Muhammad Izzul Syahmi Zulkepli has been a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Shariah and Economics, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, since July 2024. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Shariah (Shariah and Economics) from Universiti Malaya in 2018, followed by a Master's Degree by research at the same institution in 2020, focusing on Islamic banking. He then pursued a PhD at Universiti Malaya, specializing in the application of fintech in Islamic banking operations, and successfully completed it in 2023. Driven by a passion for expanding knowledge, he is dedicated to learning, exploring, and sharing insights in the fields of Islamic economics, Islamic banking, Islamic finance, and Islamic fintech. His academic career has seen significant contributions, including the publication of a book, several book chapters, and numerous articles in highly indexed and other reputable journals. Additionally, he has presented his research at various local and international conferences, further cementing his expertise and thought leadership in his field.

  Zuwati Hasim Associate Professor Department of Language & Literacy Education, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, WP, Malaysia Email: zuwati_hasim@um.edu.my   Zuwati Hasim is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Completed her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, with a research focus on understanding ESL writing and its assessment practice through the sociocultural lens. She was formerly a Deputy Director at the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University Malaya (UMCCD) during which she managed programmes in collaboration with the agencies and institutions in building understandings (through dialogues) of certain topics of discussions along with the themes found in the UN/UNESCO International Days. Upon completion of her tenure at the UMCCD, she was then appointed as the Deputy Director at the International Institute of Public Policy & Management (INPUMA), Universiti Malaya where she managed the Master of Public Policy (MPP) programme, organized evaluation and training programmes, and developed collaborations with local and international agencies. Among the programmes managed were the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MPP Outbound Programme, and Education Policy Lab. She currently serves as Deputy Dean of Research and a Chief Liaison Officer at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya. In the field of research, she has led several national research projects such a Bullying Phenomena Among Malaysian Students (lead consultant to MOHE & MOE), Evaluation of School-Based Assessment (funded by MOE), Digital Resilience & Cyberbullying (funded by MBPJ and UM), and Community English Support System (funded by MOE under IIRG). She has also collaborated in a few research projects funded by the government agencies such as MCMC (Click Wisely Project) and MPC (Behavioral Insights Research Project). Recently, she has been appointed as a research coordinator (2022-2024) by an international organization, Education International (in Brussels), for a Teacher-Led Learning Circles Project - Looking into Formative Assessment Practice. In 2023, she participated in the In-Person Exchange Program on Media and Information Literacy sponsored by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Office and hosted by the Global Launch of Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA in cooperation with FHI360. Her research work continues in which for 2024 she explores on Social Innovation in Education research projects that focus on three elements: communitize, industrialize, and internationalize higher education institution (HEI) - aligning with the university's vision.  Acknowledging her expertise - in the field of language, assessment, and education - she has been appointed as external examiner, curriculum evaluator, advisor, panel of expert, and reviewer by several higher learning institutions and government agencies, local and abroad. She was appointed as Lead Consultant for a nationwide research on bullying phenomenon in 2018. In 2023, she was consulted by the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) on revieweing the  CEFR Aligned Language Assessment instruments. In 2024 she is engaged as Lead Consultant to the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) focused on Developing and Validating MCQ Items for ELPA Reading Test Component.  Her research interests include language assessment, action research, pedagogy, teacher education, reflective practice, higher education, media and information literacy, and school-based assessment. Among her book publications are Barnard & Hasim (Eds.) (2018) English Medium Instruction: Perspectives from Southeast Asian Universities published by Routledge and Hasim & Barnard (Eds.) (2017) Pedagogical Research Practices in Higher Learning Institutions in Malaysia by UMPress.  For both publications and research, she has collaborated with academics, locally and internationally. She is also actively involved with community projects where her interest is to share knowledge and to bring about positive social change in practice and perspectives of the communities. To add, she is actively involved with Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and activities celebrated by UNESCO in which she was a programme director for the Celebration of UNESCO World Teachers’ Day 2017 through 2019 (Malaysia chapter), funded by the Malaysia National Commission for UNESCO and Education International. Some of her completed UNESCO projects were documented in Hasim & Chang (2016) Narratives of Intercultural Relationships & Understanding. In 2019, she was given the honor to coordinate inaugural Academia Day Celebration (National Level), hosted by the Malaysia Ministry of Education/Ministry of Higher Education & the University of Malaya. As part of the community contribution, she is actively participating in the Parent-Teacher-School and Community associated programmes. For local and international network recognition and effort, she was a guest researcher and a visiting scholar at the University of Muenster, Germany in 2017; an advisory panel for Zulfaqar Journal of Defence Management, UPNM; a member to International Literacy Association; a member of Qualitative Resarch Association of Malaysia; a member of Malaysia English Language Teaching Association; a member of Applied Linguistics Association New Zealand; an auditor to Malaysia Academic Movement Association (2017-2019); an evaluation expert for UPNM (2019); Testing & Evaluation trainer for ASWARA (2021); an adjunct Senior Lecturer at Asia E University (2020); a member of UM Academic Staff Association; a member of Malaysia Research Group United Kingdom (2006); a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator;  being appointed as a visiting lecturer at the Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia (2022-2023); and as an adjunct Associate Professor at Ningde Normal University in Fujian, China (2023-2025). She received an Award for Best Community Engagement Project from Universiti Malaya (2022); a Gold Award for Innovation Project from IPGM (2022); Award of Excellent Contribution as Reviewer from CALL-EJ (2018); Certificate of Excellence Service (2015) and granted a Professional Certificate for Entrepreneurship Educator (ProCEEd) from MOHE and UiTM (2022). With her expertise, she has contributed ideas and thoughts related to education through various recognized local media platforms (printed, telecast & online) such as The Star, News Straits Times, Radio IKIM, Berita RTM, Selamat Pagi Malaysia (RTM), Bernama TV, Berita Harian, Utusan, etc.

Dr. Siti Munirah stands at the forefront of change as a lecturer in the Department of Social Administration and Justice at Universiti Malaya. With profound expertise in social advocacy, she goes beyond the classroom, actively engaging with civil society, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), charitable organisations, faith-based organisations, and research organisations. Driven by a passion for societal well-being, she focuses on creating awareness on crucial social issues affecting the lives of older adults. Her research interest on exploring diverse social advocacy strategies that reach and uplift vulnerable groups on a wide scale.