Dr. Shuaibu Umar Gokaru was born and raised in Gokaru, a small town in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. He attended Iqamatissunnah Islamiyyah/Primary School and memorised the entire Qur'an by heart in 2001. Later, he went to Government Day Secondary School Kofar Wamabai. Afterwards, he studied at the then A.D.Rufa'i College for Legal and Islamic Studies, Misau, Bauchi, Nigeria, now known as A.D.Rufa'i College of Education, Legal, and General Studies, where he obtained a Diploma in Shari'a & Civil Law in 2004. Dr. Gokaru earned his B.A. Degree in Islamic Studies in 2010 from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, followed by a Master of Arts Degree in Islamic and other Civilisations from the International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM) in 2014. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Civilisation at the University of Malaya in 2017. Dr. Gokaru has served as a Lecturer at Bauchi State University Gadau, Nigeria, from 2012 until January 2023, when he was appointed as a Lecturer at the Department of Islamic History and Civilisation, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While at Bauchi State University Gadau, Dr. Gokaru taught various courses and supervised students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He held various positions, including Faculty Examination Officer of the then Faculty of Arts and Education (now Faculty of Arts) from 2017 to 2021, and Dean of the Students' Affairs Division, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, from 2021 to 2022. He also served as Chairman of the Committee and Member of numerous committees such as the Senate Committee, Senate Business Committee, Committee of Deans and Directors, Appointment and Promotion Committee, and University Disciplinary Committees, among others. He is a journal reviewer for publications such as Al-Habeer: Journal of Islamic Studies, Al-Tamaddun: Journal of Islamic History and Civilisation, and Al-Milal: South Asian Journal of Religion and Philosophy. He has published several papers in international peer-reviewed academic journals (WOS and Scopus), including the Indonesian Journal of Social Sciences and Al-Tamaddun: Journal of Islamic History and Civilisation, Universiti Malaya.

Dr. Samsul Farid Samsuddin is a Senior Lecturer at Department of Library & Information Science in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, University of Malaya. He was a Senior Librarian at Universiti Putra Malaysia Library (2010 - 2018) before joining the University (UM) in 2018. He graduated with Diploma in Building Surveying in 2003 and Bachelor of Science in Information Studies (Library & Information Management) in 2010 both from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM). Dr. Samsul Farid obtained his Master degree in Library & Information Science (MLIS) from Universiti Malaya in 2012 and his doctorate (PhD) in Rural Advancement from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017. His research is geared towards Community Development in Behavioral and Information Studies (library services & information management, information literacy, digital literacy, user needs & behaviour, information services for rural advancement, the use of ICT for development and community development). He's an expert in his fields and has published numerous articles in the library literature, systematic literature review papers and presented at various conferences. 

Professor Dr Hong Ching Goh, an interdisciplinary social scientist, studies human-environment interactions. Initially focused on urban planning and nature-based tourism, her approach has evolved to encompass sustainability, relevance, inclusion, and impact of scales. Her research inquiry explores how diverse communities benefit from nature, e.g., livelihood, health and wellbeing and intangible values. She investigates the threats and constraints posed by various anthropogenic actions and governance systems on the environment, and devises strategies for its safeguarding. This focus stems from her academic training in urban planning, tourism planning, and geography. Her research, with wide-ranging applications in urbanized environments, resource-rich regions and protected areas, draws inspiration from her fieldwork in Sabah since 2005, which has then driven her interdisciplinary coastal research in Southeast Asia. Currently attached to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Prof. Goh also leads the Humanities and Social Sciences Group of the Malaysia National Antarctic Research Centre. She's a registered town planner with the Malaysian Institute of Planners and the Board of Town Planners Malaysia.  Prof Goh serves as the country coordinator for ForUm, a DAAD-funded network for Urban Futures in Southeast Asia that connects SEA and German experts since 2018. She also continues to serve on GYA membership selection and output review committees. Her commitment to interdisciplinary research has been significantly influenced by being a recipient of the MIT-UTM Malaysian Sustainable Cities Program Fellowship and the DAAD Doctoral Scholarship Awards where she conducted her doctoral study in the Center of Development Research (ZEF), as well as her memberships in ASEAN Science Leadership Program and Global Young Academy (GYA).  Since 2009, she has secured RM6.9 million in research grants, including RM4.95 million internationally. As a co-investigator, she helped secure the GBP6.4 million Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grant. Her contributions to interdisciplinary research, particularly in marine environments and coastal communities, have earned recognition. This recognition was highlighted by the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in 2021, in conjunction with International Women's Day and Commonwealth Day. In the same year, she was invited to join the UK Minister of Science, Amanda Solloway, and Professor Melanie Austen (University of Plymouth, UK) to discuss climate change impacts on marine environments and coastal communities in the Blue Communities program. In 2022, she was featured among the '100 Women Scientists in Global Polar Research. In 2024, she is appointed as the DAAD Research Ambassador in Malaysia in recognition of her outstanding contribution towards furthering the academic & scientific cooperation between Malaysia and Germany and awarded the Top Research Scientists Malaysia Award by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.   To date, she has published more than 65 peer-reviewed articles, 30 book chapters and books, and other 40 publications. She has supervised nine PhD students and three master students to completion and oversees 10 ongoing students.