Meet the gamechangers

Dr Syriac Nellikunnel Devasia

Dean Perdana University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Syriac Nellikunnel is the Dean of the Faculty of Business at Perdana University, Malaysia, and a distinguished educationist with deep expertise in higher education leadership, administration, and online education management. An accredited trainer, he previously served as Dean at MASHA University and has chaired more than six international conferences. Dr. Nellikunnel is the recipient of many global honors, including the Global Green Excellence Award (2026), Excellence in Educational Leadership Award (2025), and the Blackboard Award for Student Success (2019). His research spans marketing, sustainable development, UNSDGs, CSR, quality frameworks, consumer behavior, and digital transformation strategies. He has delivered keynote addresses at major international conferences on employability skills and emerging trends in teaching and learning. As a journal reviewer, external examiner, and PhD supervisor, Dr. Nellikunnel combines scholarship, mentorship, and governance expertise, making him a visionary leader shaping the future of higher education.

Rizqi Khoirunnisa

Lead Research and Program Development Kuanta Indonesia

Rizqi Khoirunnisa is an education practitioner, teacher trainer, and program development specialist with more than 16 years of experience working in teacher development and school transformation. She has worked with educators, school leaders, and partners across Indonesia to design learning experiences and development programs that strengthen teaching quality and support meaningful change in schools. In her current role at Kuanta Indonesia, Rizqi leads the design of training programs, educational projects, and strategic partnerships that connect innovation with practical implementation. Previously, she spent nine years at Putera Sampoerna Foundation, where she managed education programs and supported professional learning initiatives in diverse settings. A Cambridge trainer and Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching alumna, Rizqi brings both field experience and strategic perspective to her work. She is especially interested in teacher learning, school improvement, and creating education programs that are relevant, reflective, and impactful.

Jane Yip

Teacher True North International School (Vietnam)

Jane Yip is a product visionary, certified educator, and Agile advocate with over 18 years of experience building digital learning bridges, currently based in Hanoi. Operating at the intersection of Design Thinking and EdTech, Jane specialises in translating complex pedagogical theories into robust, AI-supported teaching frameworks. By treating her live classrooms as agile prototype environments, Jane relies on continuous, qualitative feedback and rigorous testing to empower educators to transition from traditional content delivery to dynamic "Flow" facilitation. Jane thrives in collaborative environments where evidence-based innovation, technology disruption, and human empathy converge to engineer measurable student success.

John Gwyn Jones

CEO FOBISIA

John Gwyn Jones MBE is a proud Welshman from Brynamman in the Amman Valley, whose journey from the hills of Carmarthenshire to the heart of international education in Asia has been anything but ordinary. John began his working life in the Midland Bank, where he quickly realised that counting other people’s money wasn’t quite his calling. Trading spreadsheets for school books, he trained to be a teacher at The University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Carmarthen—a decision that would take him around the world. His first overseas adventure came in 1986, when he was seconded to the British Forces Schools in Hong Kong. One plane ticket later, John found his passion in international education—setting up schools, leading learning communities, and mentoring teachers across Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Laos. He’s opened campuses, chaired boards, and occasionally even found time to do some educational coaching. John was a founding member, and the inaugural Chair of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), where he now serves as CEO. From his base in Bangkok, he supports over 100 premier British schools across the region—though he remains firmly grounded in his values of community, humour, and good old-fashioned Welsh resilience. In 2020, John was appointed MBE for services to British education overseas, an honour he received at Buckingham Palace from Princess Anne. He has also been recognised with a Leadership Award presented by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Lai Cheng Wong

Senior Communication and Publication Manager SEAMEO RECSAM

Lai Cheng Wong is a Senior Manager at SEAMEO RECSAM with over 17 years of experience in strategic communications, knowledge management and regional education cooperation. She actively advances Digital literacy, AI literacy and Media and Information Literacy (MIL) at regional and global levels through her through her speaking, consulting, and publishing work. In 2020, she co-founded the Media and Information Literacy for ASEAN Network, on a pro bono basis to empower Southeast Asia educators to integrate MIL into classroom practice. The Network has received several international recognitions, including the TechCamp Global Grant (2020), the U.S. Department of State Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) Award (2022), and the UNESCO Global MIL Award (2023). Throughout her career, Wong as been actively involved in strategic planning, policy consultation and digital & media literacies advocacy and research work. She has provided expert consultations and capacity building on digital and MIL for organizations such as the DCN Global, UNESCO regional offices, government agencies, and universities across Southeast Asia and beyond. She has led and contributed to numerous regional initiatives, including SEAMEO-Google teacher training on digital skills, TechCamp Malaysia–Philippines, and the ASEAN Teachers BootCamp on MIL. She has also contributed to the development of AI Literacy Guidelines for the Ministry of Education Malaysia, the Southeast Asia regional policy framework on AI in Education (AIEd) and facilitated a capacity-building workshop on the integration of MIL into Mongolia’s national curriculum for educators, with the support of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia.

Lakshmi Annapurna Chintaluri

Director (Academics and Operations) Educational Mentoring India (EMI)

Lakshmi Annapurna Chintaluri is a distinguished educational leader with over 30 years of experience across India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Certified in Advanced Educational Leadership from Harvard University, she has held leadership roles spanning teacher, principal, vice-principal and independent consultant, training over 10,000 teachers and 5,000 principals and headmasters across India. Co-Founder and Director of Educational Mentoring India, Lakshmi leads globally on sustainable education and global citizenship, representing India at the UN ESCAP Asia Pacific Finance Roundtable for Climate Change, the UN Water Conference in New York, and COP30 in Brazil. She is Country Coordinator for the Centre for Global Education, Canada, and a member of iEARN, USA. A Bett Asia Award winner for Collaboration, published author and NEP 2020 resource person, Lakshmi's vision is singular to make holistic, inclusive education accessible to every child, at every level, everywhere.

James Abela

Director of Digital Learning and Entrepreneurship Garden International School

James Abela, Director of Digital Learning and Entrepreneurship at Garden International School, combines his extensive industry experience with a passion for education.

Since 2012, he has been instrumental in shaping the UK computing curriculum. He is the author of Vibe Coding: From Idea to App at the Speed of Flow, Creating SwiftUI Apps in Playgrounds, Parenting and Teaching in the Age of AI, The Gamified Classroom and the Oxford University Press IB Diploma Computer Science book. As the founder of the Southeast Asia Computer Science Teachers Association (SEACSTA), James has become a key figure in computer science education. His accolades include being named 21st Century Teacher of the Year in 2014, an Apple Distinguished Educator (Class Cork 2012), and a finalist for the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award in 2023.

James also runs workshops and writes curriculum resources, inspiring students to pursue their passions and attend world-renowned universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, Imperial and Carnegie Mellon.

Rohaida Abdul Manap

Principal Assistant Director Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia

I am a Principal Assistant Director at the Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (IPGM), leading digital learning transformation across 27 campuses, impacting over 30,000 students and more than 2,000 educators. With over two decades in the Ministry of Education Malaysia, my work sits at the intersection of policy, pedagogy and innovation. I contribute as a Subject Matter Expert for Malaysia’s Education Digitalisation Strategic Plan 2026–2035, where I focus on rethinking teacher education beyond LMS-driven models towards AI-enabled, future-ready ecosystems. I have represented Malaysia across international platforms in the Asia-Pacific, and I am driven by one core belief: digital transformation in education must move beyond tools to truly reshape teaching, learning and impact at scale.

Tripta Tarunesh

Director (Expert Relations) Educational Mentoring India (EMI)

Tripta Tarunesh is an early childhood expert with over 30 years of experience across classroom teaching, school leadership and curriculum design in India. Her practice is grounded in Harvard University's Project Zero where she completed Look Listen Interpret, Making Thinking Visible and Let's Play — and in Harvard's CEEL program, both of which deeply shaped how she sees children and learning. From that foundation she built two movements. PlayXploration uses technology to give play the structure and purpose it deserves in schools working across Play as an Activity and Play as Pedagogy, ensuring childhood is not missed, learning reaches every child, and teachers are empowered to observe, document and act on what they see. Her Life Skills program, built on jigsaw pedagogy for children aged 5 to 16, fills the gaps no curriculum addresses: civic sense, social responsibility, and the real workings of the world children are growing into. Tripta is Co-Founder of Educational Mentoring India and has designed curricula for national and international organisations. She believes schools teach curriculi. PlayXploration teaches children.