Category: 2022 Speaker

Dr Jhy-Chern Liu

Professor Jhy-Chern (JC) Liu is the Vice president and professor of Taiwan Tech, Taiwan. Prior to this he was Dean of College of Engineering and Chairman of Department of Chemical Engineering. Prof Liu received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Delaware, USA.

Prof Liu’s research interests consist of recycling of rare earth elements (REEs) from e-waste, and treatment and reuse of industrial wastewater. He has published over 100 papers in international journals. He also serves as the Director of SDGs and Institutional Research Center of Taiwan Tech.

Mrs Punithavalli Marimuthu

Punitha is a Senior Assistant Registrar and Manager of Corporate and Student Services of UTM International, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. She manages the office administration, strategic management and international student and scholar services. She has served as a university administrator managing the academic and research for the past 28 years.

Dr. R.W. Alexander Jesudasan

Dr. R.W. Alexander Jesudasan is now the Pro Vice – Chancellor in Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Chennai and formerly the Principal & Secretary, Madras Christian College from June 2009 – May 2020.

Academic specialization : Zoology, Applied Entomology.

D. Sc. (Zoology – Entomology), Madras Christian College (Autonomous), University of Madras, September 2010.
Ph. D. (Zoology – Entomology), Fredrick Institute of Plant Protection and Toxicology, University of Madras, 1988.
Ph. D. (Public Policy)(Honorary) – Hanshin University, South Korea,18th February 2022.
M. Sc. (Zoology), Madras Christian College (Autonomous), University of Madras, 1983, Outstanding Grade, 77 %.

Dr. Jesudasan held notable positions at the National and International levels. He has to his credited 180 publications, in Journals/Conference Proceedings of high repute; one book;, one German Patent; guided 10 Ph.D. Scholars and handled both National and International funded research projects; offered Consultancy services; recipient of several accolades and awards; and Fellow/Member of several academic bodies and visited more than 20 Countries for academic engagement. He has served/serving as the Chairman/Member Coordinator of NAAC peer team assessed/assessing 35 Colleges all over India.

Professor Prathivadi Anand

Professor PB Anand is Professor of Public Policy and Sustainable Development and (since February 2019) also the Head of the Department of Peace Studies and International Development celebrating its Golden Jubilee year at the University of Bradford. Professor Anand has published many papers in international refereed journals on the capability approach, human right to water, on the pathways to sustainable development in extractive economies, on river water disputes, and most recently on smart and sustainable cities. With Dr Flavio Comim and Dr Shailaja Fennell he has been a co-convenor of the Cambridge Capability Conferences from which two books on advancing capability approach (2018 and 2024) are published by Cambridge University Press. Prof Anand has been the lead editor of the 1107-page volume titled Handbook of BRICS and Emerging Economies published by the Oxford University Press (2021). Anand has completed many assignments for the UNDP most notably as the Principal Author of the Mongolia National Human Development Report. At Bradford he has been a member of the Senate (presently fourth term) and previously served as a member of the University Council (2014-18). He is presently on the council of the British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS). Anand is a Fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association and the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. Anand has won many awards for his teaching excellence and outstanding support for students.

Professor Muralidhar Miryala

Professor Muralidhar Miryala is Board of Councilor and former Deputy President at Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT), Operational Board Chair, World Technology University Network and Professor at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering / College of Engineering.

Prof Miryala’s main task is to transform SIT into a high rank university. To accomplish this goal, he has been working and further designed several innovative programs to enhance global initiatives for SIT. For instance, global project based learning (gPBL), advanced project based learning (aPBL), Ph.D innovative program, publication based internship program, high school internship program as these programs are crucial towards global ranking projects.

On the other hand, interested in applications and technology of bulk single-grain superconductors; thus, Prof Miryala had developed a new class of mixed LRE-123 system which can be used up to 15 T at 77 K and high temperatures up to 90.2 K. He developed a novel technology to produce a RE-123 type silver sheathed wire on the basis of solid state / liquid phase reaction. Prof Miryala has developed bulk MgB2 with enhanced superconducting properties, paving the way to affordable superconducting magnets for medical and transportation applications. Successful in his intellectual mindset enabled him to produce a small type superconducting bulk magnet which is useful to magnetize both high-Tc superconducting materials and magnetic materials in a variety of industrial applications. Prof Miryala also contributed to develop technology for the development of DC Superconducting Cable for Railway system applications. Prof Miryala has authored and co-authored more than 500 research items including patents, books, review-articles, articles, press release etc., and delivered over 150 oral presentations including plenary and invited ones.

Prof Miryala holds several Japanese national and international patents. Awards: Young Scientist Project Award, DST-Govt. of India (1995), Director’s Award, SRL-ISTEC (1998 and 2003), 1999 PASREG Award of Excellence (1999), Best Presentation Award at the IWCC11 (2003), Best Researcher Award, ISTEC-SRL (2007 and 2008), Best Researcher Award, Railway Technical Research Institute (2012), the Amity Global Academic Excellence Award (2017), Engineering Education Award for Contribution in Higher Education (2018), SIT Excellent Education Award (2019) by President. IAAM Fellow (2020), Vebleo Fellow (2021), Best Faculty Award (2021), Pravasi Bharatiya Summan Award by President, Govt. of India (2021). SIT Chairman’s Award (2021), Incredible Academician of World Award (2022). He is an Editor-in-Chief and Editorial board member of several international journals. Currently I am adjunct professor, visiting professor and international advisor for several universities in worldwide.

Dr. Mullika Sungsanit

Dr. Mullika Sungsanit is the vice rector for engagement, innovation and entrepreneurship, with more than 15 years of experience in HRD and entrepreneurship development. Dr. Sungsanit has developed many entrepreneurship development activities for SUT students and for other universities. Besides working for SUT, she served as the consultant for the InfoDev-Worldbank developing and delivering training programs for Women Entrepreneurs in the Mekong (Mekong Women Entrepreneurship Challenge Program: MWEC Program), the Caribbean (Women Innovator Network in the Caribbean: WINC, the GyB (Grow Your Business Program), and Nepal (Nepal Agri-Food Business Growth Program). Dr. Sungsanit holds a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development from the University of Minnesota, USA.

Mr Michael Yap

Michael Yap is the Regional Managing Director for Coventry University Singapore Hub and is the most senior university representative based in the Asian region. He was invited to join the University in April 2017 to set up their first overseas hub. Prior to this, Michael was the Executive Vice Dean in a Sino-Singapore Joint Venture college in Shanghai, China.

In Coventry University Singapore Hub, Michael has successfully developed many new partnerships with higher education institutes, research centres, and commercial companies in the region. He raised the branding awareness of the University. He built closer relationships with senior government stakeholders from the UK and local governments. Through his efforts, Coventry University is highly regarded for its entrepreneurial and forward-thinking initiatives.

Apart from his position, he is also the inaugural Chair of the newly established UK-Singapore Universities Alliance of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (UKSAEI), an alliance of 17 universities (5 from Singapore and 12 from the UK ) to facilitate engagement and collaboration between the UK and Singapore universities on entrepreneurship and innovation.

In addition, he is a member of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore Leadership, Talent, Professional Development Committee. He actively shares his leadership knowledge with the British Community in Singapore and organises events for members. He recently held a podcast on Global Intercultural Leadership entitled One size does not fit all.

He also sits on the Advisory Board for Coventry University Research Center for Global Learning: Education and Attainment.

He is completing his doctorate as a Doctoral Researcher in Business Administration at Coventry University.

Professor Michael Fitzpatrick

Professor Michael Fitzpatrick is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engineering, Environment and Computing) for the Coventry University Group, where he oversees the provision at the main Faculty campus in Coventry; the CU Group sites in Coventry, Scarborough, and East London, and the London Campus; and the trans-national education provision with our global partners. He is the lead for the establishment of collaborative links and joint activities with Universities in North America. He also holds the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Chair of Structural Integrity and Systems Performance. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Scientist, and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

His research centres around the application of advanced experimental methods to materials engineering applications, particularly in the nuclear power and aerospace industries. He has been a user of the international neutron and synchrotron X-ray facilities for over 20 years. He has published over 250 research papers. He was the recipient of the Lidstone Medal of The Welding Institute in 2009; and the Tom Bell Surface Engineering Medal of the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining in 2020.

Michael is a Non-Executive Director of Diamond Light Source Ltd, the UK’s synchrotron X-ray facility; and a Non-Executive Director of Feraru Dynamics Ltd, a University spin-out company developing wearable technologies for preventative safety in the manufacturing and construction industries.

Professor Mansoor Alaali

Professor Mansoor Alaali became President of Ahlia University in 2015. He joined Ahlia University in 2009 after a long academic career.

Professor Mansoor’s research interest is applied computer science, data mining, algorithms, Artificial Intelligence and Ethics. After graduating from the University of Teesside (UK), he gained his Master of Science and PhD from the University of Aston in Birmingham (UK). Prof. Mansoor is a member of numerous professional bodies.

An editor and reviewer for international refereed journals, Professor Mansoor has written several books and numerous journal and conference articles; delivered keynote speeches; and is a committee member for local, regional and international conferences.

In 2022, Professor Mansoor authored the books, “COVID-19 Challenges to University Information Technology Governance” published by Springer, “Assessing University Governance and Policies in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic” published by IGI Global and “Bahrain Village Houses A walk in the Past” published by IngramSpark, USA.

Ms Joanne Dobson

A senior leader with a background in strategy development, collaborative working and knowledge management. At Coventry University Jo is the institutional lead on national and international policy engagement. She is responsible for coordinating our engagement with relevant bodies, national regulatory bodies and HE networks such as University Alliance and the World Technology Universities Network (WTUN). Through her work she has a wide network of HE, industry and policy contacts. Jo has led on a number of organisational change programmes within the university, the two most significant involved (i) establishing two new professional services departments to support our growing research aspirations, as well as our continued engagement with industry and (ii) the launch of a formal Location Independent Working programme. She is a CMI accredited coach and supports colleagues with their personal development through our university’s coaching and mentoring academy. Jo strongly believes that collaborative working is key to economic and societal growth and that the Higher Education sector has a key role as a catalyst for collaboration. Experience: HE policy in the UK; developing business cases for investment; chairing and facilitation of large and small groups; public speaking; networking and building influence; project management; public funding bid writing and development; flexible working practices; business-university collaboration; public funded research and enterprise programmes; business and enterprise support; managing complex budgets; information and knowledge management.

© World Technology Universities Network 2024