Prof. Irwin King, Fellow of ACM, Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of INNS, Fellow of AAIA, Fellow of HKIE

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Professor Irwin King, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Distinguished Professor at the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, has a diverse research portfolio in machine learning, social computing, artificial intelligence, and data mining. His scholarly contributions include publications in prestigious journals and editorial board memberships with international publishers. He has received numerous accolades, including Test of Time Awards at ACM CIKM, ACM SIGIR, and ACM WSDM, and the Dennis Gabor Award from INNS for his pioneering work in machine learning within social computing. As a Fellow of ACM, IEEE, AAAI, INNS, and HKIE, he has demonstrated exceptional leadership in the field. He has held significant positions, including President of the International Neural Network Society (INNS) and General Co-chair for premier international conferences like WebConf, ACML, and RecSys. He is also the Director of the ELearning Innovation and Technology (ELITE) Centre, the Trustworthy Machine Intelligent Joint Lab, and the Machine Intelligence and Social Computing (MISC) Lab. His academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science degree from Caltech, followed by a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science from the University of Southern California (USC).

Prof. Kam Cheong Li
Founding Dean (School of Open Learning) & Former Director (Institute for Research in Open and Innovative Education)
Senior Adviser, Distinguished Professor & Dean (School of International Studies), Guangdong Open University
Visiting Professor, Doctor of Professional Studies Programmes, Middlesex University

Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong

Recognised among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University and Elsevier, Prof Kam Cheong Li is an internationally renowned scholar and leader in the field of open and distance education. In 2023, he received two highly prestigious accolades: the International Council for Open and Distance Education’s “Prize of Excellence” and the Asian Association of Open Universities’ “Meritorious Service Award”. Each of these awards is conferred upon only one distinguished individual per year. Since 2012, Prof Li has served as a Visiting Professor at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, where he has also acted as the university’s advisor and consultant for the Doctorate of Professional Studies programme for many years. Before his retirement from Hong Kong Metropolitan University, he served as the Founding Dean of the School of Open Learning and Director of the Institute for Research in Open and Innovative Education. He now assists various institutions with their research development, and actively conducts research in educational technology, innovative learning and teaching, and open education.

Prof. Yi Zhang

Central China Normal University, China

Zhang Yi graduated from the Department of Educational Information Technology of East China Normal University in 2003, graduated from the Department of Mathematics of Central China Normal University in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in computer science, and in 2014, he went to the University of North Texas to study technology for a year. He is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Educational Information Technology of Central China Normal University, the head of the Department of Educational Technology, an adjunct professor of the National Digital Learning Engineering Technology Research Center, the deputy director of the China Education Informatization Research Center of Central China Normal University, a part-time graduate tutor of Wuhan University, and a visiting professor of Huanggang Normal University. She is currently a deputy to the 14th People's Congress of Hongshan District, Wuhan City, the chairman of the Central China Normal University Committee of the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party, and a member of the trade union of Central China Normal University.
He is also an expert member of the International Organization for Standardization Digital Learning, Education and Training Technical Standard (ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36), a member of the Education Technology Committee of the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee, a member of the expert database of the "National Primary and Secondary School Teachers' Information Technology Application Ability Improvement Project", an editorial board member of the academic journal "Basic Education Reference", an external review expert of the journal "Electronic Education Research", and an expert of "Educational Technology Research and" Development", vice chairman of the Program Committee of the 4th Digital Gamified Learning Conference, and vice chairman of the Primary and Secondary School Teachers Forum of the GCCCE2014 Global Chinese Computer Education Application Conference.

Prof. Feng-Kuang Chiang
Director of the Future Education Research Center

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Prof. Feng-Kuang Chiang is the Associate Dean of the School of Education, Tenured Professor, and Director of the Future Education Research Center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Concurrently serves as Vice Dean of the Shanghai Research Institute of STEM Education for Youth. His research focuses primarily on STEM education, artificial intelligence in education, engineering education, and learning space design. He currently serves as Chair of the International Executive Committee of the International Society for STEM Education (ISSE). He was previously a visiting scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and serves on the editorial boards of six international academic journals. He received the Sixth National Excellent Master of Education Teacher Award and has been recognized as an Elsevier China Highly Cited Researcher in Education for six consecutive years. He has led numerous research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Education Sciences Planning Program, and the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program of the Ministry of Education, among others.

Assoc. Prof. Hengtao Tang

University of South Carolina, USA

Dr. Hengtao Tang is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Learning Design and Technologies at the University of South Carolina. His research lies at the intersection of self-regulated learning, multimodal learning analytics, and artificial intelligence in education. He examines how learners regulate their cognitive and metacognitive processes in intelligent online environments and how AI-driven adaptive supports can enhance their collaborative problem solving. Dr. Tang has published over 90 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, with his research supported by organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. His work has been recognized with several awards, including the USC Educational Foundation Research Award, Breakthrough Star Award, Garnet Apple Award, AECT Presidential Award, and the AERA Early Career Researcher Award.

Assoc. Prof. Christian Kahl

Beijing Jiaotong University, China

Dr. Christian Kahl is an accomplished Associate Professor of Business Administration and Deputy Director for Accreditation and Internationalisation at Beijing Jiaotong University. He is internationally recognised for his research on global graduate employability, cross-cultural management, and young adult learning, and has significantly contributed to EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA accreditation. With leadership roles across Europe and Asia, extensive supervision of doctoral and master’s theses, and a strong publication record, he actively shapes quality standards and innovation in business and management education. His work consistently advances institutional excellence, student success, and the global dialogue on higher education development.