Category: 2022 Speaker

Dr Jacek Lewandowski is Campus Director for Coventry University Wroclaw and the Managing Director of a Coventry University Research Institute Europe (CURIE) based in Poland. He is an Experienced Lecturer and Researcher with a background in information technology with a PhD focused in Biomedical Computing, Sensor Networks and Pattern Recognition.

In his time as director of Wroclaw campus, Jacek has setup and is running the first overseas branch Campus of Coventry University in Poland. Working close with local authorities, business and NGOs, Coventry University Wroclaw has become an economic development partner for the region. In light of the recent war in Ukraine Jacek has spearheaded a scholarship that will help refugees fleeing war and other conflicts to continue their studies, demonstrating the commitment to support the wider global community in times of need and ensuring access to education.

Additionally, As an innovative, enterprising and entrepreneurial business-engaged university, through Wroclaw campus Jacek continues to support development of strategic-level collaboration with businesses on a local, national and global scale. Some of the partner organisations Wroclaw campus works with include Collins Aerospace, IBM, regional special economic zones or government foundation for The Platform for the Industry of the Future (FPPP).

Paul is an experienced Director of Innovation, with a background in the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare, utilities, and higher education. With significant experience of leadership, organisational change and strategy implementation, Paul has a deep understanding of supplier/client management, building value propositions, collaborative partnerships, innovation management, and the development of large-scale projects.

The Enterprise & Innovation Organisation (EIO) at Coventry University are responsible for establishing strong links between the University’s academic expertise, and a wide breadth of public and private sector organisations across global markets. Active in a range of sectors (including manufacturing, mobility, healthcare, and the creative economy), individual members of the EIO are typically involved in the writing of bids, tenders, and business plans, IP commercialisation, sales & account management, and marketing/PR.

Paul is a CMI (Chartered Management Institute) approved coach and mentor, with current board level and external advisory responsibilities as a Non-Executive Director with Feraru Dynamics, and Board Member of the European Business & Innovation Network (EBN).

Professor Akito Takasaki received his Dr. Eng. from Tokyo Institute of Technology and his DSc. from Hiroshima University. His professional career started as a researcher at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute and also a researcher at OECD Halden Reactor Project, Institutt for Energiteknikk, Halden, Norway. He then moved to Department of Mathematics and Physics, National Defense Academy, and has been employed at Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) since 1996. Now, he has been a vice president of SIT since 2021. He received a Medal Komisji Edukacji Narodowej from Ministry of Higher Education of Polish government in 2011, and the title of Honorary Consul from AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland in 2017.

He was a visiting Professor at Department of Physics of Washington University in St. Louis (USA) and at Faculty of Energy and Fuels of AGH University of Science and Technology (Poland).

He has published about one hundred fifty scientific papers on mechanics of materials, and materials science and engineering fields. He was a trustee of Materials Research Society of Japan and an academic advisor of ASEAN University Network/Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network. Since 2021, he has been serving as a chairman of board of directors of Japan University Consortium for Transnational-education, where he promotes international higher education in Japan for students from southeast Asian countries.

Ciarán Ó hAnnracháin has worked in tertiary education, both public and private, for over 30 years in the Irish, UK, US, and Swiss education systems, predominantly working in the field of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He has held several academic management roles in Switzerland and Ireland for the past 20 years and has been a member of a range of national advisory panels in both Hospitality & Tourism and Higher Education. He holds an undergraduate degree from Trinity College Dublin, a master’s degree from both University College Dublin and Waterford Institute of Technology, and a doctoral degree from University of Sheffield. He was Project Manager in Letterkenny Institute of Technology for merger of GMIT. IT Sligo and LYIT to become the Atlantic Technological University in April 2022 with responsibility for Academic Strategy and Planning, Student Services, Internationalisation and External Engagement. He currently works as Director of Strategic Projects for the ATU Faculty of Business.

He is the outgoing Chair of the Operational Board of the World Technology University Network, facilitating collaboration between academics across the globe.

Professor Kent Anderson is an international lawyer specialising in the Asia-Pacific. He is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Global, at the University of Newcastle.

Kent has an eclectic background, having been an academic in Australia, US and Japan; a marketing manager with a US regional airline in Alaska; a commercial lawyer in Hawaii; and most recently senior adviser for higher education to two Australian Ministers of Education.

Kent served on a number of boards including National Library of Australia, Ministerial Council for International Education, Higher Education Standards Panel, New Colombo Plan, Canberra Grammar School, and President of the Asian Studies Association of Australia.

Dr. S.N. Sridhara, is an academician with an in-depth knowledge and profound skills set in teaching pedagogy, research, education and administration. Dr. Sridhara obtained his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore University and Masters and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. He has been a pioneer in teaching and research with focus on thermal engineering, hybrid electric vehicle, aerospace propulsion, aeromodelling, green energy and experimental and computational fluid dynamics. He has a profound interest in research and has guided several scholars and published more than 150 research articles in peer reviewed journals and international conferences of repute. He has also authored text books for engineering students. He received research grants and successfully completed the research and consultancy projects of industries. Dr. Sridhara was awarded with several honours from various agencies.

Sankar Sivarajah is a Professor of Technology Management and Circular Economy and the Dean and Head of School of Management at University of Bradford.

He holds a PhD in Management Studies from Brunel University London, a MSc with Distinction in Management specialising in Entrepreneurship from Bayes Business School (previously known as Cass), City University London and a first-class BSc (Hons) in Business and Management specialising in Computer Sciences from Brunel University London.

His passion for research and teaching is interdisciplinary in nature focusing on the use of emerging digital technology for the betterment of society, be it in a business or government context. He has published over 50 scientific articles in leading peer-reviewed journals and conferences. His research has featured in reputable media/trade publications such as The World Economic Forum, BBC Yorkshire, Computer Weekly and The Conversation.

To date, he has a successful track record as Principal and Co-investigator in over £3 million worth of Research and Innovation and consultancy projects funded by reputable funding bodies and commercial organisations. Some of the notable funders have been the European Commission (FP7, H2020, Marie Curie), Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Innovate UK/DEFRA and British Council focusing on projects addressing business and societal challenges surrounding themes such as AI Innovation Strategy Development, Smart Cities and Sustainable Sociteties.

He is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a member of the British Academy of Management (BAM).

Dr. Wipawee Usaha currently serves as the Director of the Center for International Affairs at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), Thailand. She is also the co-founder and R&D Advisor of an innovative health tech startup—a university research spin-off that developed wireless sensor insoles for fall prediction in the elderly. This is among SUT’s innovation which has been selected for display at the Thailand Pavilion during World Expo Osaka 2025.

Her work is dedicated to advancing affordable healthcare and wellness technologies for vulnerable populations, with a particular focus on the elderly and individuals with chronic health conditions.

Dr. Usaha’s research interests include wearable sensor technology, wireless sensor networks, signal processing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the Artificial Internet of Things (AIoT), and resource allocation in communication networks. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Communications and Signal Processing Group, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, U.K.

Suneerat Fukuda is the lecturer in Energy Division and the Head of Advanced Fuel Processing Laboratory at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. She received the PhD and MSc in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, UK, and BSc in Chemical Technology from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Since joining JGSEE in 2004, Dr. Fukuda has been working extensively in the field of energy technology and management. Her major expertise is solid fuel utilization for energy production and renewable energy systems. Dr. Fukuda is the leader of research projects on biomass/waste supported by government agencies and industries and has published a number of papers in peer-reviewed journals as well as book chapters. She has also been involved in a number of projects supported by international organizations as well as projects at regional level. At the management level, Dr. Fukuda served as the Director of JGSEE during 2017-2020. Currently, she is also leading the working group of “KMUTT’s Race to Carbon Neutrality by 2040”.