Sharifah Hayaati Syed Ismail is a professor at the Department of Siasah Syar`iyyah (Islamic Political Science), Academy of Islamic Studies, the University of Malaya, after beginning her career as an assistant lecturer in 1992. She received a Bachelor of Sharia with First Class Honours from the University of Malaya in 1992, a Master of Comparative Laws from the International Islamic University Malaysia in 1994, and a PhD in Administration and Policy Studies from the University of Bristol in England (1999). Her primary research interests include Islamic governance, non-governmental organisations, halal governance, integrity, and women's leadership. She was appointed to many administrative roles at the university, including deputy director of undergraduate studies, head of department, and UM panel for SLAB/SLAI. She was appointed Honorary Professor of Infrastructure University Malaysia from October 2022 to October 2023. She is also an adjunct Associate Professor at the Islamic University Sultan Sharif Ali, Brunei Darussalam, for one semester from January to Mei 2023. She published over 300 works, including books, journals (WoS; Scopus, Mycite & International referred journals) chapters in books, Guidelines and newspapers. Her recent publications include Halal Governance, UM Press (2024), Virtual Civil Society in Malaysia: Challenge and Continuity (Eds.), UUM Press (2024), Islam & Governance in Malaysia (Eds.), University Malaya Press (2022), Civil Society in Malaysia: Issue and Challenges (Eds.), University Technology Mara Press (2022) Islam & Dynamics Civil Society in Malaysia (Eds.), University Malaya Press (2021), Effective Governance, Politics & Quality from Islam and Contemporary Perspectives, University Malaya Press (2020), ISO 9000 Quality Manual: Its Application in Civil Service, UPNM Press (2018).Due to her expertise and experience, she is appointed by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and the University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) as an external assessor for the Associate Professor position. She has supervised over 40 postgraduates at the Master's and Doctoral levels in Islamic Political Science. She frequently chaired a PhD and master's board of committees and seminars besides being appointed as an external and internal examiner. She has been a Chief Editor for the International Journal of Islam & Contemporary Affairs from 2019 to the present and an editorial board member in several local and international journals. In recognition of her insights, she has been elected as a panel and government think-tank in several national committees and projects including as a Taskforce for Shariah-based Governance Guidelines, Prime Minister Office, National Project on Maqasid Sharia Index, Syariah Advisor to TV al-Hijrah and Syariah Panel Advisor to the University of Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Appointment and Disciplinary Panel for Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YaPEIM), Head of Research Cluster on Women & Social Affairs, YADIM Management and Research Centre, 2020-to present, Chairperson National Panel for Issues on Muslim Women (PISWI) 2019-2021 and expert panel for leadership document Qawwam (JAKIM) 2022. Her most recent research project with Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM) resulted in the successful production of a Technical Report and National Guideline for Handling Mental Health Due to Work-Family Issues During the Pandemic and Endemic COVID-19 in Malaysia based on the Dakwah Approach 2022, a blueprint for National Dakwah Plan, (YADIM grant) 2021, and a Modul for Asnaf Development (MAIW (MAIWP, DBKL & UMCARES grant) 2020. At the international level, she was awarded a fellowship at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the University of Oxford. The research was on Islamic governance in Muslim institutions in Britain. The research was granted under the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU Titular Fellowship) and the University Malaya Study Leave Award in 2015. In 2007, she received a Fulbright Visiting Specialist award that sent her to Batavia, New York. Numerous times, she was invited to participate as a keynote speaker and plenary speaker, as well as for professional sharing. Among the most recent and noteworthy is the invitation from the government of the Kyrgyz Republic and being a Malaysian delegate to the International Women Summit in Istanbul in 2018, where she delivered a paper on Islam & women's leadership and work-family balance in Malaysia. She is actively involved as the Principal Investigator (PI) and expert advisor in her field. She received more than 10 research grants for various studies from local, international, and industrial bodies. Including the Ministry of Higher Education (FRGS), University Malaya Research Grant (UMRG & UMCares), International Islamic University Malaysia (Puncak Niaga Holdings), Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YaPEIM), Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM), FAA Consultancy, and Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (SUHAKAM). She was recognised and awarded Pingat Johan Mahkota Wilayah (JMW) in 2019 and Pingat Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) in 2012. While in Dakwah & Charity work, she was awarded Anugerah Tokoh Maulidur Rasul Wilayah Persekutuan, 2018, Tokoh Maulidur Rasul Kebangsaan, 2015, Anugerah Daie Ilmuan Wanita, TV al-Hijrah, 2022, and Anugerah Pendakwah Negara (Sahabat YADIM) Kategori Ilmuan 2024.

Dr. Sameer has a PhD in Social Networking and is presently working as Associate Professor at Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya. He has over two decades of work experience in the industry and academia and also holds a PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification from PMI, USA. Dr. Sameer has been consistently ranked in the World's Top 2% Scientists list (released by Stanford University and Elsevier) from 2021 to 2025 (present) - Field: Social Sciences.  At Asia-Europe Institute (AEI) Dr. Sameer has taught courses at the Masters level on Information Technology K-Economy, Social and economic dimensions of Digital Economy, History of Southeast Asia and Research Methods . He has been the Program Co-ordinator for International Masters in Information Management (2014 - 2016) and is currently the Programme Co-ordinator for International Masters in ASEAN Studies program (2016 -). He is the founding Managing Editor of AEI Insights (an official AEI peer reviewed journal) since 2014. During 2015 he was the visiting scientist at Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany.    His current research and teaching interests are in the field of Social Networks, Data Analytics, Educational Technologies, Social informatics, Digital economy in Asia-Europe, and History of Southeast Asia. Dr. Sameer has successfully completed grant-based research projects (High Impact Research and UM Frontier Science Research) as Principal Investigator and a bilateral interational project (ETH- Switzerland funded). He has organised international workshops and events and has chaired panels in international foras. He is the life member of Computer Society of India and member of several national and international research centers and associations. He has several papers published in ISI-Web of Science indexed journals (publishers include Springer, Emerald, Wiley, McMillan Palgrave, Elsevier and others). He has regularly reviewed for top ISI journals including JMIR, PlosOne, JASIST, Scienometrics, and several others and supervises candidates at both Masters and PhD levels. 

Lee Kean Yew was born in Jinjang New Village, Malaysia. He completed his PhD in Economics and Administration at the Asia-Europe Institute of the University of Malaya. Prior to this, he served as the Academic Director of the Centre for Malaysia Chinese Studies, where he engaged in scholarly research focusing on Malaysia's Chinese community and published his findings in books, conference proceedings, and a bilingual journal. Currently, he is a senior lecturer and full member at both the Department of Chinese Studies and the Malaysian Chinese Research Centre (MCRC) at the University of Malaya. His research primarily explores overseas Chinese business, cultural studies and religion ethics in business as well as contemporary Buddhism . Among his responsibilities is to promote mutual understanding and communication to explore cooperation opportunities between Malaysian Chinese and overseas enterprises. His research interests encompass entrepreneurial economics, innovation management, Chinese business studies, Asian ethnicity, and development studies. He aims to enhance interactions between Malaysian firms and governments, foster closer ties among Malaysian and international businesses, and contribute to the overall development of Malaysian-European and Malaysian-China economic and trade relations. Recently, he joined the International Council of Small Business (ICSB) to support the growth and development of small businesses in Malaysia. Additionally, he has earned a one-year diploma in Buddhist studies from the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka. 李健友（John Lee Kean Yew）出生于马来西亚吉隆坡增江新村，祖籍惠州，属于客家人。李博士毕业于马来亚大学亚欧研究院，获得经济管理博士学位。目前，他担任马来亚大学中文系的高级讲师，以及华人研究中心的学术成员和马来西亚华社研究中心（华研）的学术董事。 在2018年，李博士荣获第11届“崇越论文大赏”最佳论文奖。他多次受邀参与在马来西亚、中国、英国、美国、澳大利亚等地举行的国际学术会议，并发表的多篇论文均被收录在WOS及SCOPUS社会科学论文索引数据库中。 值此“一带一路倡议”迈入十周年之际，李博士与马来西亚拉曼理工大学的学者共同撰写了《十年成就：中国“一带一路倡议”对马来西亚经济增长的贡献》（2023年），以及英文专著《隐性中的新知识：马来西亚华人家族企业创新》（Routledge，2024年）。他的研究领域涵盖华人家族企业、企业精神与创新管理、佛教研究、华侨华人研究、中国-马来西亚经济发展研究等。此外，他还获得斯里兰卡佛教和巴利大学的佛教研究一年制文凭。