Dr. Amirah Shazana Magli is a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Malaya, specialising in Family Economics and Management. Her research focuses on financial well-being, financial vulnerability and financial literacy, particularly among B40 households in Malaysia. Her scholarly work has been widely published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including Sustainability, PLOS ONE and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. She has also authored book chapters addressing financial security, financial stress and the economic resilience of low-income communities. Her scientific interests include financial behaviour, policy management and the role of FinTech in financial inclusion. She has received multiple academic awards, including the Graduate-on-Time (GOT) Award and the Gold Award at the Professional Inventor Competition for her research on financial vulnerability models. She has also been recognised for her innovative teaching methodologies, earning the Silver Award at the i-Succeed: Innovative Learning Nexus Competition. Dr. Amirah Shazana is an active consultant and industry collaborator, contributing to financial literacy initiatives and policy-making aimed at enhancing financial security for vulnerable populations.

  Started his research career in the think tank sector, Dr. Lee Chee Leong (Karl) is attracted to the rise of non-traditional diplomacy in the international order today. Such appeal has taken Dr. Lee into new research horizons that started with his Monash University's doctoral research on the Chinese sub-state diplomacy in China-ASEAN economic cooperation. With constructive supervision by Professor Helen Nesadurai and Associate Professor Kuik Cheng Chwee, Dr. Lee completed his doctoral thesis that unravels how a faraway and least developed sub-state of Guangxi managed to overcome its own hurdles, navigate the complexities within the Chinese state and become the frontline actor in China-ASEAN economic cooperation.  Following his doctoral completion, Dr. Lee's research on non-traditional diplomacy has expanded into Taiwan’s quasi-state diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Such quest has led him spending at great length in comprehending the concept of soft power, a concept that finds its relevance to Taiwan, which has no official diplomatic with Southeast Asia but is heavily connected to the region and has to rely on soft power in its engagements with these Southeast Asian nations. By comparing different case studies of Taiwan's quasi-state engagement within Southeast Asia, Dr. Lee has developed the soft power diffusion process to explain how such phenomenon operates in the real world. His ongoing and incoming research projects include Unpacking ‘De-risking’ China in the Indo-Pacific Region: Economic Statecraft (ES) & Geoeconomics, Taiwan's New Southbound Policy (NSP) and NSP+: The Domestic-International Dichotomy, The Taiwanese Connections in Nvidia's Global AI Supply Chain and Taiwan and Ireland: The Story of Two Tech Powerhouses.  To date, Dr. Lee was the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships in Malaysia and overseas: University of Malaya’s Graduate Fellowship (2010-2011); Monash University’s Merit Scholarship (2016-2019); Chinese Government Scholarship (2018-2019); and Taiwan Fellowship (2020). Prior to his appointment as Senior Lecturer at the Institute of China Studies (ICS), he was the Visiting Scholar at Guangxi University for Nationalities (GXUN) (2018-2019), Taiwan Fellow at National Chengchi University (NCCU) (2020) and Associate Fellow at ICS UM (2016-2019). He welcomes any potential PhD candidate who would like to work on Taiwan-Southeast Asia relations, comparative cases of ES between Asia and Europe, US-China-ASEAN semiconductor geoeconomics and case studies of donut economies in Asia. He is also willing to discuss with potential doctoral candidates on proposals related to the Chinese sub-state (provincial and city) diplomacy toward ASEAN, comparative cases of sub-state diplomacy between Asia and Europe as well as conceptual innovations of sub-state diplomacy vis-a-vis soft power.     

Dr. Sakinah Awang @ Harun is a Senior Lecturer in the Medical Education Research and Development Unit (MERDU) at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She is first Dean of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Sciences at IJN College for the 2023/2024 academic session. Since 2018, she has also served as the Head of the Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Sciences (GCCVTS) program and continues her role as a Lecturer 2011/2024 at IJN College, IJN Holding Malaysia. With extensive expertise in curriculum development specializing in education sciences, cardiovascular and thoracic sciences, as well as general and cardiothoracic intensive care nursing, Dr. Sakinah has made remarkable contributions to medical and nursing education. Her work spans advanced nursing in critical care, cardiovascular technology, perfusionist technology, cardiovascular imaging, cardiovascular intervention nursing, and healthcare education and training, showcasing her dedication to advancing these specialized fields. Dr. Sakinah earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Development with a specialization in Education Sciences from the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya. She also holds a Master’s degree in Education, specializing in Curriculum Development, from the same institution. her Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Nursing Practice Development from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, completing her studies from 2007 to 2010 She is a certified auditor for the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the Nursing Board Malaysia since 2016, further emphasizing her expertise in ensuring high standards in education and healthcare training. Throughout her career, she has actively designed, developed, implemented, and evaluated accreditation program, short-term programs, clinical workshops, symposiums, and research publications. Her responsibilities include developing future academic programs, evaluating student performance in clinical settings, and serving as an examiner for both structured and unstructured programs. She has been a certified "Train the Trainer" by the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRDF) since 2013. A critical care practitioner since 1998, Dr. Sakinah has specialized in general and cardiothoracic intensive care nursing and remains an active member of professional organizations, including the Malaysian Society for Simulation in Healthcare (MaSSH) and the Malaysian Association of Education in the Medical and Health Sciences (MAEMHS). She is frequently invited as a speaker at MaSSH simulation conferences and annual meetings, sharing her insights on advancements in healthcare education.