Bettshow Asia - Bett Asia | SPEAKER LINE UP, October 2022, Thailand

Alessandro Di Lullo

Co-Founder SuperCharger Ventures

Alessandro is a Co-Founder of SuperCharger Ventures, a global edtech accelerator with offices in London and Singapore. He is also a PhD Candidate and Academic Fellow at the University of Hong Kong.

Alessandro also teaches entrepreneurship and startups at a number of leading universities such as EDHEC Business School and Chulalongkorn University.

Previously, he was Director of Academia & Entrepreneurship at CFTE, a world-renowned online education platform that works with governments and financial institutions to upskill professionals in Fintech and Artificial Intelligence. He advised and worked with large institutions and governments in Europe, Asia and Middle-East to launch large-scale transformative education programs.

Benjamin Carter

Chief Operations Officer ELT Songs (Planet Pop)

Ben manages the daily business operations of the ELT Songs. He works closely with the CEO, Jake Carter, on global business development and negotiations. Ben is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the Planet Pop workforce, including technology development, content production, and strategic partnerships.

Ben began his career for ELT Songs in 2018 as a Project Manager and Video Presenter, performing in pronunciation guides, including British Sign Language, as DJ Daniel, to form part of the Planet Pop curriculum.

Ben is also the founder of Learning British English, a social media brand with more than 20,000 subscribers on Instagram, that helps English Language learners improve their language skills by providing helpful tips in the form of video, audio, and written materials.

Brajesh Panth

Chief of Education Sector Group Asian Development Bank

Brajesh Panth is the Chief of Education Sector Group at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He provides technical leadership to the education sector group (EdSG) in ADB, leads the preparation of the EdSG work plan, and facilitates collaboration across sector and thematic groups in ADB and with external partners. He has over 25 years of progressive experience as project team leader, head of project administration unit, lead education specialist, and chief of education sector group, in the education sector including sector assessment, project processing, implementation, evaluation, and policy dialogue, covering all levels—primary, secondary, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and higher education. Besides coordinating and contributing to several publications, Mr. Panth has made several presentations in different fora and contributed to policy analysis, policy dialogue, and analytical work pertaining to different aspects of education reform. He holds a doctorate in education administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University, USA.

Chandran Nair

Founder & CEO Global Institute For Tomorrow

Chandran Nair has a very diverse professional career that spans over 30 years of work across the world, from Europe to Africa and throughout Asia including China and India. During this time he has developed a unique set of skills and experiences that covers business, development issues, environmental and sustainability challenges, teaching (MBA), leadership development and becoming an author.

Mr Nair is the Founder and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), an independent pan-Asian think tank. He was Chairman of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in Asia Pacific for over a decade until 2004, establishing the company as Asia’s leading environmental consultancy.

He is a member of WEF’s Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability and Experts Forum. He sits on the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome, the world’s premier scientific think tank and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is also an Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia on development issues. As GIFT’s Founder and CEO, Mr Nair has focused on advancing a deeper understanding of global issues, including the shift of economic and political influence from the West to Asia, the dynamic relationship between business and society, and the reshaping of the rules of global capitalism. In response to the pandemic Mr Nair has written and spoken extensively on the need for a complete overhaul of how societies are governed and managed in the 21st century.

Mr Nair has a wealth of experience in development issues, from grassroots to the boardroom. He has lived and worked in Africa as a volunteer in the field of water supply, sanitation and public health. In his consulting work he was involved in setting up the first environmental consulting firm in China in the mid-nineties and opened offices in all the major Asian capitals from Tokyo to Singapore.

In addition to his work with GIFT, Mr Nair continues to provide strategic management advice to business leaders and policy makers. In this regard he has been invited to speak to and advise global management teams at companies including HSBC, BASF, Bosch and PwC among others, as well as policy forums hosted by the ADB, OECD and ESCAP. Mr Nair is also a regular presenter at the World Economic Forum (WEF), APEC Summits, OECD events and various UN conferences.

Mr Nair has served as Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. He is often invited by some of the leading global business schools as a guest lecturer, including INSEAD, Duke CE and London Business School. He is currently a guest faculty member at the University of Cambridge for their Master’s in Sustainability Leadership course.

Mr Nair is the author of Consumptionomics: Asia's Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet, which was ranked as one of the top-fifty breakout capitalism books by The Guardian and has been translated into Chinese, German and Bahasa. His second book, The Sustainable State: The Future of Government, Economy and Society was published in early 2019. His latest book Dismantling Global White Privilege: Equity for a Post-Western World was published in early 2022 and listed by the Financial Times as one of the best Summer 2022 books for politics. He is also the creator of The Other Hundred, a non-profit book project which serves as a counterpoint to the Forbes 100 and other media rich lists.

Taken together, his various expertise leads to frequent publishing of his articles, on topics ranging from economic policy to education. His work has appeared in leading publications such as the Financial Times, TIME, The Guardian, Huffington Post, The New York Times, China Daily and The Edge. He has also been interviewed on many leading global media networks including BBC (including being interviewed on Hard Talk), CNN, Al Jazeera, NHK, Bloomberg, CNBC, CCTV, Channel News Asia and Deutsche Welle.

A keen sportsman, Mr Nair managed the Hong Kong hockey team for seven years, taking it to the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea. He plays the saxophone and used to head a band in Africa.

Craig Kemp

CEO EduSpark

Craig is the Co-Founder of EduSpark - a revolutionary EducationProfessional Learning Ecosystem for Schools. Using his years ofexperience as an educator, leader and consultant, he haspartnered with a powerhouse of educators and leaders from allover the world to bring you a learning experience like you havenever seen before! It is truly professional learning redefined.Craig is a passionate educator with 15+ years of experienceteaching, leading and now consulting in public and private schoolsas well as with EdTech Companies all over the world. Craig is aglobal speaker, workshop host and consultant(www.igniteedtech.com) - he is a digital learningtransformationleader whose work is highly sought over by schools, institutionsand EdTech companies wanting to scale and grow. Craig currentlyworks with multiple EdTech companies, helping them build, grow,scale and sustain their development in APAC. Follow him onTwitter, Facebook and Instagram (@mrkempnz) and listen to hisFREE weekly Ignite EdTech Podcast —> linktr.ee/mrkempnz

Daniel Ingvarson

Strategic Advisor Intellischool

From 1993 – 2006, Daniel founded Australia’s first education internet, school specific internet platform, and the first k-12 LMS, which won AIIA most innovative software in Australia in 2000. He then Founded Australia's National Schools Interoperability Program (NSIP) and created the Australian Education Data Model in use across government, industry, and national programs such as NAPLAN.

In 2014, he assisted New York’s State Education Department in the implementation of a RICOne system now used in 700 districts across 120 vendors. He initiated and delivered The Gates Foundation funded k12 Federation, an educational cooperative that coordinated collaborative solutions across organisations.

Daniel has acted as the Victorian EdTech Ambassador and sits as Intellischool’s strategic advisor.

Elizabete Kalnozola

Managing Director (Girls in Tech Kuala Lumpur), Program Director (iTrain Asia) Girls in Tech (Kuala Lumpur), iTrain Asia

Elizabete is the Managing Director of Girls in Tech Kuala Lumpur, non-profit organization devoted to empowering, educating and engaging women in the tech industry. It is Girls in Tech’s mission to support women with the access and community they need to succeed in tech.

No stranger to work in the Tech Industry, Elizabete is the Program Director for iTrain Asia an IT Education company based in Singapore. Where she has organized trainings in collaboration with Microsoft’s initiative Code; Without Barriers to bring free Artificial Intelligence and Data Science trainings to more than 1000 women in the Asia Pacific region.

Elizabete holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and a Master in Business Administration from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Emily Konstantas

Chief Executive Officer The Safeguarding Alliance

Emily Konstantas LLM, LPC, LLB (Hons) N.Grad, NALP (PhD Candidate) PTLLS: is founder of The Safeguarding Alliance, an advisor, governor and trustee to many organisations and schools. She has studied both a Bachelor and Masters in Law and is currently working towards her PhD in International Child Protection Law. Often a keynote speaker Emily is an experienced trainer working both in the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, and MENA and ASEAN regions. Emily is an expert school improvement partner, and experienced change manager in the preparation for ISI, Ofsted and BSO inspections. Emily has contributed to the Education Select Committee in the United Kingdom during COVID-19, has featured on the BBC, Sky News and many National Newspapers. Emily continues to campaign for changes to safeguarding legislation in the United Kingdom.

Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela

Director SEAMEO Secretariat

Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua- Valenzuela is the Director of the SEAMEO Secretariat, which serves as the executive arm of the SEAMEO Council of Ministers from 11 Member Countries that make up SEAMEO. Dr Valenzuela is the 18th SEAMEO Secretariat Director and the first woman Director of the SEAMEO Secretariat.

Dr Valenzuela developed a number of pioneering Open Educational Resources of SEAMEO Secretariat, started all Webinars during the pandemic and the SEAMEO Toolkit for Remote Teaching and Learning. During the pandemic, SEAMEO Secretariat reached over 2 M teachers and learners in its Online classes, masterclass, Webinars from Southeast Asia and beyond. She launched recently the SEA-TVET Virtual Mobility Platform and Disability Inclusive Teaching in Emergency Online Course funded by UNESCO Headquarters and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). She is an International JURY member of UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the use of ICT in Education.

Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE

Director, Board Member, Global Education Adviser Bett's Global Education Council

Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE is a renowned figure in the field of education. He was the first Global Director of Education at KidZania; and, prior to that, the founding CEO of the Children’s University. In 2019, Ger was invited to become a Visiting Professor at the National Research University in Moscow, Russia. He is a Board Director at Hello Genius, USA; and chairs the Advisory Boards at Kabuni, UK, and Twin Science, Turkey. He also advises a number of start-ups, including CEO Kids, Malaysia; The Insights Family, UK; and Verofax, UAE.

Ger Graus moved to the United Kingdom in 1983 where he began his teaching career at Taverham High School, Norwich, and then moved to Winifred Holtby School, Hull, as Head of the Modern Foreign Languages Faculty. He later became an Education Adviser, a Senior Inspector, and Director of Education.

Dr Graus is a member of Bett’s Global Education Council; DIDAC India’s Advisory Board; Junior Achievement’s Worldwide Global Council; chairs the Beaconhouse School System’s Advisory Board, Pakistan; advises the Fondazione Reggio Children, Italy; and has been invited to help shape the future of education in Dubai as a member of the Dubai Future Councils.

Ger is also a frequent keynote speaker at some of the world’s leading education conferences, including Bett London, Asia, Brazil, LatAm, and Middle East; GESS Turkey, Indonesia and Middle East; CIIE, Mexico; EdCrunch, Russia and Kazakhstan; Innovate, USA; LEAP, Saudi Arabia; TEDx, USA; YGA, Turkey.

In the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours List Ger was made an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to children. In 2018 he received the Global Education Leadership Award at the World Education Congress, India. In 2022, Ger was granted the award of Iconic Leader Creating A Better World For All by the Women Economic Forum (WEF).

In his book ‘Natural Born Learners’, author Alex Beard says: “In learning terms, Ger Graus is Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka.”

Helga Stellmacher

Country Director British Council Thailand

Helga has had a wide spanning career with British Council having held a number of senior roles within the organization over the last 23 years.

She has extensive international experience having lived and worked in South America, Europe, Central and South Asia and the Middle East. Immediately before moving to Thailand, she held the role of Regional Director for our grant funded and commercial activity in Education and English across South Asia and previous to that, was Regional Director for our work in Assessment across our Europe regions covering a span of 35 countries.

Having trained and worked as a teacher early in her career, she is passionate about the transformational change that education and cultural exchange can bring about and in her British Council career has worked on major programmes and research at all levels of the education sector, always striving to ensure that the impact they create is as systemic and sustainable as possible.

She holds an undergraduate degree in Modern Languages, a PGCE, Cambridge DELTA and an MBA.

Hester Spiegel-van den Steenhoven

Founder Skills Nation; Venture Partner Kaizenvest Skills Nation; Kaizenvest

Hester an investor and education entrepreneur. Previous to becoming an entrepreneur, she had a 15+ year international career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Deutsche Bank. She pivoted career and became Germany’s country head for a global EdTech company, bringing modern education system and coding school “42” to Germany. Since 2020 she lives in Singapore where she is a venture partner at Kaizenvest, a VC-firm focusing on future of learning and work, and co-founder of Epic Angels, an all-female angel investment network that aims to give more women the confidence to invest. She is start-up mentor for several (EdTech) accelerators, Enterprise Singapore and the National University of Singapore, and is an active investor in early stage EdTech companies. She recently published the report “Singapore: State of EdTech Report 2022” providing an overview of the EdTech landscape and key developments affecting Southeast Asia.

Javier Arguello

Executive Director COGx

Javier is the Founder and Executive Director of COGx, a research and development firm in applied cognitive science. In partnership with global experts on human learning, COGx translates learning science into evidence-based programs that improve teaching and learning. COGx works with school systems and organizations that strive to make learning success a priority and are interested in improving traditional schooling through science-based approaches that foster equity, digital inclusion, and student wellbeing. Javier leads product development the organization’s global strategic partnerships.

COGx has been recognized as a leading company innovating to improve learning outcomes by the US Government (TEDCO), and Ministry of Education in United Arab Emirates (Dubai Future Accelerator) and Stanford University (SLEI). Javier is a frequent speaker on the topic of modernizing education, addressing the needs of marginalized communities, cognition and learning and translating cognitive science research to improve learning outcomes. Javier has published over 40 articles and essays and presented at the numerous global conferences and been interviewed by CNN and other global news outlets. Javier holds master’s degrees from Yale University as well as Harvard University and was a graduate research fellow at MIT.

Dr Janson Yap

Chief Risk Officer National University of Singapore

Dr. Janson Yap is the Chief Risk Officer of NUS. He joined the University in January 2020 and was tasked to help transform the risk function. Besides his role in leading and shaping the risk agenda for the future at NUS, he assisted the President and Futures Office in documenting the NUS Strategy and cascading that strategy into the work-plans of major faculties and schools. More recently the NUS Business School has appointed him as an Adjunct Professor for its Executive Education programmes.

His career of over 35 years spans the globe and has covered both corporate organisations and professional services. Prior to joining NUS, he helmed several key positions within the Deloitte network, including that of Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting in Thailand, before taking on the role of Regional Managing Partner of the Risk Advisory business in Southeast Asia, a position he held for 10 years, based in Singapore. He was also the Asia Pacific Risk Leader and Executive at the Global Risk Advisory function as well as a member of Deloitte’s Global Risk Management Team for several years while concurrently managing the business in Southeast Asia. Besides his contributions in the risk advisory business, he was also the Southeast Asia’s firm Innovation & Transformation Leader and part of the Global Innovation Executive Council.

Over his 38 years in corporate organisations and professional services, his work has been cross-disciplinary in nature, often entailing complex problem-solving. In recognition of his achievements in the field, he has received numerous awards in the course of his career. His corporate career began as IT Department Manager with Avon Cosmetics in 1983 after completing his undergraduate studies and a post-graduate Diploma in Education. He subsequently assumed the role of Senior Director of Technology at the Building Materials Division of Colonial Sugar Refineries (CSR), where he was instrumental in real time visualization of building materials on home exteriors before embarking on his professional services career with the Big Four Accounting firms.

Academically, Janson’s tertiary education is from Australian Universities. Janson completed his doctorate (Doctor of Professional Studies) at the University of Southern Queensland while working fulltime as the Regional Managing Partner at Deloitte Risk Advisory responsible for a billion-dollar business in Asia Pacific. The doctoral study involved a workplace-based study that generated new knowledge and application of knowledge in practice and resulted in a thesis on ‘Improving Success in Strategy Implementations’. Additionally, Janson has a Master of Business Administration (eMBA) from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM), University of New South Wales, a post-graduate diploma in education (Dip. Ed) and Bachelor of Science, both from Monash University. Consistent with his belief in life-long learning, he also earned a Diploma in Biblical Studies at Moores College, and as with the other graduate degrees, this was undertaken while holding fulltime jobs of considerable responsibility such as that of Regional Managing Partner at Deloitte Risk Advisory.

He has also served in various capacities in numerous organisations. He is currently the Advisor on the Board of Tan Hiep Phat (THP), Vietnam’s largest fast-moving Consumer Goods business. His role includes guiding the Technology Department, steering Real-Estate Business & Strategy, and serving as advisor and coach to the founding family members. He was on the IT Steering Committee of the Government’s SkillsFuture Program and an advisory member of the NUS Asia Pacific Accounting Research Centre (AARC).

Janson has authored/co-authored several books such as Foresight and Strategy in the Asia Pacific Region, Wow! How Did You Know That? and Average to ACES. His latest publications are an article written for the World Economic Forum on Challenges and Opportunities in the Post-Covid-19 World, and a book on motivations and expectations of workers in a wicked world, titled Why ME? Janson is a man of many parts; not only is he thoroughly competent in his work and studies, he is also an adroit badminton player, accomplished lyricist and talented singer. He brings a broad spectrum of experiences and skills to all he does.

Jantanarak Tuekaew

Managing Director Disrupt Technology Venture

In 2012 Yui Co-founded Disrupt with Krating Poonpol to build a startup ecosystem, with an intention to play a supportive role to her life partner. However, in 2018, Yui had to step up to become the face and the sole leader of Disrupt. Despite the initial challenges and doubts, she finally found her true superpower as a female leader. 

Drawing from her educational background as a Thai traditional medicine doctor and her caring and empathetic nature, Yui stepped up to lead Disrupt in her own way.  She believes in leading with empathy and empowers the team to reach their best potential.  As a Managing Director, she co-founded StormBreaker Venture as the first Education Technology Accelerator in Thailand. She has also deepened her passion for education through her work with the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) to incubate social entrepreneurs to tackle education inequality. Yui’s energy and motivation comes from the realization that she can tangibly impact hundreds of thousands of people through entrepreneurship, education, and innovation, and she constantly inspires and energizes her team and startup founders with those beliefs. As she leads Disrupt to the next stage of growth, she is determined to serve as a mentor, a guide, and inspiration for potential female leaders of Thailand.  

Yui's next big goal is to expand the impact that Disrupt has already created. Currently, Disrupt has builded hundreds of corporate innovators as well as invested in and incubated 17 Edtech startups and other education social ventures. Next, Yui envisioned Disrupt to expand impact to other areas, especially in health, wellbeing, and holistic human development.

Prof Dr Jintavee Khlaisang

Lecturer, Faculty of Education / Deputy Director, Thai MOOC Chulalongkorn University / Thailand Cyber University Project, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation

Jintavee Khlaisang is a full professor at the Department of Educational Technology and Communications (2021-present), a deputy head of Educational Intervention and Innovation research unit, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, and a deputy director, Thailand Cyber University Project, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Thailand (2018-present). Her research interests including E-learning, Flipped classroom, Blended Learning Environment, Virtual Learning Environment, Ubiquitous Learning, Disruptive Technology and MOOCs.

Her latest innovation award was a gold medal from the Kaohsiung International Invention and Design EXPO” (KIDE) 2020, the project entitled MALLIE: Chatbot-Based Challenging Game as a New Normal Way to Learn English Language, which was a research-based innovation. Her recent research grants are entitled Scenario-based Learning Innovation in Disruptive Technology Era for Enhancing Medical Students’ Professional Competencies and Digital Intelligence (2020-Present), Innovation Based Deep Learning: Prototype Development Mobile Application with Smart Technology tools to Enhance Thinking Skills for Primary School Students (2018-2020), Development of Gamified Self-Regulated Learning (GSRL) System in Ubiquitous Learning Environment to enhance Achievement Motivation for ThaiMOOC (2018-2020), Development of Online Testing and Rubric Scoring System for Information, Media, and ICT Literacies for Higher Education Learners (2017), and Smart Technology for the Flipped Classroom to Enhance 21st Century Life and Career Skills for Higher Education Learners (2016). Her recent publications were Ubiquitous Technology Enhanced Learning: The Outcome-based Learning Design for 21st Century Learners (2018), and TCU-OBL: TCU Outcome Based Learning Plugin System (2017).

In addition to the teaching and research responsibilities, she was appointed to be an assistant dean for academic affairs (2014-2015), and assistant dean for Information Communication Technology and Network (2008-2010). Prior to this role, she was a lecturer, and assistance dean for an international affair at Faculty of Education, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand (2006).

Jintavee has a doctoral degree in Supervision, Curriculum, and Instruction -- higher education with the specific focus in Educational Technology from Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA. (2005) and two master degrees -- one is a Master of Science degree in Learning Technology Information Systems-Media and Technology and another is a Master of Science in Higher Education Teaching -- both from Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA. (2002, and 2004 respectively). While working toward the degrees, she began working at the university as a graduate assistant in the education computer lab (2001-2002) and as a teaching assistant teaching an introduction to computer course for undergraduate students (2002-2005).

Julia Garvey

Deputy Director General BESA

Deputy Director General of British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)

Julia looks after operational issues and supports the Director General, Caroline Wright, to promote the work of BESA and our members within the UK and internationally.

Julia has worked in education publishing and EdTech for over 20 years, both in-house and as an external marketing consultant. She has worked for a number of BESA members over the years such as Rising Stars and GL Assessment, and alongside EdTech Exchange founder George Burgess as Marketing Lead at Gojimo. As poacher turned gamekeeper, Julia understands the needs of our suppliers and is passionate about ensuring that every company takes full advantage of the benefits of their membership.

In her spare time she runs (a lot!) and is Vice Chair of Governors at Langley Park School for Boys.

Jyoti Arora

Principal Mount Abu Public School

Ms Jyoti Arora is heading Mount Abu Public School Delhi as Principal for last 20 years. She has been awarded India’s highest award in the field of teaching- the National Teachers Award by the Hon’ble President of India in 2020. She has been Governing Body Member of the Central Board of Secondary Education for almost a decade. She is also serving as National Commissioner (Guides) at Hindustan Scouts & Guides. She is heading Indraprastha Schools Sahodaya as President and Delhi Sahodaya Schools Complex as Vice President (Clusters of around 100 CBSE affiliated schools). She is also an active member of the Action Committee of Unaided Private Schools - one of India’s largest private school bodies. She has been advocating Global Citizenship through various innovative practices in her school and education community. She has been a speaker at various prestigious platforms, including UNESCO World Youth Conference for Kindness etc.  

Larry Nelson

Regional Business Leader, Education, Asia, Microsoft Microsoft

As General Manager of Education for Microsoft Asia, Larry Nelson leads the education business unit for primary, secondary, and higher education institutions and drives digital transformation projects in educational organizations across India, China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and all other countries in Southeast Asia.

Before joining Microsoft in 2009, Nelson led strategic planning of telecom services at Stanford University. He was also the principal at Global Educational Technology Knowledge, LLC, where he provided strategic planning, marketing, operations, market research and business development expertise to corporations, schools, universities, and Ministries of Education.

With more than three decades of experience, Nelson has held a series of executive positions in multinational technology corporations, including Director of Global Citizenship and Acting Executive Director of the Global Education and Learning Community (GELC) at Sun Microsystems. Nelson converted the GELC to an independent non-profit corporation now known as Curriki.org.

Lim Chee Leong

Director, Learning Innovation and Development, Centre for Future Learning Taylor's University Lakeside Campus

Associate Professor Dr. Lim Chee Leong is the first notable individual from a private university in Malaysia to be awarded the prestigious National Academic Award in 2014 by the Ministry of Education Malaysia for his innovative teaching methodologies. His immense experience and capability have been most evidenced in his recent roles of Director of Learning Innovation and Development (LID) under Centre For Future Learning, Taylor’s University, where he successfully raised the profile of the University in the area of learning innovation and creativity in teaching, and made Taylor’s University emerged as National Champions in various Teaching and Learning related awards and competitions. He was the recipient of Higher Education Institution Award 2015 at Bett Asia Leadership Summit in Singapore.

Dr Maria Eliza Ruiz Aguila

Prof and Dean, College of Allied Medical Professions University of the Philippines Manila

Professor Aguila is a physiotherapist, educator, researcher, and is the Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Allied Medical Professions. Her clinical and academic interests include musculoskeletal health and chronic pain, physical activity in special populations, and professional issues. Her professional pursuits are driven by the need to minimize inequities in health care and to advance the health care professions. She has thus been engaged in long-term volunteer work for local and international communities, for example, related to fitness for youth with intellectual disabilities and the inclusion of at-risk populations. Professor Aguila is also the Project Leader of the University of the Philippines Manila Canvas Project Management Team. In this capacity, she leads the planning and implementation of Canvas at UP Manila.

Dr Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria

Chancellor and Professor University of the Philippines Open University

Dr Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria is a full professor at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) and has been serving as its Chancellor since 2016. She is also an Ambassador for Open Educational Resources (OERs) (2021-2022) and member of the Executive Board (2022-2025) of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).

She served as the President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) for the term 2017-2019 and continues to be an active member of the Association’s Executive Committee to date. She has been teaching and doing research and development works on technology-enabled education for more than 25 years and has assumed a leadership role in the articulation and implementation of open, flexible and distance elearning (OFDeL) in the Philippines for the last 10 years.

She spearheaded the development of the model where OERs and MOOCs correspond to the content of credit courses offered by various higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines and the “MOOCs as OERs Model” to contribute to the continuous improvement of the quality of education in the country. She started working on the integration of the basic features of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in 2017 in open online courses to make them more inclusive.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed the “Open Online Training Model” which provided an inclusive training opportunity to help the education sector immediately shift to remote instruction and continuously improve the practice from thereon. The model consists of Webinar+MOOC+Capstone Requirement. The webinar, which is open to all, provides the synchronous lecture session, the recording of which is uploaded in the MOOC site for those who want to review the discussions and those who were not able to listen to the actual webinar. The MOOC is where the participants do the learning activities and interact with fellow training participants; and the capstone requirement, usually in the form of Re-Entry Action Project (ReAPro) is for the assessment-driven certification of training completion to ensure the quality of the training program.

Dr Nanthaporn Prae Seributra

CEO Starfish Education

Dr Nanthaporn Prae Seributra is CEO of Starfish Education, part of Firetree Trust, a philanthropic organisation in Asia. Starfish Education operates aschool, a professional development institute, an online learning platform and edtech products in Thailand.Prae firmly believes that everyone in this world has a right to access quality education. Since the age of 14, she was privileged to be educated in different learning contexts and cultures. With an educational background in various countries from Thailand to Australia, Switzerland and UK, Prae aims to use her global knowledge and expertise to elevate the quality of education for the younger generations.
Prae brings experience as an innovative educator, teacher, school principal and education leader, having worked as an Education Development Executive for Apple Inc. in Thailand and Singapore. She specialises in helping educators, educational organisations, and governments with education innovation, administration, technology integration, teachers' professional learning, early childhood, and accessibility.
Prae holds a BA in Business English from Assumption University Thailand, a MA in Early Childhood Studies from Roehampton University, UK and a PhD in Education Administration from the Institute of International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University Thailand.

Dr Neelam Parmar

Director of Digital Education AISL Harrow Schools

Dr. Neelam Parmar is Director of Digital Learning and Education for AISL. She is an awardwinning professional, international researcher, author, thought leader and speaker for the use of educational technology, digital pedagogy and innovative curriculum within education. A highly experienced leader in Digital Education, Neelam has engaged with the UK Department of Education (DfE) EdTech Leadership Group, national EdTech Impact workshops, The @womenEd_Tech movement and is also a judge for the global renowned Bett Awards Show. Prior to joining AISL, Neelam worked as Director of Digital Learning and Innovation at Ashford School and as Educational Technologist for The United Learning Group of schools. She draws on her research and practical experiences of working with technology with various groups of schools in education, whilst also holding responsibility for providing leadership in ICT operations and strategy. She is also the author of the Digital Literacy in the Primary series and Digital Parenting book, locally published and distributed globally. Neelam has supported groups of schools, ministries of government and developed large scale blended, hybrid and remote learning education solutions. She has a BA (Hons) in Linguistics and Philosophy, MSc in Information Systems and Management from the London School of Economics (LSE) and PhD in Educational Technology

Nguyen Van Hien

Vice President Hanoi National University of Education

Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Van Hien was born in 1975 in Lao Cai province. He works as a Vice President of the Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) with more than twenty years of experience as a lecturer in the Biology Faculty at HNUE and more than ten years of working as HNUE's Chief Executive.

Dr Nguyen Van Hien graduated from HNUE in 1998 with a Bachelor of Agro–Biology (major in Genetics). He got a Master's Degree in Genetics at HNUE in 2001. In 2009, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled: "Developing ICT competencies for pre-service teachers of Biology".

Dr Hien has become a lecturer at the Faculty of Biology at HNUE since 1998. His teaching interest includes Biology Didactics; Using technologies in teaching; and STEM education.

Between 2003 and 2007, Dr Hien was a senior trainer of the Intel Teach Program in Vietnam. He also worked part-time as a master trainer of the Partners in Learning Program in Vietnam, a Microsoft's Education Program, from 2005 - 2008.

Currently, one of Dr Hien's responsibilities is building the development strategy of HNUE in the 4.0 era.

Dr Hien has published many publications: Journal papers, International Conference Papers, National Conference Papers, and Refereed Workshop Papers.

Rajnish Virmani

CIO Advisor, India Zoom Video Communications

Rajnish Virmani is CIO Advisor for Zoom in India. He leads digital and IT initiatives for business transformation and advises on creating disruptive business models. By leveraging technology and innovation to improve productivity, security and reliability he will support Zoom’s competitive growth in India. He listens to, understands and appreciates the needs of CIOs across verticals as well as the challenges that large and small enterprises face and hence brings forth an in-depth knowledge to help Zoom design the relevant innovations.

Rajnish is an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in the areas of Strategic Consulting, Executive Coaching & Leadership Development and has worked with companies like Barclays, RBS (Natwest), Maruti, Red Bull, BT, American Express, AXA, Aviva MAX Life Insurance, HCL, Roche, Adani, Cadence, Sutherland and Qualcomm. He has held various C-level positions for over a decade and has worked in the US, UK and India markets.

Rajnish has a B.Tech degree from Delhi College of Engineering and an MBA degree from Delhi University.

Prof Dr Ricardo P Pama

Secretary General AUAP

Dr. Ricardo P. Pama is an engineer by training and profession. He holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology, a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and a PhD in Structural Engineering from St. Andrews University, Scotland's oldest university.

His academic career started in 1965 when he accepted the position of Assistant Lecturer at the University of St Andrews while pursuing his doctoral studies which he completed in 1968. Little did he realize that he was the first Asian ever to teach at St Andrews since it was founded in 1411, over a century before the discovery of the Philippines.

In 1970, he moved to the Asian Institute of Technology, the first Post Graduate School of Engineering in Asia. For 26 years he went through various positions as Professor, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice President for Development, raising US $250M in grants for scholarships, faculty secondments and infrastructure development.

After 34 years abroad, he decided to return home. In 1999, he became President of the Baguio Colleges Foundation and took upon himself the challenge of turning it into a university, which is now called the University of the Cordilleras. In 2004, he transferred to Angeles University Foundation as President. In 2009, the University of the Cordilleras invited him back to lead the university for the second time. To his credit, he turned these two institutions to be among the top 12 universities in the country. He retired from academic life in 2014.

Dr. Pama published three textbooks in Engineering and over 100 technical papers in refereed International Journals. He served TPET as member and was Chairman from 2015 until his retirement in 2019. He also served as Trustee of the AIT for two terms until 2019. At present he is a Trustee of Angeles University Foundation, and Notre Dame College of Jolo. Currently, he is the Secretary General of the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP), comprising of about 200 colleges and universities all over Asia and the Pacific Region with headquarters in Thailand.

Dr Romyen Kosaikanont

Centre Director SEAMEO RIHED

Dr. Romyen Kosaikanont is currently the Centre Director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED) and previously served as a former Vice President for International Affairs of Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand. She has long been actively engaging in higher education harmonisation and internationalisation processes in Thailand and the region. She is one of the pioneers in establishing the intra-regional mobility the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme. On the regional level, she has served as a regional expert in projects such as the DAAD International Dean Course, the Japan ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) for the Capacity Building Project for the Greater Mekong Subregion, and CIDA Sustainable Environmental Management Project. Dr. Romyen is committed to fostering a collective learning as well as co-creating the common space for higher education for equitable and sustainable development of this region.

Shruti Sharma

Partnerships, Marketing, and Communications Lead Generation Global, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Shruti leads partnership and marketing and communication for Generation Global, the Tony Blair Institute’s global citizenship education programme. She has a decade of experience working as a management consultant advising governments, funding agencies, not for profit organizations, and corporates across sectors such as energy, power, operations, education, and skill development. She has managed a network of over 350+ secondary schools across Asia, and supported state governments in India to implement ICT solutions, streamline assessments, and improve student outcomes for PISA 2022. Her expertise lies in designing and implementing large scale education solutions, improving efficiency of academic processes, and developing new market expansion strategies. She holds a MBA from the Indian School of Business and a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.

Soumaya Maghnouj

Secondee, Inclusive and Quality Education Section UNESCO Asia-Pacific

Soumaya Maghnouj is a Policy Analyst at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Soumaya is currently on secondment assignment at the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education where she works with the Inclusive and Quality Education Section on topics related to the learning recovery post COVID-19 and teaching and learning policies. At UNESCO, Soumaya contributed to the development of the content of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Ministers’ Conference (APREMC-II) held in Bangkok in June 2022. Prior to her secondment at UNESCO, Soumaya has been working for over eight years at the OECD’s Education Directorate where she led policy reviews and technical assistance projects to support partner countries develop capacity on evaluation and assessment, school governance and teacher policy. A French and Moroccan national, Soumaya has a Master’s degree in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences-Po Paris.

Stuart King

Executive Director & General Manager, Education Solutions & Devices, Lenovo Global Lenovo

Stuart King leads the Education Solutions and Devices business at Lenovo across the globe. He is responsible for developing strategies to drive customer relationships and business growth in the diverse Global Education Sector.

Prior to joining Lenovo, Stuart spent two decades with Dell, where he started his IT career in the Enterprise Support team, and served in a variety of senior leadership roles in several core aspects of business strategy and management. He has a solid track record in managing teams across various geographies, spanning sales, services, enterprise solutions and product management.

Stuart holds a Master’s of Business Administration and Master’s of Management from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney. He is currently based in Singapore, and is a health & nutrition enthusiast.