Nader Ghaffari Khaligh received his Ph.D. in Organic chemistry from the University of Guilan, Iran, in 2013. Since 2015 he has worked as a researcher in the Nanotechnology & Catalysis Research Center, at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. His publications, including papers, reviews, and mini-reviews, are focused on heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis, sustainable chemistry and energy, synthesis of heterocycles, and multi-task reagents such as Ionic liquids and Functional polymers. ‎ He has been elected as World's Top 2% Scientist Career-Long Citation ‎Impact and World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. He is the Associate Editor and Section Editor of two international journals and an Editorial board member of a few international journals.

Syafiq Faliq Alfan, also known as SEFA, is a performing artist, educator, and cultural researcher deeply interested in the discourses of cultural change of performing arts and the history of Asian Traditional Performing Arts. He earned his Doctoral Degree from the Faculty of Integrated Arts and Science at Hiroshima University, Japan, in 2022 through his research on the methodological construction of analysis towards traditional dance of Mak Yong and Noh using motion capture technology. As an outsider-artist, SEFA has been a member of the Ipoh artist-collective Projek Rabak since 2011, where he currently serves as the director. Since 2007, he has actively participated in numerous local and international performances, focusing on the intersection of Corporeal Mime by Etienne Decroux and the improvisational techniques of Malay traditional performing arts. His interest in performance research centers around the body as subject and its entanglement with elements within its environment, including space, audience, and technology. SEFA is also a creative writer, with works such as 'Melankolia Bisu' (2014) and 'Novel Eksperimental' (2013), among others. Currently, his research interests revolve around memory studies and the philosophy of history to understand Mak Yong history. He believes that further enriching the discourse in Malaysian traditional performing arts will lead to a better understanding of its role in shaping the identity of the local communities. He is also interested in looking at Digital Humanities within the intersection of discussion in aesthetics, ecology, local wisdom, identity formation, and arts biomechanics through the use of media and technology (specifically motion capture technology) to understand various experiences and cultures while adding nuances of understanding towards various modes of cultural change in performing arts.  As a critical cultural research generalist, he believes the role of the performing arts extends beyond the discourse of performance-performativity and should include discussion on the issues of sustainability, environmental impact, socio-economic, education, architecture, and technology, among others.  Potential postgraduate students should be prepared to have an integrated approach in mind to provide practical and high-impact solutions in research for the benefit of society.

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.