Invited Speakers

The invited speakers are listed in the order of acceptance.

Speaker photo of Dr. Feifei Han
Senior Researcher Dr. Feifei Han
Griffith University, Australia

Speaker Bio: Feifei Han obtained her PhD from the University of Sydney. Her current research interests are in the areas of educational technology, learning analytics, and AI in Education. She serves as a Lead Editor of the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. She has published in leading journals in educational technology (e.g., The Internet & Higher Education, Computers & Education, and International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education). Her publications have received Wiley's “Top Cited Article Award” in 2020, 2021, and 2024. In a bibliometric analysis of the blended learning research covering 2013–2022, she was ranked among the top four most productive researchers, placed third in citation impact, and was the most cited scholar between 2020 and 2022. She was also included in the Stanford World's Top 2% Scientists List in the field of Education in 2024 and 2025.

Speaker photo of Assoc. Prof. Andy Nguyen
Assoc. Prof. Andy Nguyen
University of Oulu, Finland

Speaker Bio: Andy Nguyen is a Tenure-Track Associate Professor within the Hybrid Intelligence: Human-AI Co-evolution and Learning in Multi-realities (HI) research profiling program at the University of Oulu, Finland. He holds the Docent (Adjunct Professor) title in Applied Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) of the same university, and works as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow funded by the Research Council of Finland (formerly Academy of Finland). He earned his Ph.D. in Information Systems from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research outputs have been published in prestigious journals and conference proceedings across Educational Technology and Information Systems, including European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) — an A*-ranked journal listed in the IS Basket of Eight under the ABDC ranking. He currently holds multiple editorial roles: Co-Chair of the Advances in Teaching and Learning Technologies minitrack at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Associate Editor for the “Digital Learning and IS Curricula” track at ICIS 2024, Associate Editor of Policy Futures in Education, and Editorial Board Member of British Journal of Educational Technology.

Speaker photo of Dr. Kumar Laxman
Dr. Kumar Laxman
ICL Graduate Business School, New Zealand

Speaker Bio: Dr. Kumar Laxman was an associate professor of learning and development with the Faculty of Education, University of Auckland for over a decade. Now he is with ICL Graduate Business School in Auckland, New Zealand. He graduated with a PhD in instructional design and technology from Macquarie University, Australia. His other qualifications include a masters degree in educational technology from the National Institute of Education (Singapore), a bachelors degree in civil engineering from the National University of Singapore and a postgraduate diploma in education from the National Institute of Education (Singapore). He has worked in various capacities and roles, including leadership in learning/training and development in corporate, governmental and tertiary settings globally.
Dr Kumar Laxman has been actively promoting the use of emergent technology to advance innovation in teaching and learning and he has served as a catalytic leader in participating in numerous e-learning and educational initiatives. He is knowledgeable in the various aspects of the field of learning design, having published widely in reputable journals and presented at numerous international conferences. He has also provided consultancy to a number of organizations in the domain of learning and development, particularly enabling them to leverage upon technologies in enhancing training and educational delivery. He has also independently carried out high quality research in learning design and development and achieved cutting-edge research outcomes. Possessing excellent communication and management skills, he is able to keep his participant audience engaged with his impressive style of training delivery.

Talk Title: A Cross‑Sectional Study of AI Usage and Learning Experiences Among Tertiary Students in New Zealand
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly integrated into higher education, yet limited empirical evidence exists on how students in New Zealand engage with these technologies in their everyday learning. This study investigates patterns of AI usage and their associations with students’ learning experiences within New Zealand’s tertiary sector. A quantitative, cross‑sectional survey was administered to 306 students across universities and institutes of technology, capturing perceptions of AI‑assisted tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, Turnitin, and adaptive learning platforms. Descriptive and inferential analyses indicate that most students regularly access AI tools to support academic tasks, particularly writing and research activities. Age was associated with frequency of AI use, while academic level and field of study showed minimal variation. Students generally perceived AI tools as helpful for improving clarity, efficiency, and confidence in their academic work, though many emphasised the importance of balanced use to avoid over‑reliance. The findings provide context‑specific insights into how AI is situated within the learning practices of New Zealand tertiary students and highlight considerations for educators and institutions as AI becomes increasingly embedded in higher education environments.
Speaker photo of Assoc. Prof. Andy Nguyen
Prof. Rustam Shadiev
Zhejiang University, China

ACM and IEEE Senior Member

Speaker Bio: Dr. Rustam Shadiev is a Professor at the College of Education, Zhejiang University, China. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS), a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Dr. Shadiev's research focuses on advanced educational technologies and their applications in artificial intelligence–supported education, language learning, intercultural communication, immersive learning environments, and digital innovation in teaching and learning. His work has made significant contributions to understanding how emerging technologies can enhance learning outcomes, global competence, and cross-cultural engagement. He has published extensively in leading international SSCI journals, including Computers & Education, British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, and other highly regarded outlets in educational technology and learning sciences. His scholarly impact has been widely recognized, earning him inclusion among the Most Cited Chinese Researchers in Education for five consecutive years (2020–2024) and the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientist Rankings (2023–2025). In recognition of his academic achievements, Dr. Shadiev was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu Province, China, in 2019. He serves on the editorial boards of several prestigious international journals, guest edits special issues for leading publications, and is frequently invited to deliver keynote and invited speeches at major international conferences worldwide.

Speaker photo of Dagmar Archan
Prof. Dagmar Archan
CAMPUS 02 University of Applied Sciences in Graz, Austria

Head of the Centre for Teaching Excellence

Speaker Bio: Dr. Dr Dagmar Archan is a professor at CAMPUS 02 University of Applied Sciences in Graz, Austria, and Head of the Centre for Teaching Excellence at CAMPUS 02. Her doctoral thesis investigated the impact of Blended Learning on the teaching and learning of English for Specific Purposes in higher education. In 2019, she received the Ars Docendi State Award for Excellence in Teaching for the Blended Learning course discussed in her doctoral thesis. Dr Archan's research focuses on teacher education, digital literacy and the use of technology in teaching and learning, with a particular focus on AI in higher education. She is actively involved in advancing higher education teaching, coordinating didactic programmes for lecturers and delivering media didactics training for academic staff. In recognition of its efforts to promote digital transformation for which the Centre for Teaching Excellence has been a driving force, CAMPUS 02 has been awarded the prestigious FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation) Quality Seal of "Excellence in Digital Education" in March 2024.

Speaker photo
Assoc. Prof. Sarimah Shamsudin
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia

Speaker Bio: Dr. Sarimah Shamsudin is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia with more than 25 years of teaching experience and to date has received several Learning Innovation and Design Awards internationally, three Excellent Service Awards from UTM and six from her faculty. She also received the Writer in Indexed Journal Faculty Category Award from UTM twice, in 2020 and 2024. She held several admin posts throughout her career in UTM such as the Director (Social Sciences and Humanities) (FSSH, UTM KL), Head of Language Department (Language Academy, UTM KL), Acting Deputy Dean (Language Academy, UTM KL), Head of Language Lab and Multimedia Lab (FPPSM, UTM JB), Coordinator of Language Lab (Language Academy, UTM KL), Head of English Language Panel and Head of Testing and Evaluation or Moderation Committee (Language Academy, UTM JB & UTM KL). She obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Mathematics from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Institute Technology MARA, Malaysia, Masters of Science in Teaching English for Specific Purposes (TESP) from Aston University, Birmingham, UK and PhD in English Language Teaching (ELT) and Applied Linguistics from The University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. Her PhD thesis was on Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP): An Investigation of the Use of Synchronous CMC to Meet the Needs of Computer Science Students and her Masters thesis was on Development of Web-Based Civil Engineering Materials Specialised Vocabulary List Via Corpus-Based Analysis of Civil Engineering Materials Textbooks. She has presented papers at international conferences in various countries such as the USA, Ireland, UK, Poland, UAE, Turkey, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. She was an Invited or Keynote Speaker in several international conferences in Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran and Japan. To date, she has also published almost 100 articles in indexed and non-indexed journals as well as indexed and non-indexed conference proceedings. She has also published two original books and 13 book chapters. Apart from that, she has had experience obtaining a few millions in ringgit Malaysia of infrastructure development funding to set up and manage Digital Language Labs in UTM Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur and received almost half a million of ringgit Malaysia of local and international research funding as the main or co-researcher to implement research related to English language learning, teaching and learning using technology, cognitive abilities, development of corpus-based materials and corpus-based analysis of discourse. She is also continuously invited to review journal articles and conference papers both locally and abroad and has successfully graduated 16 PhD students and nine Master students from countries such as Malaysia, China, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. She has also filed thirteen (13) copyrights with her PhD and Masters graduates and examined 14 PhD candidates as Internal Examiner and eight as External Examiner. Her research interests are in the areas of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), AI-Assisted Language Learning (AI-ALL), Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), Corpus Linguistics, English Language Teaching (ELT) and English for Specific Purpose (ESP).

Talk Title: English as a Second Language Undergraduates’ Use of Prompting in Generative Artificial Intelligence for English Language Academic Writing
Large language models offer innovative platforms for education, but their performance highly depends on quality prompting, which remains a challenge for many students. This qualitative case study investigated how eight upper-intermediate (B2) Malaysian English as a second language (ESL) undergraduates used Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), specifically Gemini, during a 14-week English language (EL) academic writing course. Guided by an integrated framework combining Flower and Hayes’ writing model with the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, this study analysed the prompting strategies and the cognitive depth of action verbs used by the ESL undergraduates in GenAI during the Planning, Reviewing and Translating stages of their EL academic writing. The data collection involved students’ actual prompts captured in these stages. Findings revealed various prompting strategies employed by the ESL undergraduates and the level of cognitive skill for each prompt based on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy action verbs. In conclusion, this study offers insights for higher education institutions to guide students in formulating prompts and using appropriate action verbs in GenAI, thus, fostering deeper cognitive engagement in the three stages of EL academic writing.
Speaker photo
Asst. Prof. Wanxin Yan
Tohoku University, Japan

Speaker Bio: My research focuses on human cognition, intelligence, and learning in higher education, with a particular emphasis on how university students learn and develop in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). I investigate how students interact with AI and how these interactions shape cognitive processes, metacognition, self-regulated learning, epistemic agency, and AI literacy. My overarching goal is to understand how AI can augment human intelligence while fostering autonomous, critical, and lifelong learning. Using classroom-based interventions, authentic learning tasks, interviews, questionnaire surveys, and mixed-methods research designs, I examine how university students integrate AI into learning, problem solving, and knowledge construction. My work explores how learners regulate AI-supported learning, evaluate AI-generated information, and balance independent thinking with AI assistance. I am particularly interested in identifying the cognitive and motivational factors that promote effective and responsible human–AI collaboration in higher education. Beyond individual learning behaviors, my research also investigates how AI is reshaping students’ epistemic beliefs, agency, and perceptions of learning. I seek to develop evidence-based pedagogical approaches that help educators integrate AI into university teaching while supporting students’ critical thinking, self-regulation, and intellectual independence. My research further contributes to understanding how higher education can prepare students with the competencies required to thrive in an AI-driven society. Ultimately, my work bridges educational psychology, the learning sciences, and artificial intelligence to advance research on learning in higher education. Through both theoretical and empirical studies, I aim to inform the design of educational practices and policies that enable university students to collaborate effectively with AI while continuing to develop the human cognitive, metacognitive, and ethical capacities that remain essential in the future of education and work.

Talk Title: Navigating the Gray Areas: University Students’ Dilemmas in Using AI for Coursework
The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has transformed how university students complete coursework, while simultaneously raising questions about the ethical boundaries of AI use in academic learning. Although existing studies have examined students’ acceptance and frequency of AI use, less is known about how students navigate ethical dilemmas when integrating AI into coursework and what shapes their ethical judgments. This study explores AI use among 30 university students through semi-structured interviews. The study identifies common patterns of AI-assisted coursework and examines how students perceive the ethical appropriateness of different AI-supported learning practices. Furthermore, it investigates the factors influencing students’ ethical judgments, including task characteristics, instructors’ expectations, learning goals, perceptions of academic integrity, prior experiences with AI, and peer and institutional influences.
Speaker photo of Siti Hajar Halili
Prof. Siti Hajar Halili
Unversity of Malaya, Malaysia

Head of the Department of Curriculum & Instructional Technology

Speaker Bio: Ts.Dr. Siti Hajar Halili is a Professor in Innovative Digital Learning at the Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She is also a Professional Technologist (Ts) from the Malaysian Board of Technology (MBOT). Currently, she is the Head of the Department of Curriculum & Instructional Technology. She was formerly with the Research Division, Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia. She holds a Degree in Information System Management from the University Technology MARA, a Master's in Educational Technology, and a PhD in Adult Education Technology from the University Sains Malaysia. Her works are published in ISI, SCOPUS, Malaysian and International journals. She has also published books and chapters in books. She has received awards such as the Dean’s Award, Best of Presentation Award, Excellent Service Award, Gold Award, The Most Outstanding Reviewer, Appreciation Certificate from Jabatan Pendidikan Selangor, and scholarships from MyBrain15 and USM Fellowship. She was the Chief Editor of Jurnal Penyelidikan Pendidikan and an article reviewer for several journals and conferences. She is also appointed as the university's open distance learning (ODL) expert, Programme Coordinator for the university's ODL and Master of Instructional Technology program, Head of Auditor for the faculty of education, and one of the University Malaya Family Research & Development Centre committee members. She focuses her research on Innovative Digital Learning, particularly in Flipped Learning, Open Distance Learning, Digital Badges Learning, Artificial Intelligence Learning, Instructional Design & Technology and Digital Curriculum Innovation. In short, she utilises digital learning to make learning flexible through Flipped Learning, accessible via Open Distance Learning, rewarding with Digital Badges and intelligent through Artificial Intelligence Learning. She also ensures it is well-designed, utilising Instructional Design & Technology and modern approaches through Digital Curriculum Innovation. This approach combines technology with pedagogy to create effective and impactful learning experiences for all.

Speaker photo of Alexander Kusenko
Distinguished Prof. Alexander Kusenko
University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS)

Speaker Bio: Alexander Kusenko is a Distinguished Professor of Physics at UCLA and a Senior Fellow at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe at the University of Tokyo. He also serves as an Associate Editor of Reviews of Modern Physics, the highest-impact journal of the American Physical Society. With over 25 years of innovative teaching at UCLA, Professor Kusenko has been recognized with multiple teaching awards. Throughout his career, he has been a strong advocate for making high-quality learning materials accessible to students, working to replace overpriced and outdated textbooks with affordable, modern educational resources. His commitment to this cause led him and Dr. Warren Essey to co-found Kudu, a platform that provides students with a superior learning experience at a fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks, while also supporting educational and research activities. Beyond teaching, Professor Kusenko is a leading researcher in theoretical physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, with significant contributions to our understanding of dark matter, neutrino physics, and high-energy cosmic phenomena. His work has been widely recognized, earning him election as a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and numerous honors for his groundbreaking research.

Speaker photo of Luan Trong Nguyen
Dr. Luan Trong Nguyen
FPT University, Vietnam

Head of the Department of Experimental Entrepreneurship

Speaker Bio: Luan Trong Nguyen (Ph.D.), Head of the Department of Experimental Entrepreneurship, FPT University, Vietnam. He received his Ph.D. from Kanazawa University of Technology, Japan, in 2013. He is a collaborative professor at Kanazawa University, Japan. Dr. Luan is served as editorial member, chair or co-chair, Technical committee member, and reviewer in many prestigious conferences and journals. He has been involved in multiple research projects in social sciences such as entrepreneurship, Gen Z’s behaviors, environmental science, material sciences, economics, management with over 50 academic work, which has published by the most reputable publishing houses such as Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Springer. For community, He served as is also a committee member for Startup Network Mekong Delta, Vietnam and He is a special consultant of SEA (strategic environmental assessment), ESG and Manager/coordinator for many international projects and having experience from many countries (Japan, Netherlands, Malta, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, Thailand. His favourite topics are sustainable development and environment, ESG, Entrepreneurship, climate change.

Speaker photo of Delon Chai
Senior Lecturer Delon Chai
Curtin University, Malaysia

Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching

Speaker Bio: Delon Chai is the Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching and Senior Teaching Fellow at Curtin Malaysia’s School of Pre-U and Continuing Education (SPACE). He holds a Master’s in Business Administration specialising in Finance and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Business Administration. A Fellow of the Advance Higher Education Academy (Advance HE) and Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA), Delon has received numerous accolades for his teaching excellence, including the Curtin Excellence and Innovation in Teaching (CEIT) Award for the Global category. His research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusive practices in higher education, particularly for underprivileged learners.

Talk Title: Rethinking Assessments in the age of Gen-AI

Speaker photo of Luan Trong Nguyen
Prof. Anand Nayyar
Duy Tan University, Vietnam

Senior Member of IEEE and ACM

Speaker Bio: Dr. Anand Nayyar received Ph.D (Computer Science) from Desh Bhagat University in 2017 in the area of Wireless Sensor Networks, Swarm Intelligence and Network Simulation. He is currently working in School of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (SCA)-Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam as Professor, Scientist, Vice-Chairman (Research) and Director- IoT and Intelligent Systems Lab. A Certified Professional with 280+ Professional certifications from CISCO, Microsoft, CompTIA, Amazon, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle, Google, Salesforce, Tableau, FinOps, Beingcert, EXIN, GAQM, Cyberoam and many more. Published more than 260+ Research Papers in various High-Quality ISI-SCI/SCIE/SSCI Impact Factor- Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 Journals cum Scopus/ESCI indexed Journals, 100+ Papers in International Conferences indexed with Springer, IEEE and ACM Digital Library, 75+ Book Chapters in various SCOPUS/WEB OF SCIENCE Indexed Books with Springer, CRC Press, Wiley, IET, Elsevier with Citations: (Google Scholar): 25000+, H-Index: 81 and I-Index: 335; (Scopus): 15000+; H-index: 64. Member of more than 60+ Associations as Senior and Life Member like: IEEE (Senior Member) and ACM (Senior Member). He has authored/co-authored cum Edited 83 Books of Computer Science. Associated with more than 600+ International Conferences as Programme Committee/Chair/Advisory Board/Review Board member. He has completed 3 Research Grant Projects (1 Grassroot, 1 ASEAN Project and 1 Glocal-30 (Viet Nam-Korea Research Project)). He has 18 Australian Patents, 16 German Patents, 4 Japanese Patents, 46 Indian Design cum Utility Patents, 13 UK Patents, 1 USA Patent, 3 Indian Copyrights and 2 Canadian Copyrights to his credit in the area of Wireless Communications, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, IoT, Healthcare, Drones, Robotics and Image Processing. He has guided more than 200+ Undergraduate Students (B.S. Degree), 30 MCA, 7 M.S. Students and completed 1 Ph.D Student and currently 3 Ph.D Scholars and 2 PostDoc Candidates are working under him. Awarded 58 Awards for Teaching and Research—Young Scientist, Best Scientist, Best Senior Scientist, Asia Top 50 Academicians and Researchers, Young Researcher Award, Outstanding Researcher Award, Excellence in Teaching, Best Senior Scientist Award, DTU Best Professor and Researcher Award- 2019, 2020-2021, 2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025, Distinguished Scientist Award by National University of Singapore, Obada Prize 2023, Lifetime Achievement Award 2023, 2024; Asian Admirable Achievers 2024; Distinguished Academic Leader 2024, Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 and many more. He is listed in Top 2% Scientists as per Stanford University (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), Ad Index (Rank No:1 Duy Tan University, Rank No:2 Computer Science in Viet Nam) and Listed on Research.com (Top Scientist of Computer Science in Viet Nam- National Ranking: 2; D-Index: 64; World Ranking: 2555). He is acting as Associate Editor for Computer Communications (Elsevier), International Journal of Sensor Networks (IJSNET) (Inderscience), Tech Science Press- IASC, Human Centric Computing and Information Sciences (HCIS), IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence (IEEE TAI), Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, IJISP, IJDST, IJCINI, IJGC, IJSIR, IJBDCN, IJSI, IJIES, IJKSS. He has reviewed more than 5700+ Articles for diverse Web of Science and Scopus Indexed Journals. He is currently researching in the area of Wireless Sensor Networks, Internet of Things, Swarm Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Drones, Blockchain, Cyber Security, Healthcare Informatics, Big Data and Wireless Communications.

Enlarged speaker photo