Kairat Moldashev is an Associate Professor at SDU University. He holds a PhD from the University of Malaya.. His research interests span Political Economy, Regionalisms, and Higher Education Studies, with particular emphasis on higher education and research policy. His teaching portfolio includes Research Methods, Evidence-Based Management, and Data Analysis. He has held senior university leadership roles, including Vice-Rector for Research, Vice-Provost for Research, and Provost and Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Research. His professional experience covers the development and implementation of research strategies, establishment of research culture, research training, commercialization of research outputs, research performance evaluation, and coordination of PhD training. His recent research projects include serving as Senior Researcher on Creating an Enabling Research Environment in Universities and Research Institutes of Kazakhstan, and as Principal Investigator for Kazakhstani Universities’ Responses to COVID-19 and Post-Pandemic Strategies and Integration of Kazakhstani Researchers into the Global Scientific Community. His work has been published in leading international journals, including Journal of International Relations and Development, Higher Education Quarterly, Studies in Higher Education, Journal of Economic Integration, and Asia Pacific Business Review.

Janine Arantes is an education researcher, teacher educator, and thought leader, name Top 100 Women in AI Ethics in 2025. With more than 25 years of experience across school, vocational, and higher education contexts, her work focuses on the governance of emerging technologies in education, with particular attention to psychosocial safety and rights-based approaches to digital transformation. She leads the AI Governance for Education (AIGE) network, an initiative that supports evidence-informed and anticipatory governance of artificial intelligence across educational systems, and co-leads the Smart Glasses Lab, which examines the educational, ethical, and safety implications of wearable and immersive technologies. Janine’s research is grounded in feminist and sociotechnical perspectives and is known for translating critical scholarship into practical governance frameworks for institutions. She has published extensively, contributed to national and international policy discussions, and aims to support safer and more accountable technology use in education, including the right to refuse AI as both a learner and worker.

Dr Sakinah Alhadad is a Senior Lecturer and learning sciences scholar whose research examines how higher education systems shape learning, work, and possibilities for justice and flourishing. Her overarching research practice is concerned with the human dimensions of education, including how curriculum, research, and institutional arrangements are lived, experienced, and valued. Drawing on critical, feminist, and cultural-historical traditions, she employs participatory, dialogic, and creative methodologies to foreground voices and forms of labour that are often rendered invisible in policy and governance. Across her work, Dr Alhadad explores how research design itself can function as an ethical and political intervention, informing more humane approaches to curriculum, equity, and institutional change. She serves as Chair of her Faculty’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and is a member of the International Society of the Learning Sciences Justice and Equity Committee.

Dr. Tatik Tatik is a Research Fellow at the Research Center for Education, Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). She holds a PhD in Education (Teacher Learning and Development) from the University of New South Wales. Her research focuses on teacher learning and development, mentoring, and professional standards. She is currently involved in research projects examining the intersection of teacher learning and technology in teacher education. She has received several competitive research grants from the Indonesian government and international funding bodies. In addition to her research work, she is actively engaged in educational practice through co-founding and managing a private school in Indonesia.

Dr. Tanya (Ching Ting Tany) Kwee is a Lecturer at the School of Education, University of New South Wales. Her research interests include immigrant teachers, vocational motivations and behaviours and training and professional development.