A native of Malaysia, Poon Chiew Hwa has performed in the United States, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. Her performances in Arizona, USA, and at the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Mexico, received outstanding newspaper reviews. One reviewer praised her as a pianist “who has the power to communicate her emotions intensely,” while another remarked that her concert left the audience “weeping with gratitude and admiration.” Chiew Hwa’s notable solo performances include the University of Arizona Pianists on Tour in the U.S. and Mexico, the Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain, recitals in Kuala Lumpur, and a concerto performance with the Missouri State University Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared as a guest artist at various universities, including Valley City State University, Missouri State University, the University of Malaya, and Conservatorio de las Rosas, among others. Additionally, she has been invited to present masterclasses at several institutions. Chiew Hwa has received numerous awards throughout her career. She won first place at the 2009 Missouri Music Teachers Association state piano competition and was selected as the alternate winner of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition (State-2009). In 2014, she secured First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Fifth Annual Lois Trester Piano Competition. Her winning performance was later broadcast on the local NPR station KUAT-FM in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to her performance achievements, she is an active adjudicator in various piano competitions across Malaysia. Chiew Hwa is recognized for her innovative music and movement sessions, tailored for diverse audiences, including dementia patients, senior citizens, children, and high school bands. Her research on music and movement has been featured in both local and international publications, underscoring her commitment to advancing this field. Dr. Poon is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya and serves as a music examiner for Trinity College London. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Arizona, where she studied under Professor Tannis Gibson. She also earned the Applied Credential in Dalcroze Education from the Longy School of Music in Boston.

Professor Andri Andriyana is currently the Director of International Relations Centre (IRC), Universiti Malaya. As the Director, he supports the University efforts for internationalization and global partnerships. He received Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia in 2000. During the period of 2000-2002, he worked as Field Engineer at Halliburton Indonesia where he was involved in a number of oil and gas wells cementing and stimulation projects. His Master’s degree majoring in Mechanical Engineering was obtained from École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d’Aérotechnique (ENSMA) - Université de Poitiers, France in 2003. Three years later he received Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics with Distinction from École Centrale de Nantes, France. After completing Ph.D., he served as Assistant Professor at École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers (ENSAM) Bordeaux and spent two years as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Centre de Mise en Forme des Matériaux (CEMEF), École des Mines de Paris, Sophia Antipolis. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Malaya in 2009 as Senior Lecturer and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor and Full Professor in 2016 and 2023 respectively. He has secured approximately USD 5 Million grants (for research, European mobility and capacity building in Higher Education) from public and private sectors. Since 2013, he has been registered as Chartered Engineer (CEng) in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), UK. He was the recipient of the Bourse du Gouvernement Français Scholarship (2002-2003), the Allocation de Recherche Scholarship (2003-2006), the Mahar Schützenberger Prize (2005), the European Interweave Erasmus Mundus Fellowship (2014), UM Sijil Perkhidmatan Cemerlang Award (2011, 2016 and 2020), the Indonesia World Class Professor Fellowship (2017) and UM Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang Award 2022. He served as the Head of Master of Materials Engineering Program from 2013-2019 and as the Deputy Dean of Research in the Faculty of Engineering in 2019-2021. His research focuses on mechanical testing, constitutive modeling and finite element simulation of deformation, degradation, fracture, fatigue and failure in materials including solid polymers, elastomers, metal alloys, composites and soft biological tissues.

I am a passionate academic committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service. Recognized for my innovative teaching and outstanding service, I have been honored with various awards such as Innovative Horizon Accolade Award, Professional innovator award, Service Excellence Award and the Certificate of Excellent Service. Additionally, I have played a key role in curriculum development, integrating data analytics, AI, and emerging technologies into business and information systems courses. My research contributions include 30 over publications, mostly indexed in WOS/Scopus, with a Scopus citation count of 1,348. I have been involved in nearly 18 research projects, with a total grant funding of approximately RM 900,000. At the university level, I have contributed to various committees, including the UM Research Ethics Committee, curriculum review panels, and academic advisory boards. I have also served as an e-learning coordinator and actively involved in mentoring students. Through international research collaborations, keynote speeches, and visiting scholar roles, I actively contribute to global academic discourse, foster interdisciplinary partnerships, and enhance knowledge exchange across borders.