Dr. Kamarul Ariffin Noordin is a distinguished academic and researcher in the field of wireless communications, with a decade-long focus on advancing communication technologies through impactful research and international collaborations. Since 2014, he has served as principal or co-principal investigator for competitive research grants totaling over RM1.4 million from esteemed bodies such as the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, the EPSRC UK, and UAE University. He is an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya. His research has spanned a range of groundbreaking topics, including seamless mobile communication in heterogeneous networks, device-to-device communications for disaster management, and dynamic resource allocation using AI and UAVs for future 5G/6G networks. A notable highlight was his role in a three-year Global Challenges Research Fund project with the University of Surrey and other UK institutions, where he led efforts to develop emergency communication strategies in disaster zones. Dr. Kamarul has published over 70 papers in reputable ISI-indexed journals and conferences, achieving an h-index of 18. His collaborative works include research with scholars from Vietnam, the UK, Norway, Greece, and the UAE, with contributions to emerging topics such as NOMA, SWIPT, and AI-driven wireless systems. His growing international visibility has led to increasing PhD supervision requests and global research partnerships.

Professor Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram is the Director of the Centre for Innovative Construction Technology (CICT), a Research Centre under the Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is listed among the top 2% of the world’s scientists by Stanford University through Elsevier Data Repository and is also the recipient of outstanding achievement awards in most of the institutions he served. He has been serving as a research fund evaluator of different countries, including South American, Asian, and European countries. He is also recognized as an external examiner for doctoral theses and an evaluator for promotional exercises. He was the programme coordinator for developing a new MEng by coursework at the Universiti Malaya. He is also an advisor and examiner for the MEng programme in other universities. His industrial collaboration resulted in bringing research projects from industries to solve some of the imperative issues in material, mechanical, durability, and structural properties.  He is a Chartered Civil Engineer of the world-renowned Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE, UK) and the Engineering Council (UK); he is also a Companion Member of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (CIEM), a member of the American Concrete Society (ACI-Kuala Lumpur Chapter), and a life member of the Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM). Professor Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram has supervised 32 research candidates, including Doctoral (PhD) and Master of Engineering Science by Research Mode (MEng Sci.), to graduation. In addition, he has a number of patents and copyrights for his inventions. His current Web of Science (WoS) h-index stands at 56 based on the publication of over 190 journal articles from the Web of Science Core Collection. He started the University of Malaya's Institution of Civil Engineers Student Chapter (UMICESC), and currently he is the staff advisor. UMICESC serves as the professional student body for undergraduate students to enhance their professional attributes, so they can strive towards becoming CEng MICE after graduation and appropriate training. In his Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering, as part of his MEng thesis, he utilized jute as a sustainable replacement material for conventional wood. His MEng research project was acclaimed as one of the best innovative works, and the specimens of his research project, Sandwiched Plywood, were displayed at the International Exhibition held in Delhi, India. Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India (then Union Finance Minister) who inaugurated the exhibition, had a special word for his work on jute; he continued his research for his doctoral research using sustainable industrial by-products and investigated mechanical and structural behaviour that provided in-sight into vital characteristics on the ductility behaviour of oil palm shells—that he went on to develop as a blast-resistant concrete—using oil palm shell as a whole replacement for normal aggregate. Professor Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram has been in academic, consultancy, research, and administration for over twenty-five years and has contributed to society in different capacities in India, Bahrain, and Malaysia. His current research involves the utilization of industrial by-products, low-carbon footprint materials, and waste materials in the development of one-part geopolymer, low-carbon cement, and limestone calcinated clay cement (LC3) in mortar and concrete; other research aspects include lightweight aggregate, material characteristics, crack-healing mortar using microalgae, lightweight aggregate concrete, foamed concrete, geopolymer concrete, and impact & blast-resistant concrete. His experimental works revolve around investigations on microstructural behaviour, mechanical properties and durability characteristics, structural behaviour, functional behaviour etc. He is the recipient of outstanding achievement awards in most of the institutions he served. He and his research team won gold and silver medals at international and national exhibitions on concrete engineering & technology. He was the project director of two housing projects at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that utilized industrial by-products. His decade-long research work on geopolymer concrete enabled him and his team to construct the first cement-free house (superstructure) in Malaysia with the collaboration of Vinci Construction, a French-based construction conglomerate; this house is currently being used by bus drivers and serves as a research hub. He is the Principal Investigator of many research projects and has received numerous research grants from the University of Malaya research fund, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, and national and international grants, including the prestigious Newton-Ungku Omar Coordination Fund: UK-Malaysia Research & Innovation Bridges Competition. He has a research collaboration with various universities in Malaysia, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Jordan, Oman, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. He has been invited by various universities in different countries to give keynote lectures at international conferences, seminars, and research workshops.  Prof. Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram serves as an Associate Editor in the Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Material, Australian Journal of Civil Engineering, and Editorial Board Member of the Jordanian Journal of Civil Engineering (JJCE); he also served as Chairperson of the SIRIM Committee for "Eco Labelling of Criteria for Reused By-Products Aggregates" and reviewer of multiple international journals. He has organized workshops, conferences, and seminars and trained school students to win local and international awards; further, as the Director of CICT, he has pioneered the activities of the centre to contribute to society, and thus many national and international researchers and students are being trained regularly in the centre.  He has been the organizing secretary, co-chair, and advisor of international conferences and workshops.  

    Sr Dr. Ainoriza is Head of the Department of Real Estate at the Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, where she has over 20 years of experience in academia. A Registered Valuer, Estate Agent, and Property Manager with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP), Malaysia, she is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK. She holds a PhD from Kingston University of London, specializing in sustainability and responsible property investment.  Dr. Ainoriza's research delves into the critical areas of private rental market, multigenerational housing and housing pathways for vulnerable groups, including migrants. This impactful work builds upon her extensive prior national studies on elderly housing, the influential Housing-Income Index©, and financing solutions for first-time homebuyers. She has advised both private developers and government agencies, and currently leads the vital Retirement Village Development Studies for the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia. At Universiti Malaya, Dr. Ainoriza imparts her expertise in Corporate Real Estate, Valuation, and Property Finance & Investment to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, while also contributing to the university as an internal auditor and program assessor. She is a frequent and highly regarded plenary speaker and forum panelist at national and international conferences, and has lent her expertise as a judge for prestigious international and national real estate awards. Dr. Ainoriza's commitment to education extends to her role as an external program examiner for the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). She contributes her insights as the editorial boards of the Journal of Project Management Practice and SN Social Sciences. Recognized for her leadership and vision, she was selected as a Youth Expert in the TN50 Circles of the Future (Living & Well-being) in 2017. Dr. Ainoriza serves as a Reference Expert for the Institute for Youth Research (IYRES), Ministry of Youth and Sports, a Board of Trustee member for the Aubrey Barker Fund (UK), and an Executive Board Member for the ASEAN Valuers Association (AVA) Malaysia. She also actively involved in BOVAEP as a Test of Professional Competence examiner and accreditation committee member.