Dr. Atifah binti Ahmad Yusoff, who holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, an M.A. in Islamic Thought from Universiti Malaya, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Process Plant Engineering from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Aqidah and Islamic Thought, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya. Dr. Atifah’s academic and research expertise spans Comparative Religion, Islamic Thought, and Contemporary Ideologies, with a strong specialisation in socio-religious harmony. She has led and contributed to multiple funded research projects, including as Principal Investigator for the Pembangunan Model Pedagogi Interaksi Antara Penganut Agama Dalam Pendidikan Islam Sekolah Menengah di Sabah (2024–2027, UM Research Excellence Grant) and as Co-Researcher for the Implementasi Konsep Tasamuh Dalam Pendidikan Madani Ke Arah Perpaduan dan Keharmonian Masyarakat Madani Multi-Etnik di Malaysia (2024–2026, UM Global Transformation Research Grant). She was also part of the research team for the Kajian Persepsi, Faktor dan Implikasi Islamofobia Dalam Kalangan Masyarakat Malaysia (2025) and the Piagam Harmoni Malaysia project with Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (2023–2024). Her scholarly contributions include publications on the Socio-Religious Harmony Index (SRHI), which were presented at international conferences and published in reputable journals such as the Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. She has also written extensively in mass media on issues of religious harmony, moderation, and moral development, with articles appearing in platforms such as Berita Harian, Bebas News, Sumber Kini, and UMResearchPlus. In the professional sphere, Dr. Atifah is actively engaged with institutions and dialogue initiatives that promote interfaith understanding. In 2025, she was appointed Associate Member of the Universiti Malaya Centre for Civilisational Dialogue (UMCCD) and has participated as a resource person in national focus group discussions and harmony outreach programs. She has also served as a moderator in both international and university-level conferences. Dr. Atifah has supervised postgraduate and undergraduate research in areas closely tied to socio-religious harmony, including sectarian violence, interfaith pedagogy, and moral awareness. Her academic service includes reviewing journal articles, evaluating Ph.D. theses, and advising on national-level publications. Her work reflects a deep commitment to fostering peaceful coexistence in Malaysia’s multi-religious society, bridging scholarly research with practical engagement to address contemporary challenges in interfaith relations and Islamic thought.

Hazlee Azil Illias was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He received Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia in 2006. He immediately joined Freescale Semiconductors Malaysia as a product engineer before pursuing his PhD studies in 2008. He obtained PhD Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom in 2011. He was a Senior Lecturer from 2011 to 2016 and an Associate Professor from 2016 to 2024 at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya. Currently, he is a Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya. Since joining the Universiti Malaya, he has received funding and grants of nearly RM 3 million (~USD 0.7 million), published more than 80 journal papers in ISI-indexed publications and 80 refereed conference papers and successfully supervised to completion of 13 PhD, 6 Master's Degree by research and 37 Master's Degree project (by coursework) candidates. He is currently an Associate Editor of IET Science Measurement and Technology (since 2019) and the Head of Universiti Malaya High Voltage Laboratory and Research Group (since 2011). His current management post at the Universiti Malaya is the Director of Corporate Ranking Centre (CRC) under Associate Vice Chancellor (Corporate Strategy). He was the Head of Department of Electrical Engineering from September 2013 to July 2014, the Secretary of IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS) Malaysia Chapter from 2015 to 2019 and the Counselor of IEEE Universiti Malaya Student Branch from 2018 to 2024. He is now a Senior Member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Fellow of IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology), Corporate Member of IEM (Institution of Engineers Malaysia), a registered Chartered Engineer (C.Eng UK) and a Professional Engineer (P.Eng Malaysia). He is an active reviewer for numerous high-quality journals, which include publishers from IEEE, IET, Elsevier and IOP. His main research interests include modelling and measurement of partial discharge phenomena in dielectric insulation materials, condition monitoring, insulation system diagnosis, lightning overvoltage, transmission line modelling, optimisation methods and artificial intelligence techniques.

I hold a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen, UK. My doctoral thesis investigates the interplay between political modernisation and ecological modernisation in a developing country. It engages with modernisation theories while highlighting country-specific dynamics and offers theoretical and empirical insights into how the lack of political institutionalisation affects environmental decision-making, particularly in Malaysia. I am an Associate Fellow of the UK’s Advance HE. I worked as a teaching assistant in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen for two academic years, during which my teaching experience spanned interdisciplinary modules in Politics, International Relations, and Sociology. Prior to entering academia, I served as Editor-in-Chief of an independent news website in Malaysia. I have authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited four books on civil society, social movements, and environmental movements in Malaysia and Singapore. My current research areas include political modernisation, development, and institutionalisation, as well as environmental governance and misgovernance.