KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Prof. Dr. Howard Gardner

Hobbs Research Professor,
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A recipient of the MacArthur Prize Fellowship, the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education, the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, and the Brock International Prize in Education, he is a leading thinker of education and human development.

He has received honorary degrees from thirty-one colleges and universities. He has studied and written extensively about intelligence, creativity, leadership, and professional ethics, and is senior director of Project Zero and co-founder of The Good Project. Gardner’s books include Good Work; Changing Minds; The Development and Education of the Mind; Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons; Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed; and The App Generation. Gardner’s intellectual memoir, A Synthesizing Mind, was published in 2020 by MIT Press.

He has recently completed a national study of higher education detailed in a forthcoming book with Wendy Fischman, The Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be (MIT Press, in press).

Mark Sparvell

Education Director,
Microsoft Worldwide

Mark Sparvell (B.Ed, M.Ed.) is an award-winning global educator and leader with 30 years of experience and a passion for exploring the role technology can play in humanising learning experiences and helping to prepare young people to shape preferred futures with critical skills and mindsets.

Prof. Emerita Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail

Ibnu Sina Chair for Medicine,
IIUM

Prof. Emerita Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail, FASc, is the Immediate Past President of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the immediate past Science, Technology and Innovation Advisor to the Prime Minister and to the country.

She currently holds the positions of the Ibnu Sina Chair for Medicine at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Pro-Canselor at University College MAIWP International, University Board member for Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), member of the Consultative and Anti-Corruption Panel for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and is the Chair for the Planetary Health Action Plan for Malaysia.

Her contributions to the higher education and science development ecosystem are internationally recognised. She has initiated scientific discoveries which have led to the attainment of 16 patents that are commercialised worldwide and the rapid diagnostic test for typhoid called TYPHIDOT, advocated by WHO. She has also obtained numerous awards and recognitions (more than 270) for her achievements at the National and International levels. She has been elected as a member of several international boards, including the Board of Governors for Commonwealth of Learning (COL) based in Vancouver, Canada.

She was named in Jan 2023 by Forbes Asia magazine as among the Top 50 women over 50 from Asia Pacific that had reached new heights in contributing to the field of higher education, research and innovation as well as policy in the Science, Technology, Innovation and Economy locally and abroad and for inspiring the next generation.

Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Noraini Idris

Chairman,
National STEM Association

Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Noraini Idris is currently President and Founder of National STEM Association, President IMT-GT UNINET STEM, Founder of Asia Pacific STEM Roundtable 2018, Professor Adjunct at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and Advisor to University Malaya STEM Centre, Professor Adjunct at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. She gained her PhD from The Ohio State University, USA and was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at Sultan Idris Education University from 2010 until 2018.

She published a variety of national and international academic publications to her credit and is a Fulbright Research Fellow, USA. Subsequently, she presented papers both nationally and internationally and conducted several researches with UNESCO, the British Council, Australian Universities and the Sumitomo, Japan. Among her distinctions are the Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Awards- the only Asian recipient for the project on Minority Young Scholars Project and the Graduate Research Alumni Student Award from Ohio State University, a Gold Medal for ITEX (Geneva, 2005) and Best Award and Gold Medal at MTE 2004 till 2020 such as designing assessment system, Educational Module, Gold Medal at ITEX 2005 till 2018 for designing Teacher Education Model and Innovation in STEM.

She is a STEM champion. In 2018, she was awarded Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) for the Distinguished STEM Leadership and Visionary Leadership Category from the International Education Award 2018 and Outstanding and Excellent Leadership in STEM from the Republic of Croatia 2019.

This award is for her leadership and contribution toward the promotion of STEM Education initiatives to all strata of society in Malaysia. She believes that STEM subjects are of vital importance to the future of the industry. In 2020 she was awarded International Recognition Award from INNOPA, Indonesia, for her leadership in cultivating STEM entrepreneurs.