditions, and discuss concerns by interacting with each other in person or online? I'm also interested in communication in healthcare education, interprofessional discourse and patient education, alongside how people express and make meaning of health-related issues via their talk and stories. My current funded  projects include studies on professional socialisation of house officers (FRGS), patient experience of gum disease (IIRG, UM). Expertise -Enhancing Language and Communication in Diverse SettingsBeyond my research and academic duties, I help enhance language and communication in academic and professional settings, applying a diverse knowledge and skillset composed over 25 years of experience. Before joining academia, I was engaged in various positions mostly as a consultant/independent contractor, including as a language/content service provider for over 15 years and as a language/communication skills instructor for over 17 years. In these roles, I provided language consulting services and skills training for corporate and individual clients in Malaysia and internationally. I have a CELTA qualification and am a HRDF certified trainer. My work history is available at https://my.linkedin.com/in/ayeshah-syed-0468293 Professional Activities and LeadershipAt UM, I have been actively involved in advancement of research and academic practices. From 2022-2024, I led the research portfolio at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics as the Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation, with other appointments including as the Protem-Deputy Head of the Medical Devices Centre of Excellence, UM and Taskforce member for UM's Programme Educational goals. Outside the university, I  am involved in professional associations related to languages and linguistics and social advancement, including Persatuan Bahasa Moden Malaysia (President, 2022-2024, Vice President-2024 - 2026, Exco member since 2013) and the citizens' movement organisation, the Association of Voices of Peace, Conscience and Reason (Exco member - since 2016, Treasurer-2025-present).Research Collaboration and Supervision Opportunities I welcome potential collaborations aligned with my expertise and also enjoy connecting with other researchers to learn about their work, gain insight into new contexts, fields and perspectives and explore how I might contribute to their research activities.  In terms of postgraduate supervision, I supervise projects that apply discursive approaches to address problems in health-related contexts, focusing on interaction. Note to potential supervisees: I have limited availability for 2025-2026 due to a heavy supervision load.