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Her main research interest is the development of lactic acid bacteria for delivery of useful proteins; plasmid biology, vaccine delivery and cell factory systems of lactic acid bacteria. Raha is currently the President of the Malaysian Society of Lactic Acid Bacteria. She was a past President of the Malaysian Society for Microbiology and is a continuing EXCO member. At the international stage, she is a member of the American Society for Microbiology and the Sec-general to the Asian Federation of Societies for Lactic Acid Bacteria.

Raha held the post of Director at the Institution of Higher Education Excellence Planning Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (MoE) Malaysia. She was in-charge of the overall Innovation Ecosystem as pledged in Shift 7 of the Higher Education Blueprint 2015-2025. Her division specifically managed MoE’s research & development programs (Research Universities, Higher Institutions’ Centers of Excellence, FRGS), research grants and projects, R&D databases (MyRA and MyGRANTS), coordinated matching international and industrial grants (MyPAIR) and facilitated activities relating to the promotion of R&D products from the Institutions of Higher Learning, Malaysia.

Raha is currently the fourth Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM).

Dr. Heisook Kim graduated from Ewha Womans University as an English language and literature major, after which she mastered in Christian Studies. Upon completing her doctorate in philosophy at the University of Chicago, she returned to Ewha as a professor in the philosophy department, where she has taught since 1987. Dr. Kim became the first Dean of Scranton College in 2007 and created the Scranton Honors Program, which allows students to explore different fields of study and benefit scholarships and other opportunities. This program has since been benchmarked by many other universities. In addition to her accomplishments at Ewha, Dr. Kim has successively filled leading posts in national, as well as international academic societies of philosophy including President of the Korean Philosophical Association. She serves as a committee director of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies and is one of nine board members of the International Association of Women Philosophers.

Professor Thomas has a PhD in Veterinary Science from Murdoch University and taught, researched and published in Veterinary Pathology. She was an auditor for the AUQA, and continues as an international auditor for the Oman Accreditation and Assurance Agency. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute for Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. Professor Thomas is previous Chair, of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, a UK Charity based in London. Professor Thomas has been on the Board of numerous organisations in Australia, notably chairing the Library Board of Queensland, and as a board member and trustee of Mercy Care Ltd in Australia. She is currently a member of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee, and chairs the Quality Assurance Council for UGC.

Dr. Su has served as an associate editor of the journal Indoor Air since 2007 and was inducted as a fellow of the International Academy of Indoor Air Sciences in 2008, the first Asian female scientist to be so honored.
In recent years, Dr. Su has extended her investigation into the health outcomes attributable to global environmental changes. Dr. Su has also served at the National Committee for Air Pollution Abatement as well as National Council for Sustainable Development where she advised and supervised the national programs on assessing health risks associated with environmental exposures.

In addition to her academic concentrations and accomplishments where international collaboration was always a strong component throughout, Dr. Su has been actively involved in international projects of professional, non-profit, or non-government nature. The opportunities and experiences had brought her in connection with people and organizations of various clusters, including academia, industry, art, conservation, among others. She travels around the world to participate activities and events mostly for educational purposes on a regular basis, with which she kept abreast with the progress and development of trend and knowledge in the area of higher education.

Having served as the Vice President for International Affairs of National Cheng Kung University from 2007 to 2011, Dr. Su began to direct her efforts and interests to the subject matter of higher education development and advancement. During the term, she was also appointed as the Executive Secretary for SATU (Southeast and South Asian and Taiwan Universities) Presidents’ Forum, which provides a venue for academics to share their valuable experiences to improve higher education and international cooperation in the region. Starting February 1, 2011, Dr. Su was appointed the Executive Vice President of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) with primary responsibility of overseeing the strategic development of student affairs, international affairs, university advancement project and coordinating the collaborative projects among universities of TCUS (Taiwan Comprehensive University System). As of February 2015, Dr. Su took the mantle of NCKU President as the first female President of its 85-year-long history. In July 2015, Dr. Su was elected as a chairperson of Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan and in 2017, she is the chairperson of the Association of National Universities of Taiwan.

She received master of science and doctor of science degrees in environmental health from the Harvard School of Public Health. In October 2017, she was honored by her alma mater with the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health’s 2017 Leadership Award in Public Health Practice with which she was recognized for her leadership at the university and in her long work in improving indoor air quality. Moreover, Dr. Su was cited for her outstanding leadership among the top 100 award-winning researchers, academics, and innovators, and leaders in the 2018 edition of the Asian Scientist Magazine. She also received the 2017 Outstanding Research Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan. She was cited one of the 10 “Science Stars of East Asia” for her indoor air pollution by leading journal Nature.

Vice Chancellor
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Malaysia

YB Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad
Minister
Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia

MODERATOR

Ms. Melisa Idris
Assistant Vice President and Senior Editor at Astro Awani

SPEAKERS

Professor Datuk Wira Dr. Raha Abdul Rahim
Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia

Professor Kim Heisook
President, Ewha Womans University, South Korea

Professor Jan Thomas
Vice-Chancellor, Massey University, New Zealand

Professor Huey-Jen Jenny Su
President, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan