Dr Malka N. Halgamuge of RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Biography:

Dr Malka N. Halgamuge is a Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. She is the Chair of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, Victorian Section. From 2007-2021, Malka worked as a Researcher at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Melbourne. She obtained her PhD in the same department. She was awarded prestigious fellowships to work at the University of California, Los Angeles, Lund University, Sweden, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, among others. Malka was the Keynote Speaker, Plenary Speaker, Associate Editor, Editorial Board Member, and IEEE Senior Member. She was the Program Co-Chair, Track Chair, Publication Chair, Advisory Chair, Publicity Co-Chair, Session Chair, Guest Editor, and a Member of the TPC for 300 international conferences. She has presented 70 International forums in academia (e.g., Oxford University, Ohio State University), industry (e.g., IBM, KPMG East Africa, AISA), and at 10 IEEE sections. Malka has conducted 18 media interviews, articles, radio interviews, and TV interviews (ABC News). She is passionate about research in IoTs, Data Communications, Cyber Security, Blockchain, Machine & Deep Learning, and security in Large Language Models. She has co-supervised 4 PhD students to completion at the University of Melbourne and currently supervises 5 PhD students at RMIT University as the principal supervisor. 
Malka has been a chief investigator for multiple grants totalling over $1 million and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals and conference proceedings.

Vijay S Paul of Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Biography:

Vijay is a communications professional, business speaker & ex-entrepreneur, focused on helping organisations with their strategic & internal communications, as well as experience design around websites, mobile applications, processes, multichannel communications & business environments. He is the Communications Adviser for the COO portfolio at Monash University, advising the University leadership on matters related to crisis communication and issues management. An IEEE Senior Member, he is also the current Chair of IEEE Victorian Section, as well as the Chair of the IEEE Region 10 (Asia-Pacific) Information Management Committee.

Dr Anamika Devi of Swinburne University of Technology

Biography:

Dr. Anamika is a new senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Media, Film, and Education at Swinburne University of Technology. Before joining Swinburne, she worked as a lecturer and program director of the Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood at RMIT. With over 13 years of experience in research, teaching, and industry in early childhood education (ECE), she completed her PhD at Monash University, which was fully funded by a prestigious Australian Postgraduate Award (APA). Her research and teaching interests include play and pedagogy in diverse cultural contexts, theories in early childhood development, support of adults in children’s learning and development in various settings, intentional teaching, leadership, management and professionalism in ECE, STEM, literacy, numeracy, and the cultural-historical perspective on play. Currently, she is working on two funded projects to understand early childhood in-service and pre-service teachers’ perspectives on using play to engage children in STEM education. In addition, she is an expert in engaging with international pre-service teachers to understand interaction processes in diverse cultural contexts and using Mursion as a VR platform to prepare them before practical placement. She is also collaborating on two non-funded projects with Charles Sturt University, RMIT in Australia, and Wenzhou-Kean University, China. Furthermore, she has published several journal articles, including two book chapters, and is currently working on a book proposal with Routledge publisher. Dr. Anamika is a member of various professional organizations, including ECA, IEEE, EECERA, VECRC, ECTEN, ATEA, and ASERA.

Email:

Dr. Saimon Moraes Silva of La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Biography:

Dr. Saimon M. Silva is the deputy director of the Biomedical & Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Centre and his research focus on development of translational point-of-need biosensors for biomedical and environmental analysis. He was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales in 2018, where he developed DNA biosensors based on gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles. He then conducted postdoctoral training at Swinburne University of Technology where he extended his expertise in antifouling surfaces for varied biomedical surfaces and published seminal studies in this area. During his postdoctoral training, he also developed an innovative electrochemical sensing technology for the detection of cancer-associated antigens, which was licensed for commercialization to his industry partner Universal Biosensors. In 2023 he joined La Trobe University as a Lecturer in Chemistry, where he continues to drive the engagement between the university and industry. He is also a highly collaborative researcher who has substantial experience in driving collaborations that generates real-world impact in the diagnostic field. Dr. Moraes Silva is a passionate educator and has taught Chemistry students at all undergraduate levels.