Assoc. Prof. Dr. Patricia Nora Riget is a senior lecturer at the Department of Asian and European Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. She was formerly the Head of Department of Asian and European Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya (2012-2016) and also the Deputy Director of the International Relations Centre, Universiti Malaya (2019 - 2022). Her achievements include being conferred the Knight of the Order of Academic Palms (Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques) by the Government of France in 2019. The award recognises Dr. Patricia’s contribution to the strengthening of cooperation in the French language and culture between France and Malaysia. Patricia received her Bachelor and Master of Arts (Teaching of French as a Foreign Language) from Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France and her Master 2 Research and Doctorate in Language Sciences (Teaching of French as a Foreign Language) from Université de Strasbourg, France. She has to-date published more than 30 papers in respectable journals, books and conference proceedings both locally and internationally. Her research interests are in the areas of didactics of foreign languages, language education and ethnolinguistic. Her secondary interest is in the area of internationalisation of higher education institutions. 

Dr Helena Varkkey is an Associate Professor of Political Ecology at the Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya. Her areas of expertise include transboundary haze governance in Southeast Asia and global palm oil politics. Her monograph on “The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Politics” was published by Routledge in 2016. Her latest book is a collection of essays on the politics of haze and the environment in Southeast Asia called “The Forests for the Palms” published by ISEAS Singapore in 2021. Dr Helena has almost two decades of experience in qualitative research, including conducting fieldwork, interviews, and focus groups among various government and non-government stakeholders, and has built up extensive research networks in countries across ASEAN. She has edited and produced reports for the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, UNICEF, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Professor Dr. Ernest Poh is Senior Consultant in Respiratory Medicine and Head of the Respiratory Unit at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). He is recipient of the Anugerah Staf Akademik Cemerlang Universiti Malaya (ACUM) 2025 and a recognized leader in bronchiectasis, lung cancer and COPD. Dr. Poh serves as faculty at international conferences and as principal investigator for clinical trials. He has secured over RM17.7 million in external grants and published extensively in high-impact journals, including Nature Medicine. Co-founder of the National Lung Cancer Disease Registry, Dr Poh also formed the UM Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Tumor Board back in 2018, positioning UM as a hub for thoracic oncology. As Deputy Chair of the Malaysian Thoracic Society’s Lung Cancer Special Interest Group, he drives national clinical guidelines and symposiums. In education, Dr. Poh mentors medical students and postgraduates, and serves as Clinical Coordinator for the undergraduate MBBS programme at Universiti Malaya. He is also a trainer and examiner for the Respiratory Subspecialty Examinations. He is an award-winning educator, receiving the Best Lecturer Award in 2018. His community contributions include media outreach, advisory roles with the NPRA, and peer review for Tier 1 journals, advancing UM’s academic and societal impact.