INSPIRATIONAL
SPEAKERS
Where Great Minds Reunite
Professor Dato' Dr. Adnan
b. Hussein
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Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Student Development Affairs & Alumni, Universiti Sains Malaysia
He begins his teaching career at the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1994. His current research interests include science and environmental communication, new media and audience studies. During his 24 years of service at the Universiti Sains Malaysia, he had been elected as a member of the University Senate, appointed as Chairperson of Journalism Section at the School of Communication. Also appointed as Deputy Dean for Academic and Students Affairs and Deputy Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies before he was appointed as Dean of School of Communication, from 2007 to 2011. At the national level, he had been appointed as a member of the Board of Accreditation by Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) and has been serving the Agency as the panel of assessors for the field of communication and media studies, and accreditation board member for the field of Arts and Social Sciences. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Malaysian Association of Communication Educators since 2017.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Zuhainis
bt. Saad
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Director, Management of Academic Development, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education
Prior to her recent appointment at the Department of Higher Education, she held the position of the Head of Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia. An Educational Technology enthusiast. She practices E-learning and active learning approach in enhancing students’ effective engagement and meaningful learning. She has been awarded the Vice Chancellor Fellowship Award (Teaching Category) in 2012 & 2016 (Excellent Educator Award). Won gold, silver and bronze medals in the International and National Universities Carnival on E-Learning that involved undergraduate students of 1st semester to 7th semester. She was been awarded The Best Trend Setter Award at the International University Carnival on E-Learning (IUCEL2018). And also at the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) Master Trainer in E-learning and Interactive lecture. An active trainer. She is as a trainer in E-learning, Modular Approach and Blended Learning, Flipped Classroom, Active Learning and Make Learning Fun. Conducted E-learning workshops in other public and private universities.
Professor Dr. Mushtak
Al-Atabi
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Provost & Chief Executive Officer, Heriot-Watt University, Malaysia
A global academic innovator and leading engineer, he has been an educational leader in Malaysia for over 18 years, best known for his role at Taylor's University where he led the School of Engineering and, more recently, University-wide strategy as Pro-Vice Chancellor. Professor Al-Atabi has a long established track record in teaching innovation and developed the first ever massive open online course (MOOC) in Malaysia, where people from all walks of life could study Global Entrepreneurship. He trains executives from Multinational Corporations including banks and energy companies. Published two books, “Think Like an Engineer” and “Driving Performance”, and he has numerous research publications, awards and honours.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azidah
bt. Abu Ziden
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Deputy Director, Centre for Development of Academic Excellence & Student Development (CDAE), Universiti Sains Malaysia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azidah's interest is in Instructional Design, specifically in the e-learning environment, Educational Technology, ICT, Multimedia and Mobile Learning. Her expertise includes Instructional Design in Learning Management System (LMS), and using Web 2.0 to enhance teaching and learning. Currently, she is the Coordinator for Program Pensiswazahan Guru (PPG) USM, since 2011. AP Dr. Azidah has been awarded the Most Innovative Content Award (Hybrid Category) in the Annual Teaching & Learning Seminar 2011/2012 in USM, Penang. AP Dr. Azidah has also been awarded Teaching and Supervising Award in the Teacher's Day Celebration Award for School of Educational Studies, 2016. AP Dr. Azidah is the recipient of the TEACHING AWARD for NATIONAL ACADEMIC AWARD OF MALAYSIA, 2017 (Anugerah Pengajaran, Anugerah Akademik Negara 2017).
Professor Dr. Rose Alinda
bt. Alias
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Senior IT Associate Fellow,
UTM Centre for ICT (CICT)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Professor Dr. Rose Alinda Alias was the Deputy VC (Academic and International) at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia from 16 Jan 2012 to 15 January 2017. During this tenure, she was also appointed as the Chairperson for JKTNCRA (National Council for Public University DVC Academic & International) (2014-2016), author of MOHE Orange Playbook (Strengthening Academic Career Pathways and Leadership), and task force member of MHEB (2015-2025). Her previous administrative posts include Dean of the UTM Graduate School (2007-2012), Deputy Dean UTM Research Management Centre and Deputy Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) UTM Faculty of Computing. She was one of the authors for the Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint (2015-2025), as well as the Academic Career Pathways.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhamad Saiful Bahri b. Yusoff
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Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences,
Universiti Sains Malaysia
He is a medical doctor with Master of Sciences and a PhD in Medical Education. He has conducted researches related to medical student well-being, mental health, psychometric, validity, reliability, development of measurement tool, scholarship of teaching and learning, student personal & professional development, personality, emotional intelligence, student admission and assessment. He is the Editor in Chief of Education in Medicine Journal and serves as a reviewer to various journals such as Medical Education, Clinical Psychological Journal, MedEdPORTAL, Medical Journal of Malaysia, ASEAN Journal of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Journal, BMC Medical Education, International Journal of Students Research, and many more. He received Gold Medal for Reimagine Education Teaching Delivery Award 2016, Best of the Best Award and Gold Medal for International Innovative Practices in the Higher Education in 2016, Gold Medal Award for Innovative Practices in the Higher Education in 2014 and Ronald Harden Innovation in Medical Education Award in 2013.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Raja Nor Safinas bt. Raja Harun
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Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
She is an Associate Professor at the English Language and Literature Department, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. She had held administrative posts as the Dean, Faculty of Languages and Communication and Deputy Dean, Academic, Institute of Graduate Studies. She is at present a lead researcher for the Curriculum in Developing Malaysian Teacher Education Model, and a lead researcher for the Meaningful Inquiry Model for Developing ESL Student Teachers. In addition, with other members of her team, she has commercialized the CaELT (Computer Adaptive English Language Test) in collaboration with MIMOS Berhad. Her areas of publication and research include ESL teacher education, classroom discourse, innovative pedagogy and technology and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). In the year 2015, she was the recipient of the prestigious National Academic Award, under the category for Teaching and Learning Award (Social Science and Arts), organised by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.
Dr. Siti Khayriyyah bt.
Mohd Hanafiah
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School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Dr. Siti Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah, a medical microbiology lecturer, was crowned the Champion of the world's biggest science communication competition FameLab International, 2018, at the Cheltenham Science Festival on 7th June, 2018. She beat 27 science communicators from across the world. Her winning talk focused on Tuberculosis control, and she convinced the judges through her calm engaging presence on stage, her fine story telling skills and her clarity of content. She is the second Malaysian FameLab International Champion after Professor Dr. Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam won the title in 2016. Her evolving research interests span immunological biomarkers of mucosal infections, antigenic properties of mycobacteria (particularly M. tuberculosis complex), and viral hepatitis (particularly hepatitis C virus), aimed towards improving knowledge gaps in infectious disease diagnostics.
Dr. Syaheerah bt.
Lebai Lutfi
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School of Computer Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Syaheerah (Shah) Lebai Lutfi received both her DEA and PhD degrees (with distinction Cum Laude) from Grupo de Technología del Habla (GTH) – Speech Technology Group, University Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, in June 2013. Her general research interest is Human-Computer Interactions, specifically focusing on Affective Computing (behaviour analytics, personality, culture, mood and emotion analysis & modelling). In short, her main research question revolves around “how to make machines more emotionally (and perhaps culturally) sensitive to users”. She has authored and co-authored several referred journal and conference papers (with impact factor) and serves as USM coordinator for Erasmus+ mobility programme with UPM Madrid. Before entering the research field, she spent three years in the industry – as an IT Executive at MaybanLife Berhad, Kuala Lumpur, and Systems Analyst at National Poison Centre, USM, Penang.
Eizaz Azhar
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General Manager, Special Projects Division ,
Halal Development Corporation
Eizaz Azhar dropped out of the education system at the age of 14 to help his father's business, and later on became an entrepreneur. At the age of 30, he continued his studies and graduated with Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) through the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) initiative. APEL acknowledges prior experience as a qualification to enter a university for those without formal academic qualification. APEL was introduced by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) as part of the Ministry of Higher Education's push to empower the concept of lifelong learning. He first learned the ropes of business from his father in his teens and started his own business, selling musical instruments at the age of 18. His business grew, earning millions. Along the way, Eizaz began to teach, write and produce music. At present, he is placing himself as an entrepreneur specialising in putting Myanmar and Malaysian firms together and executing ideas, marketing feasibility studies and exploring business models. He also joined several organisations, including Global Shapers Kuala Lumpur (GSKL), an initiative of the World Economic Forum, of which he held the position of Head of Finance for two terms.
Nabella binti Ridhuan Lau
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Student
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Nabella is a third-year undergraduate student, majoring in TESOL and minoring in Multimedia, from School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Before enrolling in the USM, she was a foundation programme student – Foundation of TESL, in one of the IPTS in Malaysia. Prior to that, she was an exchange student to the United States, of YES Programme under AFS. In USM, she has been involved in co-curriculum activities and student’s clubs and societies. She has also been involved in several programmes and events organized by both students and the university. As an Education student, she does not limit herself to the Education circle. Being involved in many other various kinds of programmes and events has helped her gained exposure and amazing experiences throughout her life in the USM. She represented USM together with her teammates for ASEAN Student Leaders Forum in 2018 at Vietnam. She also represented USM together with her teammates in Pitch for Progress 2.0 at the Asia Pacific University in Selangor, with the theme “Futuristic Learning”.