Danial is the Deputy Executive Director of Academic & Student Affairs at the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA) at Universiti Malaya (UM). He teaches the Master of Public Policy (MPP) programme and previously worked as an Adjunct Professor at the Asia Pacific University (2022-2024). Additionally, he also delivered several policy lectures and seminars at the Royal Malaysian Police College (MPDRM), the Public Service Department (JPA) Policy Lab series, and a Purposeful and Principled Leadership Immersion (PPL-I) course hosted by the UM Centre for Leadership and Professional Development (UM LEAD). Previously, Danial served as the Secretary of the Malaysian International Studies Association (2023-2024) and was a Fellow at the Research Institute for Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore at Universiti Utara Malaysia (ITS-UUM) during the same period. He is also a member of several professional organisations, including the International Political Science Association (IPSA) in Montreal, Canada, the International Studies Association (ISA) in the US, the British International Studies Association (BISA), the Royal African Studies Association (RAS), the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), and the African Studies Association (ASA) in the US. Additionally, he is also a lifetime member of the Malaysian Social Science Association (PSSM), Malaysian-Japan Studies Association (MAJAS), a Research Fellow at the Malaysia-Japan Research Centre (MJRC), and a former member of the Malaysian Association for American Studies (MAAS) and Malaysian Scholars on Korea (MASK) with Malaysia's International Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) In addition to his peer-reviewed tasks in Third World Quarterly, Comparative Politics, African Identities, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, SAGE Open, Kajian Malaysia (USM Press), and Journal of International Studies (UUM Press), Danial currently serves on the Editorial Boards of the Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities (UPM Press) the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Journal of Social and Political Science (JSP-FISIP), and JEBAT: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics and Strategic Studies (UKM Press) all indexed in Scopus and WOS. He has also served on the editorial boards of the Malaysian Journal of International Relations (MJIR), SINERGI: Journal of Strategic Studies & International Affairs (UKM Press), and WILAYAH: International Journal of East Asian Studies (UM Press). Alongside his internal supervision and examination duties, he has acted as a supervisor for the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College-National University of Malaysia (MPAT-UKM) programme. Danial has also worked as an external examiner for PhD theses in politics, policy, and security at universities in Malaysia, Australia, Japan, India, Pakistan, and Singapore. Furthermore, he has been involved in various government and industry projects in roles including consultant, moderator, resource person, invited speaker, and public lecturer. Apart from his academic publications, Danial has contributed commentaries and participated in interviews addressing various issues for national and global media. Danial was also previously given invited lectures at the UUM, UNIZA, APU and UiTM. He also served as a founding advisor for the UM student association, Malaya Model United Nations (2016-2023). Danial holds a PhD in International Relations (Political Science) from the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom. During his doctoral studies, he was mentored by the late Professor Ian Taylor, a prominent expert in Africa-Asia Politics and Relations and Critical Political Economy. He was awarded the UM Bright Spark Fellowship, facilitating his PhD studies. Moreover, Danial has conducted extensive fieldwork and study visits across several African and Asian countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, Sierra Leone, and in Europe: The Former Republic of Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Cyprus. He has also travelled to Russia, Canada, Brazil, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Danial also obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Distinction Honours), majoring in International and Strategic Studies and minoring in East Asian Studies. During the 2007 UM Graduation Ceremony, he received the Ghazali Shafie Book Prize and the Dato Panglima Kinta Yusuf Gold Medal. Danial is highly interested in conducting research, teaching, and supervising in the areas related to Global South or Africa-Asia Relations in Comparative Public Policy, Malaysia's Public and Foreign Policy Analysis, and Peace and Conflict Studies. He has been awarded various prestigious grants such as the European Union-Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (EU-SUHAKAM), the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), the National Agency for Anti-Drug Research Grant, the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Malaysian government, and grants from the Sumito Foundation (Japan), Japan Foundation and Korea Foundation (South Korea).

Wan Marhaini Wan Ahmad is an Associate Professor at the Department of Finance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She has been a member of the Shariah Advisory Board for a few local Islamic financial and corporate institutions (Zurich General Takaful Malaysia Berhad and Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad since 2020, UOB Malaysia Nerhad since 2021 and Xeraya Capital Sendirian Berhad since 2014). Prior to this, she served as a Shariah Committee member for Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (2012-2019) and EonCap Islamic Bank Berhad (2011 till 2012). She is also a registered Shariah Advisor for the Malaysian Islamic Capital Market. She has received secondary school education from Maahad Muhammadi lil Banat in Kelantan and obtained her Bachelor of Syariah (Hon.) from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Further, she acquired her Master in Economics from the International Islamic University Malaysia and a doctoral degree in Islamic Finance from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her main research interest is Islamic finance, waqf, zakat and personal finance behaviour. She has written, reviewed and edited articles and books as well as has more than a decade of experiences teaching and supervising students’ works in these areas.

Dr. Azni Zarina Taha (PhD, Aston University) serves as the Executive Director of UMGiving at Universiti Malaya, where she combines her academic foundation in organization and strategy with her extensive consultancy experience. Prior to this post, she was the Executive Director for Universiti Malaya Center for Continuing Education (UMCCed) and Deputy Director for UMConsult. Holding a PhD in strategy and organizational change, an MBA from Universiti Malaya, and a BSc from the University of Missouri, Dr. Azni is well-regarded for her contributions to management education and strategic development. In her academic role, Dr. Azni teaches corporate strategy and most management-related subjects, integrating academic theory with insights from her consultancy projects. Some of the management-related subjects include, change management in disruptive times, sustainable service innovations, performance management, international business, and training management. She has successfully completed supervising four (4) PhD students. She has published in several refereed and index journals, including Operations Management Research and Tourism Management.  She has delivered tailored training programs for organizations such as Panasonic Malaysia, the Malaysia Armed Forces, and Infineon Technologies, empowering these teams with advanced strategic skills. She has also conducted international training programs for Aoyama Business School (Japan), Kyoto Institute of Technology (Japan), Aston University (UK), and the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (Oman).  As a consultant, Dr. Azni has advised high-profile organizations across sectors. Her consultancy work with the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) highlights her commitment to supporting Malaysia’s economic and industrial advancements. Other notable projects include developing a strategic customer service roadmap for Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pekerja (KWAP), profiling mosques as tourism attractions for the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), and creating the Aerospace Industry 4.0 Readiness Index (AIR4S).