Speakers

Mr. Jinhui Chen currently serves as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau. He oversees the development of higher education in Ningbo, and has long been dedicated to international educational exchange and cooperation. With a strong commitment to educational innovation and high-quality development, Mr. Chen has played a pivotal role in deepening educational reforms and advancing the global engagement of Ningbo’s education sector.

Mr. Chen has spearheaded a range of transformative initiatives, including the integration of industry and education, the enhancement of university-enterprise collaboration, and the effective transfer of scientific and technological achievements. Under his leadership, Ningbo’s higher education institutions have significantly strengthened their capacity to contribute to regional economic and social development.

A recognised advocate for internationalisation, Mr. Chen has actively fostered high-level exchanges and partnerships with countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, and other European and American regions. He has been instrumental in establishing sustainable mechanisms for international collaboration, laying a robust foundation for resource sharing, cross-cultural understanding, and mutually beneficial cooperation in education.

Abstract: In this keynote address delivered at the Higher Education Planning in Asia Forum 2026, the speaker welcomes delegates to Ningbo at the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period. The speech highlights how the forum’s theme – “Innovation, Engagement, and Sustainability” – aligns with both national strategies and Ningbo’s own urban character. It traces Ningbo’s deep-rooted openness, from its history as a starting point of the Maritime Silk Road to the establishment of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, the country’s first independent Sino-foreign university.

The address then situates higher education within global shifts: geopolitical complexity, demographic change, and technological disruption. Drawing on UNESCO and Chinese research reports, it outlines how universities are evolving from peripheral participants to central hubs in regional innovation ecosystems. It details China’s strategic commitment to integrating education, research, and talent – a direction reinforced by national planning documents and recent policy announcements.

Using Ningbo as a case study, the speech presents concrete efforts in three areas: optimizing academic disciplines to match industrial needs; scaling up postgraduate education and establishing engineering academies in partnership with industry; and building platforms for technology transfer and concept validation to turn research into real-world applications. It also showcases Ningbo’s expanding international engagement, including new Sino-foreign programs, the rise of international student numbers, and the export of vocational education standards through Lu Ban Workshops.

The address concludes with an invitation to Asian universities to deepen collaboration, and encourages delegates to experience Ningbo’s vitality and innovation firsthand over the course of the forum.

Professor Yisu Zhou is Professor of Public Policy and Sociology and serves as China Director of the Institute for Global Higher Education at Duke Kunshan University. He is also Professor of Practice at Duke University. He holds a B.Sc. in Statistics from East China Normal University and a Ph.D. in Education Policy from Michigan State University. Prior to joining DKU, he spent thirteen years at the University of Macau as Associate Professor of Education Policy and Sociology.

Professor Zhou specialises in the intersection of education policy, sociology of education, higher education, and quantitative social science, with expertise in East Asian education systems – particularly China. His research addresses family influence on learning, public education provision, teaching as a profession, and internal dynamics of Chinese universities.

An active bridge between cultures, Professor Zhou has translated several scholarly works into Chinese, promoting global social science knowledge within Chinese academia. He has published widely in journals such as Higher Education, International Journal of Educational Development, Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, and Chinese Sociological Review.

Abstract: As the way we solve problems evolves from writing manual code (Software 1.0) and to training neural networks (Software 2.0), and now to natural language orchestration (Software 3.0), the traditional foundation of the university faces a profound structural shift. Historically, academic and administrative professions have maintained their authority by monopolizing abstract knowledge. However, when AI agents can synthesize literature, draft policies, and execute workflows via human intent, the traditional boundaries of professional expertise blur. This keynote explores the institutional implications of the Software 3.0 paradigm for the future of higher education. I examine the looming “crisis of mastery,” where the automation of entry-level tasks threatens to hollow out the academic workforce and disrupt the transfer of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, I address the epistemological divide across campus: while fields with objective quality indicators may smoothly accelerate, the human and social sciences face a critical signal-to-noise challenge. As these technological shifts advance across the university ecosystem at unprecedented speed, they urgently demand profound institutional reconfiguration. To sustain vibrant, resilient communities, higher education must cultivate what artificial intelligence fundamentally lacks: human taste, intent, and judgment. By strategically adjusting the autonomy slider, university planners can navigate the noise of frictionless generation and redefine professional authority to build a future-ready academy.

Kin-Leong PEY is the honorary professor of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He served as the Founding Senior Vice Provost for Student Success at NEOM University, Saudi Arabia, between February 2024 and January 2026. In 2010, he was appointed by the Singapore’s Ministry of Education as the Founding Associate Provost of Education at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, where he led the development of its undergraduate program. He also held the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Chair Professorship in Healthcare Engineering at SUTD (2019–2023) and was formerly Head of the Microelectronics Division at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years in the semiconductor industry. 

Dr. Pey earned his B.Eng. (First Class Honors, 1989) and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1994) from the National University of Singapore. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Fellow of both the ASEAN Academy of Engineering & Technology and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore.

He has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers, 340 conference papers, six book chapters, and holds 44 U.S. patents. His contributions include fifteen keynote addresses, 120 invited talks, and 28 foresight and academic reports on higher education innovation. He has one company trade secret in self-aligned silicide cleaning technology in wafer fabrication. He has supervised 42 Ph.D. and 23 Master’s theses and secured over S$11.5 million in research funding.

Dr. Pey chairs the Governing Board of Singapore’s National Synchrotron Programme and serves as President of the Higher Education Planning in Asia (HEPA) Association.

His honors include the Singapore Public Administration Medal (Silver, 2016), the COVID-19 Resilience Medal (2023), and the Service to Education Award (2023). He was conferred the title of Honorary Professor by SUTD in recognition of his extraordinary contributions in setting up the innovative education programs at SUTD.

Professor Jon Garibaldi is the Provost of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). He holds a BSc in Physics from the University of Bristol and an MSc and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Plymouth. His career has spanned industry experience as a software engineer and academic positions at De Montfort University and the University of Nottingham in the UK. At the University of Nottingham, he led the School of Computer Science as Head of School through a period of significant growth and the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Professor Garibaldi’s research focuses on intelligent computational techniques for modelling human reasoning under uncertainty, particularly in medical contexts, as well as data analysis, mining and decision support systems. He has been the Principal Investigator on research projects worth over £3.5 million and the Co-Investigator on a multidisciplinary portfolio of grants worth over £82 million. He has published over 400 papers and served in various editorial roles for IEEE journals.

Dr. Wolfgang Muench is a media artist and arts educator. He holds the position of Dean, Learning, Teaching & Research at LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. His research is concerned with issues surrounding sociocultural and societal impacts and effects of media technology and human-computer interfaces. His interactive artworks, including Bubbles (with K. Furukawa) and Small Fish (with K. Furukawa and M. Fujihata), have been shown at numerous international media art exhibitions and festivals across Europe, America, and Asia. In 2017, he received his PhD in Theatre, Film and Media Studies from the University of Vienna.

Dr. Sean McMinn is the Director of the Center for Education Innovation at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). His role includes leading the development of digital education, including AI for education initiatives, at the university. Sean also currently sits on multiple international committees, including the AI and Education International Panel, Digital Education Council, and the Cyber-Physical Learning Alliance. He has won various awards for his work in digital education, including the 2024 Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance (GMA) Award for his work in AI Education, the 2016 School of Humanities and Social Science (SHSS) Teaching Excellence Award and the 2007 Teaching Innovation Award for his work with podcasts and education at HKUST.

James joined the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) in February 2023 as the University’s Registrar. He is a member of UNNC Management Board and responsible for leading student administration and a number of key services: student recruitment and admissions, marketing & communications, academic services, sport and the library. He has interim responsibility for estates. He also leads on governance, with responsibility for the Provost’s office and Assurance. He is the Secretary General of the Joint Venture Board that governs UNNC.

James has worked in higher education for over twenty years in planning, governance, research and student administration roles at four previous universities in the UK. Before joining UNNC, he was the Academic Registrar of City, University of London where he was responsible for student administration and services for 20,000 students in central London.

Roy Tan was appointed Chief Agility Officer at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2024. He has led the NUS Agility Office (AO) since 2021 and was previously Director of the Organisational Excellence Transformation Unit, AO’s predecessor.

As Chief Agility Officer, Roy spearheads strategic projects and change initiatives across NUS’ corporate, academic, research and infrastructure clusters to enhance the University’s agility. This includes leading systems thinking efforts, aligning and streamlining processes, and conducting organisational structure reviews. Under Roy’s leadership, AO has launched several key initiatives, including the university-wide Organisational Agility Survey, the consolidation of University services and resources through platforms such as the NUService Hub and uNivUS app, strategic change management for policy and system reforms, strategic reviews of administration units, and the Co-creating the Future of Work initiative.

Roy has more than a decade of experience in space planning and management. Prior to his role at AO, Roy was Deputy Director at NUS’ University Campus Infrastructure unit (UCI), leading the formulation and implementation of various campus processes, guidelines and standards in campus planning. Notably, from 2005 to 2006, Roy managed the restoration and preservation of the historical NUS Bukit Timah campus.

Roy holds a Master of Design from the University of New South Wales, and a Master of Business Administration from NUS Business School. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Dr. Damaris Carlisle is an education specialist and advocate for inclusive learning, currently serving as the Lecturer-in-Charge of The Learning Centre at LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. Her research focuses on the challenges faced by learners with special educational needs in higher education and the transformative role of digital tools in enhancing accessibility.
Keenly interested in the evolving relationship between technology and the arts, Dr Carlisle explores how Generative AI can be harnessed as a collaborative thought partner to foster a culture of belonging. Her work investigates the intersection of technological literacy and an ethics of care, specifically examining how emerging tools can reduce executional barriers to empower a more diverse student body. By championing affective pedagogies that prioritise student well-being, she seeks to ensure that human-machine collaboration deepens, rather than erodes, students’ sense of agency. Dr Carlisle earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Western Australia in 2021, further deepening her specialisation in supporting diverse learners to achieve their academic and artistic goals within tertiary education.

Dr. Natalia Grincheva is 2026 Digital Statecraft Academic Cambridge Fellow,  Leader of the Culture Futures Lab and the Head of the Arts Management at LASALLE, University of Arts Singapore. She also serves as Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Digital Studio at the University of Melbourne. Dr Grincheva is a leading Digital Humanities scholar and practitioner who specializes in data-driven cultural policy and diplomacy. Her work actively shapes the emerging field of digital statecraft, bridging the gap between cultural insight and data-driven governance. Her career spans from foundational work on the UNESCO’s 2005 Convention to pioneering the Data To Power platform. Dr. Grincheva is the author of three monographs Geopolitics of Digital Heritage (Cambridge University Press: 2024), Museum Diplomacy in the Digital Age (Routledge: 2020) and Global Trends in Museum Diplomacy (Routledge: 2019). Now she is working on a new monograph, Digital Soft Power of Heritage Media, forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. She is also a conceptual designer of the award-winning Data To Power application (https://datatopower.net/), developed for academic inductive research to facilitate the exploration of complex global phenomena through data visualization, mapping, and interactive data storytelling. Dr Grincheva’s professional engagements include her dedicated work for the International Fund for Cultural Diversity at UNESCO (2011) and International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (2011–2015), her research placement at ACMI X at the Australian Center for the Moving Image (2017–2019) as well as service for the international Cultural Research Network (CRN) (2018–2020). From 2020 she has served on the steering committee of the International Cultural Relations Research Alliance.

Dr (JD). Guwuck Bu is a renowned lawyer and served as a judge at the Korean national and regional courts for about two decades before being appointed the president at Y’sU (Youngsan University). He is the former chair of the Korean council for university education (KCUE), a national association of Korean universities, and also served as the chair of the Korean association of private university presidents. He received his B.A. & M.A(J.D) in law from Seoul National University in the area of civil law in 1974 and 1979,  respectively. He received an honorary doctoral degree in law (L.L.D) from Hanyang University  in 2001.

Franck Zhang is a sales and strategy leader in international education, media, and technology, with a strong record of driving growth for global education brands and digital learning platforms. As Regional Partnership Director at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, he works with universities and higher education partners in China to achieve their recruitment and branding goals.

Franck’s previous roles at education and publishing industry span senior business development, consulting, and market expansion in international education and EdTech. He has extensive experience in key account management, regional go-to-market execution, and building partnerships around student mobility and online learning solutions.

He holds an MBA from BI Norwegian Business School/Fudan University and a bachelor’s degree East China Normal University, blending international management training with deep understanding of the Chinese market. 

Dr. Snow Wang is the Head of Institutional Research and Branding Office at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. She has worked extensively in university rankings and research performance evaluation in Mainland China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. She has worked as the Ranking Director at Shanghai Ranking and was in charge of developing, computing, and publishing all rankings at Shanghai Ranking, including the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). In her previous roles at Hong Kong Baptist University and Massey University in New Zealand, she worked closely with leadership teams to influence the understanding and implementation of research assessment in higher education and foster research engagement initiatives, thereby contributing to the advancement of higher education and research impact.

Ms. Lei Zhang earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and has worked in the Office of Strategic Planning since 2012. She is especially passionate about designing and conducting institutional reviews of schools that drive continuous improvement and enhance reputation for excellence. Her current responsibilities include higher-education research, data-driven institutional analysis and reviews, and serving as secretary to the Academic Committee. Her research focuses on comparative studies of innovative universities and on tracking the contemporary transformation of world-leading institutions inside and outside China. An active contributor to international dialogue, she initiated the 2024 Shanghai Workshop and co-initiated the 2025 Inaugural Symposium on Data and AI in Institutional Research, Research Management and Strategic Planning in Singapore.

Wiktoria Fabian completed secondary school at the boarding school Prior Park College in Bath, United Kingdom. She studied chemical engineering at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, journalism and social communication at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and Power Engineering at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. She also completed an internship at the China University of Mining and Technology in Xuzhou. Her professional experience includes collaboration with the nuclear industry, including an internship in the United States. She currently serves as a junior expert, leader of Generation Z, and media manager at the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Institute for Energy Policy. Her scientific interests focus on climate and energy policy, with particular emphasis on the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism. In the field of sociology, she also addresses the issue of sexual violence in armed conflicts.

Mattia Miani is a Deputy Head at the Centre for English Language Education of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), where he overseas academic literacies courses. Before joining UNNC, he worked for 6 years in Vietnam at RMIT University holding a variety of roles: lecturer, manager of enterprise and executive education, and manager of co-curricular education. He is a Lord Dearing award recipient for his innovative teaching practices and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research interests include innovative pedagogies, creative thinking, and transnational education. His recent scholarship has appeared in Higher Education Quarterly, Research in International and Comparative Education, Chinese Education & Society, and International Journal of Chinese Education.

Kim Sooyeon, PhD, Professor & Vice President for Future Strategy, Youngsan University. Leads higher-ed innovation; directed National funded Projects as UISP, LiFE 2.0, RISE etc.; served as a Member of Presidential Commission on Korea National Education. Current focus: AI governance and education analytics.

Dr. Wenwen Zhang has completed her PhD study in the School of Education and English from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Currently, she serves as a peer reviewer for the SSCI-indexed Journal Asia Pacific Education Review. Her research interests include the areas of applied linguistics, educational psychology, higher education, exploring learner self-regulation, motivation, agency and autonomy in the context of English medium instruction and Sino-foreign cooperative universities. Her peer-reviewed publications have focused on extracurricular and co-curricular activities, social skills development and graduate attributes. She has won the funding project from the Nottingham Asia Research Institute and has taken the role of principal investigator for the project. She has presented her research at both international and local conferences. She is a PGR Student representative in the UNNC Senate. She has received more than 40 honors, including a national scholarship, an outstanding graduate in Zhejiang Province, Nottingham Tri-campus Postgraduate Prize during her studies.

Dr. Lizamarie Campoamor-Olegario is a professor of educational psychology at the University of the Philippines Diliman and an advocate for human-centered, sustainable education reform. With over 30 years of experience in teaching, research, and policy engagement, she integrates psychology, pedagogy, and social innovation to strengthen workforce resilience and rural transformation.

She currently serves as a research fellow of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) for the national study Rural Development in the Philippines: The Role of TVET in Workforce Resilience, and as Project Leader for initiatives on Integrating Green Skills in the Educational System and Promoting Well-being in Schools. Her work bridges local contexts and global goals—linking Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and positive psychology frameworks.

A two-time recipient of the One UP Professorial Chair Award and the UP Centennial Professorial Chair, Dr. Olegario has published in international journals and represented the Philippines in SEAMEO INNOTECH, and policy dialogues. She is frequently consulted by media and government on teacher motivation, skills development, and education futures—advancing a vision of equitable, inclusive, and sustainability-driven education.

Dr. Lito Oliver Coronado is a faculty member of Bina Bangsa School (BBS), Pantai Indah Kapuk Campus in Jakarta Utara, Indonesia. He earned his Doctor in Education Management (DEM) degree at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Manila. Currently, he teaches First Language English (0500), English General Paper (8021), and Global Perspectives & Research (9239) subjects to Secondary and Junior College students at BBS. He has peer-reviewed a number of articles for publication regarding K-12 and higher education studies. He has conducted in-house lectures, presented papers in education, and has been involved as one of the keynote speakers in the 2nd International Conference on Educational Governance, Policy, and Leadership (ICEGPL2025) organised by UM Kendari on the topic ‘Leveraging the Qualifications Framework’. His academic interest focuses on qualitative educational research.

Dr. Midya Yousefi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU), where she teaches and supervises doctoral and master’s students in educational leadership. With over nine years of international experience, she has led academic programs, designed leadership curricula, and advised universities and schools on global education strategy and institutional development. She is an active consultant advising universities on global leadership, digital innovation in higher education, and transformational leadership across Asia. Dr. Yousefi serves on the Global Ambassador Management Committee of the Academy of Management (AOM) and is a judge for international education awards. Her research focuses on digital leadership, cross-border higher education, and academic engagement in emerging contexts. She is widely recognized for her contributions to global academic collaboration and is frequently invited to speak and chair at international forums on higher education leadership.

Ms. Liyuan (Ivy) Sun is Deputy Director Strategy and Performance at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Holding a MSc in Management from Imperial College London, she has over 13 years’ professional services experience in the higher education sector. She led the development of the university’s inaugural data visualization platform and centralized reporting. Currently she oversees a team of specialists, providing data-informed university planning, performance management, ranking and benchmarking as well as institutional reporting.

Sophia Li is the Senior Regional Director (Greater China) at Times Higher Education and is mainly responsible for Times Higher Education’s partnerships with universities and government agencies in Greater China. Prior to joining Times Higher Education, she worked in the International Office at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where she managed the university’s collaborations with universities in Asia and the Middle East, as well as its engagement with university networks. She holds a master’s degree in Contemporary China Studies from Nanyang Technological University Singapore and has more than 13 years of working experience in the higher education sector, focusing on the internationalization and third-party evaluation of Chinese universities.

Prof Kenneth LEUNG is the Director of Sustainability/Net-Zero Office at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Prior to joining the university, he was the Principal Assistant Secretary (Air Policy) at the Environment and Ecology Bureau and Assistant Director (Air Policy) at the Environmental Protection Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Prof Leung obtained his PhD in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London and has expertise in combustion science, air quality management, environmental impact assessment, policy formulation relating to climate change, electric vehicles and new energy applications.

Pang Chong Ning is a seasoned procurement executive with over 30 years of experience across industries such as higher education, flavour & fragrance and food packaging. Currently serving as the Chief Procurement Officer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), he oversees a procurement portfolio and leads a team of over 90 professionals.

At NUS, Chong Ning spearheaded a Sustainable Procurement Framework, achieving 75% ESG compliance among top-tier suppliers. He has driven cross-institutional collaborations, resulting in over S$120 million in collective spend across Singapore’s Autonomous Universities.

Previously, Chong Ning held senior roles at Symrise AG and Givaudan, managing procurement strategies across Asia-Pacific and overseeing multi-million-dollar budgets. His leadership optimised procurement processes and integrated sustainable sourcing practices across regions.

Chong Ning holds a Bachelor of Business (Distinction) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and an MBA in Strategy from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. With expertise in procurement strategy, supplier management and sustainability, he provides strategic guidance to complex procurement challenges.

Colin has enjoyed a wide range of roles in sport which has taken him to many different places around the world. After graduating University, he joined the sports division of TUI Travel Group and worked for many years in France and the USA as a Senior Manager. Returning to the UK, Colin obtained an MSc in International Sports Management and a UEFA A Football Licence, the highest level of coaching award in professional sport.

In September 2011, Colin took over as Director of Sport at Northumbria University and led them to unprecedented success over the following eight years. Northumbria University became the first non-Russell Group University in the Times Higher Education Rankings Top 5 (THE) for Sport and the Top 10 for Performance Sport (BUCS). In 2019, their Global Volunteering programme achieved 1st Place in the UK Sport & Recreation Alliance awards.

Since joining UNNC, Colin has led a transformation of the student and staff programmes, significantly expanding opportunities and improving the quality of service. He has also led the design development of UNNC’s technologically advanced, new sport facility which will become one of the most advanced in Asia and deliver a range of services and experiences not found elsewhere.

Professor Alain Chong is the Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Partnerships at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). He is also a Professor of Information Systems at Nottingham University Business School China. Since joining UNNC in 2012, he has served as Dean of the Graduate School and now leads international outreach. Prior to this, Professor Chong held roles as a software engineer, postdoctoral researcher, and Associate Professor of Computer Science in the UK, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. His research focuses on technology-driven disruptions, including blockchain, AI, big data, live streaming, and adoption issues in e-commerce, mobile commerce, and supply chain systems.

Professor Chong has received numerous awards and recognition for his contributions to the field of information systems. He has been recognised as one of the most cited Chinese researchers by Elsevier Scopus for nine consecutive years and one of the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University. He holds visiting and adjunct appointments at institutions including Nanyang Technological University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Monash University, and others.

Kunihiko Takamatsu is a Professor of Institute Management in the Office of Institute Strategy at the Institute of Science Tokyo. His main work focuses on institutional research in the university and university reform in higher education through eduinformatics. He received his Ph.D. in Medical Science, specializing in Molecular and Cellular Biology, from the Graduate School of Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo in 2004. After completing his Ph.D., he worked as a research associate and researcher at the RIKEN Institute. In 2008, he joined Kobe Tokiwa University, where he held various positions, such as assistant professor, lecturer, and associate professor. He received the 2017 IIAI Outstanding Paper Award, the 2018 Artificial Intelligence Society’s 1st Knowledge Graph Inference Challenge Best Resource Award, the 2019 Best Idea Award, the 2021 First-Year Education Society Practice Award, and in 2023, the Honorable Mention Award from the International Institute of Applied Informatics (IIAI). Since August 2023, he has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Higher Education Planning in Asia Association (HEPA).

Dr. Alison Elizabeth Lloyd is the Associate Provost (Institutional Data and Research) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where she leads the Office of Institutional Data and Research, driving data-informed decision-making and university analytics. She also serves as the University’s Risk Officer, ensuring institutional resilience by identifying and mitigating risks across all categories.

Within the Provost Office, Dr. Lloyd oversees the Transformation Team, which focuses on digital transformation, process design and re-engineering, and organizational design to enhance institutional efficiency. She also leads the Faculty Affairs Team, responsible for operational and strategic initiatives supporting faculty recruitment, development, and alignment with the University’s goals.

With over 20 years of experience in higher education and management consulting, Dr. Lloyd has held leadership roles at Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, spearheading evidence-based decision-making and international affairs. Prior to academia, she worked in strategy, business process re-engineering, and change management across the Asia Pacific region. She also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Giordano International Limited and a Board Director of a social enterprise promoting multicultural education.