Assoc. Prof. Dr. Samak Kaewsuksaeng is the Vice President for Research and Innovation of Thaksin University, Thailand. He is an expert in post-harvest technology. He was a visiting scholar at the Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, Japan and many esteemed universities in Korea, and USA. Furthermore, he was granted for training course on “the Postharvest Physiology, Pathology and Handling of Fresh Commodities” Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Israel. He has 14 years teaching experiences and has published numerous research papers in national and international publications.
Category: 2023 Delegate
Professor Dr. Michael Affenzeller (Chair)
Michael Affenzeller’s main research focus is on theoretical and practical aspects of evolutionary computation, genetic algorithms, and meta-heuristics in general. In 2001 he received his PhD in engineering sciences and in 2004 he received his habilitation in applied systems engineering, both from the Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria.
Michael Affenzeller is professor at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Campus Hagenberg, and head of the research group HEAL. From October 2014 to August 2022 he served as the head of studies for the Master degree program Software Engineering and as vice dean for R&D at the faculty of informatics, communications and media. Between 2019 and 2022 Michael Affenzeller acted as the scientific head of the Softwarepark Hagenberg. Since 2022 he took on the role of Provost of the Upper Austrian University of Applied Sciences.
Professor Affenzeller commenced his role as WTUN Chair beginning 1 August 2025 for a period of two years.
Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Ariffin Abu Hasan
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ariffin bin Abu Hassan is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He obtained his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from UMIST, the United Kingdom in 2004. Presently, he is the Director of UTM International, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia of which through this appointment, he has been selected for other significant posts. Dr. Mohd Ariffin is the first Erasmus+ National Focal Point (ENFP) for Malaysia and he has recently been appointed as an Advisory Council Member of the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE). He is also the Executive Director and Chair of Steering Committee of Asia Technological University Network (ATU-Net) and Operational Board Members for World Technology Universities Network (WTUN)..
Dr Solomon Mombeshora
Dr Solomon Mombeshora is a Quality Assurance Director at Women’s University in Africa. He holds a PhD and MPhil degrees in Social Anthropology from The University of Cambridge and a BSc Honours in Sociology from the University of Zimbabwe and, among others, a Certificate of Participation in the EU-funded Harmonisation of African Higher Education, Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA2) Training Course: IQA-4-Africa – From Pan-African Policy to Practice that was facilitated by DAAD. He has 26 years of consulting experience in environmental governance, policy and livelihoods. He has performed professional services in Botswana, Liberia, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He conducted his doctoral research in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.
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.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kira Kastell
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kira Kastell, born in Rotenburg an der Fulda, studied electrical engineering at the Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main and at the Distant Learning University in Hagen and earned her PhD on the topic of “Secure, fast, location-based handovers in hybrid networks” at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Before that, she also graduated in business administration and economics from the Distance Learning University in Hagen.
As part of her professional career, she was first involved in setting up the GSM-R digital radio network for Deutsche Bahn at Arcor AG & Co. After completing her doctorate, she moved into university teaching, from 2007 to 2009 as a professor of mobile communications in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Precision Engineering at the Technische Fachhochschule Berlin and then as a professor of transmission technology in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main (now Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences). During this time, she was intermittently head of the degree program and, from 2013 to 2019, vice-president for studies and teaching at the University of Applied Sciences. In this role, she dedicated herself to, among other things, the reorganization of her area of responsibility and the successful acquisition of public funding for teaching. She also initiated the development of strategy papers for the areas of teaching, e-learning, internationalization and diversity, among others. On 1 May 2021, she assumed the office of President at Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences.
She was also chair of the VDI Network Women in Engineering for six years (2015-2020) and a member of the Broadcasting Council of the Hessian Broadcasting Corporation from 2017 to 2020. Since 2019, she has been Chair of the Departmental Council for Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and, since January 2021, she has been a board member at ASIIN, the accreditation agency for degree programs in engineering, computer science, natural sciences and mathematics.
Since January 2023 she has taken the role as the CEO of the HAfM – the university alliance for medium-sized companies. In October 2023, Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger appointed her to the founding committee of the German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI), where she was elected deputy chairwoman.
Ms Kamilla Trubicki
Kamilla Trubicki is Head of International Office at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, School of Engineering. She is responsible for the implementation of the internationalization strategy and coordinates cooperation with international partners as well as student and staff mobility. She is involved in the development and improvement of international programs at the university as well as international marketing and student recruitment. She received her diploma degree in Business Economics with a major in International Management at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. Her interests are in the fields of international management, intercultural relations as well as the development and management of international study and cooperation programmes.
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.
Dr. Mullika Sungsanit
Dr. Mullika Sungsanit is the Head of the Center of Excellence for Entrepreneurship. With extensive experience in entrepreneurship development and innovation management, Dr. Mullika has led key initiatives to support students and researchers. She founded the Student Entrepreneurship Development Academy (SEDA) to instill an entrepreneurial mindset through practical training and mentorship. Her work is dedicated to connecting academic research with community needs, fostering sustainable business models, and promoting economic growth with a positive social and environmental impact.
Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Mullika’s expertise is recognized internationally through her roles as the National Coordinator for ASEA-UNINET in Thailand and past operational chair for the World Technology Universities Network (WTUN). She has also served as a consultant for World Bank programs, focusing on capacity-building for women entrepreneurs. Dr. Mullika is a committed advocate for cross-regional collaboration and sustainable development, actively building partnerships with European institutions to advance shared goals in areas like the blue economy.
Professor Kai-Uwe Sattler
Kai-Uwe Sattler leads the Database and Information Systems group at the Department of Computer Science and Automation of the TU Ilmenau, Germany. He received his Diploma (M.Sc.) in Computer Science from the University of Magdeburg, Germany. In 1998, he received his Ph.D. in Computer Science (magna cum laude) from the same university.
From 1998 to September 2003 he was a member of the Database research group (head: Prof. Gunter Saake) at the University of Magdeburg. From October 2001 until March 2002, he worked as a visiting assistant professor at the UC Davis, U.S.A. During summer term 2002 he held a replacement professorship at the TU Dresden and during winter term 2002/3 at the University of Halle.
In June 2003, he received his Habilitation (venia legendi) in Computer Science from the University of Magdeburg. He joined the Department of Computer Science and Automation of the TU Ilmenau in October 2003 as Professor.
Kai-Uwe Sattler served as Dean of the Department from 2011 to 2017. From June 2017 to 2020 he serves as Vice President for Research. In December 2020 he was elected as President of the TU Ilmenau. Currently, he is also the coordinator of the priority program “Scalable Data Management for Future Hardware (SPP 2037)” funded by the DFG.