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. Taking Malaysia as the first case study of Taiwan's soft power in the region, Dr. Lee is developing the third intervening variable correlating both Taiwanese soft power resources and outcomes, in his course of providing a dynamical explanation for such phenomenon. For the coming years, his research focus and publications will be on the different areas featuring Taiwan-Malaysia and Taiwan-Southeast Asia cooperation such as digital social innovation (DSI) for climate change, industry-based education/training programmes, smart cities, tourism, digital democracy, agriculture, public health and medicine, ornamental aquaculture and aquascape. 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) (2018-10992019), 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, Taiwan's soft power in Southeast Asia and Taiwan-Malaysia DSI cooperation for climate change. He is also willing to discuss with potential doctoral candidates on proposals related to the Chinese sub-state (provincial) diplomacy toward ASEAN, China's soft power in ASEAN, Southeast Asian sub-state diplomacy, comparative cases of sub-state diplomacy around the world and conceptual innovation of sub-state diplomacy as well as soft power. 

Nur Azwin Zulkarnain is a senior lecturer in the Department of English at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. Her doctoral research explored the semantics of epistemic modality in scientific discourse, with a focus on how scientists convey (un)certainty regarding the Coronavirus. She has also conducted research on the communication of advice in the context of eating disorders, analysing the nuances of soliciting and giving advice on socially sensitive topics. Azwin's research interests lie in lexical semantics and pragmatics, particularly within scientific and healthcare discourses. Her work seeks to deepen the understanding of how language shapes meaning and influences communication in these specialised fields. She continues to pursue research that bridges linguistic theory with real-world applications in the domains of scientific writing and health communication. Azwin is committed to advancing the study of language in these contexts, aiming to contribute to more effective and empathetic communication practices. Her ongoing projects include examining the role of hedges in expressing uncertainty and exploring the impact of virtual empathy in teleconsultations.

Dr. Mohammed Abdo Hashem is currently working as Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) with the department of Mechanical Engineering at Faculty of Engineering in University of Malaya starting from April 2021-Onwards.  He has a quite long experience in teaching courses in the fields of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering for more than 8 years. Besides that, he was working as engineer in several industrial companies for more 3 years. In 2015, He was appointed as a senior lecturer and leader of control, software and automation teaching & research groups, in the Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering- Universiti Malaysia Pahang, where he led many research and teaching activities during the period of appointment between 2015 and 2021.  In the research, a total of four patents have been granted to his novel research and products, namely; laser simulator approach for path planning, intelligent spanner and the autonomous road marks painting system version 1&2; with furthermore publishing more than 60 papers in high indexed ISI journals, Scopus, chapters and conferences. He recieved more than 12 grants as leader from MOHE (1FRGS and 1 PRGS) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (8 RDU grants).  His research interests include, but are not limited to the following areas: Autonomous Mobile Robot Navigation, Artificial Intelligence, Robot Path Planning, SLAM, Industrial Robotics, Mobile Manipulators, Sensors Fusion, Mechatronics Systems, Automation and IR.4, Intelligent Active Force Control, Signal and Image Processing. He is currently working, in his research group, on developing a novel AI algorithm, called laser simulator logic, that helps to avoid the drawbacks of current fuzzy logic type 1 and 2, especially in the noisy environments of industrial systems.