Prof. Dr. Esther Daniel Medical Education, Research and Development Unit (MERDU), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya    Areas of Expertise  & Background Science Education (Biology); Environmental Education / Education for Sustainable Development; Science Teacher Education, Medical Education; Integrating Technology in Teaching; Learning and Cognition; Metacognition, Pedagogies     Esther was formerly attached to the Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya. She has been a teacher educator for more than two decades. Previous to that she was a science teacher in premier schools such as Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak, Seremban, the Malay College Kuala Kangsar and Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Ipoh. Her area of expertise and background is in science education, environmental education, technology integration in the science classroom and learning and cognition and has conducted numerous training workshops and seminars related to research, pedagogies and has been a Master trainer for new lecturers in institutions of Higher Learning. Her research has focused on science education, in particular biology and environmental education. Numerous students under her supervision have successfully completed their postgraduate studies. She has worked with WWF-Malaysia in conducting in-depth research and in training teachers in infusing sustainable development education. She has published papers in journals as well as presented at various conferences both local and International. She has written numerous training modules for the teaching and learning of Science, for Environmental Education and for Qualitative Research Methods. More recently she has also been involved in Medical Education with a focus on the cognition of learning. Among the books she has written are ‘Biology Education in a Changing Planet’ and ‘Cognition in Science Education’. In 2016, Esther received the UNESCO-HAMDAN international award for the effective training of teachers. In 2017 she received the Venus International Women’s Award (VIWA) for a ‘Lifetime Achievement in Science Education (Specialisation-Biology). She has also served as the chair of the National Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Eco-Campus Committee. Recently (2018) she was awarded the Excellence Award for the academic with the highest international grant by the Universiti Malaya. Esther is now an Honorary Professor in the Medical Education, Research and Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine UM. She was involved with the development and implementation of the MOHRE (Master of Health Research Ethics) programme in the Faculty of Medicine. She is also attached to the UM-WWF-M Living Planet Centre, a research centre, as an affiliated member and has just completed the Sustainable Development nation-wide research. Esther together with PPPLS (Pertubuhan Pendidikan Pembangunan Lestari Selangor conducted a nation-wide resesearch - Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) research (2022-2023). Furthermore, she is also involved with the UNESCO-Chair Project for Education for Sustainable Development (2022 – 2024) in collaboration with Asia Pacific University (APU). Esther is also one of the consultants for the project ‘Transformational Learning through ESD: Mission 4.7’ with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) located at the Jeffrey Sachs Centre, Sunway University (2023-2024)  

Hesham Al-Mekhlafi has a PhD in public health (2008), master’s degrees in medical science (parasitology) (2004) and in applied statistics (2012) as well as a bachelor’s degree in medical laboratories (1997). Since early 2000s, he has been actively engaged in research on the molecular epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases including malaria, neglected tropical diseases, NTDs (such as soil-transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and dengue fever), and waterborne parasites. He joined the department of parasitology, University of Malaya (a regional leading dept. in parasitology research) for seven years (2009–2016) as a senior lecturer and promoted to associate professor. In 2016, he joined Jazan University, Saudi Arabia and promoted to full professor in 2022. He re-joined Universiti Malaya in 2023. He has taught several courses in parasitology, epidemiology, biostatistics, and research methodology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has established passionate research teams that involved diligent postgraduate students, enthusiastic colleagues, and inspiring national and international collaborators. The research dedicated to helping vulnerable rural and aboriginal communities in Malaysia and other countries including Yemen, Nigeria and Libya against the NTDs, malaria and other infectious diseases. He has published more than 150 articles in high-impact ISI & Scopus indexed journals; with h-index of 41 (WoS). Hesham has been a member of several academic, scientific and administrative councils and committees. He also enjoys reviewing scientific manuscripts, research proposals, plans and strategies, theses and reports, etc. He is a member of the editorial boards of several renowned journals, and a regular reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals as well as a panel member of assessors for various national and international research grant schemes and postgraduate programs.

  Gs. Dr. Rosilawati Zainol is a Professor in Urban Analytics at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya (UM). Since joining UM in 2004, she has published quite a number of articles, chapters in books, and books related to sustainable urban development and tourism development. Her research interest is in urban analytics (the use of information technology in urban and regional planning and urban studies, especially in geographic information systems), spatial analysis and statistics, and the circular and informal economy. Her recent publications include Navigating challenges in the sustainable development of urban brownfields: A PLS path modeling perspective, A systematic literature review of brownfield sustainability: Dimensions, indicators, and stakeholders, Satisfaction of International and Domestic Tourists in Malaysia’s Oldest National Park: Taman Negara Pahang, A Review of Child-Friendly City Assessment Tools – Are We Really Planning Cities for Children? and Aplikasi Sistem Maklumat Geografi (GIS) dalam Perancangan Bandar.