Please see profile of H.E. Lee Ju-ho here.

Choi Jae-weon is the President of Pusan National University.

He was born in 1965.

He graduated from Dongseong High School in Busan and earned his bachelor’s degree in Control and Instrumentation Engineering from Seoul National University. He also obtained his master’s and doctorate degrees in Control and Instrumentation Engineering from Seoul National University Graduate School.

He was appointed as a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University.

He served as Director of Planning, Director of the Mechanical Technology Research Institute, Director of the Center for Engineering Education Innovation, and Director of the Accreditation Institute for Engineering Education. He later held positions as Dean of the College of Engineering, Dean of the Graduate School of Industry, Dean of the Graduate School of Environment, and Dean of the Graduate School of Technology Entrepreneurship before being appointed President in 2024.

He has also served as Director of the Engineering Education Innovation Leadership Center for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, an Independent Evaluator for the Ministry of Education, President of the Institute of Control, Robotics, and Systems, and President of the Council of Deans of National Engineering Colleges.

He is a regular member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea and serves as Co-Executive Director of the Busan Science and Technology Council.

He is particularly focused on establishing a veterinary college and integrating Pusan National University with Busan National University of Education.

Professor Chi-Hung Lin is the President of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Chinese Taipei. He holds a Ph.D. in Biology from Yale University and an M.D. from the School of Medicine at National Yang Ming University. Professor Lin has an extensive background in medical research and education, having held various positions at National Yang Ming University, including Director of the Institute of Microbiology & Immunology and Vice Dean of the Office of Research and Development. His administrative expertise is highlighted by his roles as Commissioner of the Department of Health for both Taipei City and New Taipei City Governments. Professor Lin has also contributed significantly to academic and healthcare advancements as a professor in multiple institutes at NYMU and as a researcher in national laboratories. His work spans across numerous disciplines including biophotonics, anatomy, clinical medicine, and health risk assessment. 

Padmanabhan Anandan is a scientist in the domain of Artificial Intelligence with over 40 years of experience in basic and applied research in AI as well as in leading teams of AI scientists and building multiple applied research institutions. He is the ex-CEO of Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence, an independent not-for-profit Research institute focused on developing artificial intelligence based applications for social good. He was formerly vice president for research at Adobe Systems and prior to that a distinguished scientist and managing director of Microsoft Research. He was the managing director of Microsoft Research India, which he founded in January 2005 in Bangalore. He joined Microsoft Research in Redmond, Washington in 1997, where he founded and built the Interactive Visual Media group. He was also previously a professor of Computer Science at Yale University and the head of the video information processing group at Sarnoff Corporation.  He is currently serving as free-lance consultant and providing advice to several organizations working in AI for Social Good, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  (BMGF), the Global Health Labs (GH+ labs), ARTPARK (Bangalore, India), FIND and IPRD Solutions, NY. 

Professor Wu is Associate Vice President of Fudan University. She is also a full professor at the School of Economics and the School of Data Science at Fudan University, Vice President of Shanghai Academy of AI for Science, Dean of Shanghai Institute for Energy and Carbon Neutral Strategy, Vice Dean of Shanghai Innovation Institute, and Vice Dean of Big Data Research Institute at Fudan University. She is a recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Science Fund (2019) and was named Young Yangtze River Scholar of the Ministry of Education (2017).

Her primary research focuses on Artificial Intelligence for Social Science (AI4SS), applied statistical analysis, coupled modeling of nature-climate-society complex systems, and evaluating the effects of climate and energy policies using econometrics and statistical machine learning. She has published more than 80 papers in prominent academic journals, including Nature Sustainability, PNAS, Journal of the American Statistical Association (JASA), Nature Climate Change, Chinese Social Sciences (in Chinese), Economic Research (in Chinese), as well as six academic monographs.

Christian Kastrop began his role as CEO and Partner of the Global Solutions Initiative in September 2023. Previously he was a State Secretary for Digital Society and Consumer Policy within the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.

In his former role, he initiated many projects and initiatives that aimed to build an empowering and effective digital society, individually and collectively. He played a responsible part for the recent round of digital European and German regulation and took a leading role in shaping the debate around the EU Commission’s AI regulation, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, The Data Governance Act and the German Network Enforcement Act.

Christian Kastrop was the driving force behind several research projects – in cooperation with the OECD and other research institutions – to empower civil society and consumers in the digital age. These projects aimed to achieve individual and collective digital sovereignty as well as adequate distributed property rights within digital global value chains, making an important contribution to the vision of a digital society that leaves no one behind.

Before being appointed State Secretary, Christian Kastrop served as the European Director of the Bertelsmann Foundation with a focus on rebuilding Europe, in particular development of relevant European Common Goods including digital transformation, defence, border control, foreign policy and combatting the Covid pandemic.

Prior to that, he served the OECD in Paris as the Director General of the Policy Studies Branch of the Economics Department (ECO-PSB), where he conducted microeconomic, macroeconomic and fiscal projects. He also supported the OECD study “Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth” as well as the OECD Initiative “New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC).”

Christian also worked for four years as President and Vice President of the Economic Policy Committee (EPC), preparing the meetings of ECOFIN Ministers Council and the Eurogroup in Brussels.

During his time in the German Federal Ministry of Finance from 1989 to 2014, he was – inter alia – Deputy Director General in the Economics Department, the European, the International/G20 Directorate and the Money and Banking Department.

Christian Kastrop is Professor for Public Finance at the Free University Berlin and Fellow at the Hertie School, Berlin. He holds a Ph.D in Economics from Cologne University, where he also lectured, published  and worked as a researcher at the Cologne Institute of Public Finance. He spend a research term at Harvard University on Medieval Philosophy and Financial Accounting.

Wanjiun Liao received her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, USA, in 1997. She is a Chair Professor of the Electrical Engineering Department at National Taiwan University and the Executive Vice President at National Taiwan University, Taipei, Chinese Taipei. Previously, she served as the Department Chair of Electrical Engineering of National Taiwan University, the Vice President of Academic Affairs of National Taiwan University, and the Director General of the Engineering and Technologies Department at the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Chinese Taipei. Her research interests include wireless networks, multimedia communications, and edge computing. 

Professor Liao is currently an Associated Editor of IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking. She previously served on the editorial boards of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, and IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing. She has been very active in IEEE and IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), holding several leadership roles, including IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) Distinguished Lecturer, member of the IEEE Fellow Committee and the IEEE ComSoc Fellow Evaluation Committee, IEEE ComSoc Director for Asia Pacific Region, and IEEE ComSoc Board of Governors Member-at-Large. Prof. Liao has received numerous awards and recognitions from various organizations, including the National Chair Professorship from Chinese Taipei’s Ministry of Education, the National Industry Innovation Award from Chinese Taipei’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Distinguished Research Awards from Chinese Taipei’s National Science Council (NSC). She is a Fellow of the IEEE. 

Dr. Noorsaadah Abd. Rahman FASc obtained her PhD in organic chemistry from Cambridge University and served as a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Malaya.  Administratively, she was the Director for the Institute of Research Management and Monitoring from 2006 till 2014 and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at the University of Malaya from 2015 till 2021.  She was elected a Fellow of the Malaysian Academy of Sciences (ASM) in 2014 and accorded the Top Research Scientist Award (TRSM) at the same time.  In 2018, she was appointed a Fellow (ChM) of the Institut Kimia Malaysia and in 2024, a Fellow of the World Academy of Science.  Currently she serves as the Secretary General of ASM.

Yi ZENG is a Professor from Chinese Academy of Sciences, serving as the Founding Director at the Brain-inspired Cognitive Intelligence Lab, and the International Research Center for AI Ethics and Governance. He is the Founding Director of Beijing Institute of AI Safety and Governance. He is a member of the United Nations High-level Advisory Body on AI, an expert in the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on AI Ethics, an expert in the WHO Expert Group on the Ethics/Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health, and a board member of the National Governance Committee of Next Generation Artificial Intelligence in China. His major research interests focus on Brain-inspired Artificial Intelligence, AI Ethics and Governance, AI Safety, and AI for Sustainable Development.

Dr. Ravi Pendse serves as the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of Michigan. He is an executive officer of the university and provides university-wide leadership and strategic direction for information technology. He is also a Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a special advisor to the President of the University of Michigan for India.

Dr. Pendse has secured more than $21 million in external research grants, developed and taught courses in the areas of computer architecture, networking, and cybersecurity, earned several teaching awards, and published numerous scholarly articles co-authored with students. His research interests include the internet of things, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and the future of work.

Dr. Pendse holds a B.S. in electronics and communication engineering from Osmania University in Hyderabad (India). He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Wichita State University. He serves as a trustee of the Kansas Health Science University.

Cormekki Whitley is a seasoned nonprofit executive with more than two decades of experience leading mission-driven organizations toward sustainable impact and operational excellence. As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of data.org, Cormekki leads the organization’s financial inclusion capacity building initiatives in the United States and Asia Pacific regions. She also oversees the organization’s strategic operations, financial management, human resources, and program implementation, ensuring efficiency, scalability, and mission alignment. 

 

Cormekki plays a pivotal role in long-term strategic planning, fostering a culture of collaboration, and driving key initiatives in capacity building, fundraising, inclusion, and impact measurement. Her expertise in financial oversight, organizational development, fundraising and change management has been instrumental in strengthening operational infrastructure and expanding the organizational reach. 

 

Committed to advancing financial inclusion and innovative solutions, Cormekki champions data-driven decision-making, community impact, process improvement, and leadership development within the nonprofit sector. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from NC State University and advanced degrees from Meredith College and Northcentral University.

Professor Yike Guo is the Provost of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He is a world-renowned computer scientist who has led several large-scale AI and data science research projects in Hong Kong, UK and other European countries. He was the Vice-President (Research and Development) at Hong Kong Baptist University and the Founding Director of the Institute of Data Science at Imperial College London’s six global institutes. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (MAE), a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (FHKEng), a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (FIEEE), a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS), and a Fellow of the Chinese Institute for Engineering Intelligence (FCAAI).  

 

Professor Yike Guo won the 2022 Wu Wenjun Artificial Intelligence Science and Technology Award for Outstanding Contribution Award, which is considered to be the highest honor in the field of intelligent science and technology in China. 

Prof.  Cho received the B.S.M.E degree from CMU (1980), the M.S. degrees MIT (1984), and the Ph.D. degree from MIT (1988). From 1987 to 1993, he was a professor at Princeton University, and from 1993-2023, he was a professor at Seoul National University. He is currently the Chief Scientific Officer at RA Automation Company. 

He has authored and co-authored more than 150 international journal articles. He is also active in technology transfer and is the holder or co-holder of more than 150 US and Korean patents. He was a Founder and Co-Founder of 3 startup companies and served on the Board of Directors for several listed companies in Korean stock markets.  

He served as the President of ICROS, BOG Member of IEEE and EDS. He is currently the President of IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control), which has 50 national members.  

Major Awards he has received include the ICROS Award (2015), the Doyeon Award (2021). the Minister of Information and Communication of Korea Commendation (2006), the Prime Minister of Korea Commendation (2018), and Korean Government Service Merit Medal (2023). He was elected to Ordinary Member (2010-2012) and Senior Member (2013-2017, 2018- ) of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. 

Professor Ling is Deputy President and Provost at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Currently the President’s Chair in Mathematical Sciences, he joined NTU Singapore in 2005 as the Founding Head of Division of Mathematical Sciences in the School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (SPMS), after 13 years at the National University of Singapore. He has previously been Chair of SPMS and Dean, College of Science, at NTU Singapore. Between August 2022 and July 2024, Professor Ling also served concurrently as the Chief Scientific Advisor for the National Research Foundation, Singapore. He is also a member of the Committee of Government Scientific Advisors, Singapore. 

 

Professor Ling obtained his BA and MA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge, and PhD in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. The honours he has received include: the Singapore National Science Award (Team) in 2003, Public Administration Medal (Silver) by the President of the Republic of Singapore (2013), Fellowship of the Singapore National Academy of Science (2014), and Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the President of the Republic of Singapore (2024). He has also been a visiting scholar at institutions such as UC Berkeley, INRIA, the Technion and Hanyang University. 

 

Professor Ling’s research interests are in applications of algebra and number theory to coding theory and cryptography. He has published more than 250 papers, 2 textbooks and edited several conference proceedings. Professor Ling has also served on several professional bodies, and as a reviewer for research funding agencies in several countries. 

Dr. Michael Fung is the Executive Director of the Institute for the Future of Education (IFE) at Tecnologico de Monterrey, leading the University’s efforts to create, disseminate, and apply research-based educational innovation, to transform higher education and lifelong learning around the world and improve the lives of millions of people. 

 

He was formerly Deputy Chief Executive at SkillsFuture Singapore, where he led the development of a comprehensive education and training ecosystem under the national SkillsFuture movement, which has become a global benchmark and reference for workforce skills development and lifelong learning. 

 

He was the Founding President of the Higher Education Planning in Asia Association, and serves on various global boards and committees. He is an alumnus of the University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon University in the US, and Tsinghua University in China. 

Professor So Young Kim is the Vice President of International Office of KAIST and a former head of the Graduate School of S&T of KAIST. Specializing in R&D policy, she is has led large S&T policy projects on research funding, basic science, S&T workforce, science ODA, and technology governance. At KAIST, she has held various positions including director of the Korea Policy Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, project manager of the Establishment of Kenya-AIST Project, president of the Women Faculty Council, and chair of the 50th History Publication Committee.  

As a public intellectual, she has chaired several governmental committees including Special S&T Committee of the Presidential Commission on National Integration and the Spent Nuclear Fuel Policy Review Committee. Her honors include: Minister Award for National Strategic Technology from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Assembly Award for Service in S&T. Professor Kim has also provided consulting and advisory services for international organizations such as World Bank, AfDB, WHO, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, OECD, WEF. Elected to the Korea Academy of Science and Technology, Prof. Kim received her B.A. and M.A. from Seoul National University and her Ph.D. and M.S. from Northwestern University with Fulbright Scholarship. 

Abhijit Pandit is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the University of Oregon, where he leads the university’s strategic vision for information technology. As CIO, he is responsible for driving university-wide IT innovation, optimizing technology infrastructure, and ensuring the seamless delivery of IT systems and services that support the university’s mission of teaching, learning, and research. 

Pandit’s leadership extends beyond the university; he serves as Vice Chair of the Board for Link Oregon, the state’s Research and Education Network (REN) that supports the public and nonprofit sectors. Additionally, he is a Board Member of the Northwest Academic Computing Consortium (NWACC) and contributes to industry thought leadership as a member of the Microsoft Higher Education Customer Advisory Board. He previously served on the AWS Higher Education Enterprise CIO Council. 

In addition to his leadership in IT, Pandit is committed to academia. He currently serves as a graduate faculty member at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and has previously held faculty positions at the University of Oregon, Oregon Tech, and the University of Phoenix.  

Professor Schneider was elected as APRU’s 5th Chief Executive and took up the role from January 2023.  

A native of Germany, Professor Schneider studied at the University of Zurich, the University of Basel and the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He earned his degrees in Egyptology from the University of Basel. Throughout his career, he has held academic and administrative positions in four global regions – North America; Asia; Europe; the Middle East.  

Throughout the years, Professor Schneider has acquired significant leadership experience at the departmental level (Acting Department Chair; Director of Graduate Studies; Chair of Egyptology) and university level (Senator on the UBC Senate, 2014 8). He oversaw specific strategic projects and initiatives as Special Advisor to the Vice-Provost and Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, at UBC (2015-7) and as Advisor to the President at Quest University Canada (2016-17).  

From 2018-20, Professor Schneider served the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China’s fastest-rising new STEM university, as Associate Vice President (International), spearheading its internationalization efforts. Recently, Professor Schneider has founded PALAC – a new consortium of liberal arts colleges focused on experimental learning in the liberal arts across multiple economies in Asia and North America.  

Professor Schneider has acquired a broad knowledge of the spectrum of disciplines. He has been a consultant, adjudicator and reviewer for universities, funding agencies and publishers in North America, China, Europe, Israel, and Australia, as well as an executive editor of academic periodicals. His own scholarship focuses on cultural and linguistic interconnections in the Near East, the environmental history of Egypt, and the history of the humanities in Nazi Germany.