Past Speakers
Ass. Prof. Dr. Paulo Duarte
Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona do Porto and Invited Professor at the University of Minho, Portugal. PhD and a Masters in Political and Social Sciences, by Catholic University of Louvain. Expert in China's Belt and Road Initiative, on China, World Politics, and specifically Central Asia, where he carried out on-the-ground doctoral research (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) with a scholarship awarded from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. His works have been published in Global Policy, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, Global Security: Health, Science and Policy, Journal of Eurasian Studies, Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, among others.
Dr. Nina Haritatou
Dr. Nina Haritatou holds an MA in English and American Literature and a PhD in Philosophy from Newcastle University, UK. During her time at Newcastle, she served as a Postgraduate Seminar Tutor (2010–2011) and later as a Seminar Tutor (2011–2013). Her teaching responsibilities included courses on English and American Modernist and Postmodernist literature as well as Anglophone literature and History of Film. She is currently a Scientific Associate at the University of Athens, and a Post –graduate instructor (Conductor of blended-course seminar) at the American College of Greece in the course Management in TESOL (2018-2025). She is the author of the book Texts of English and American literature (Patakis, 2013) and of English - Greek dictionaries aimed at Secondary education. Her articles on English Language Teaching and on English literature have been in several scientific magazines in Greece and in other countries (Paris, London, Sydney, New York).
Dr. Stefănoaia Mihai
Lecturer Mihai Stefănoaia PhD. is a faculty member at Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, where he teaches courses in criminal law. As a practicing lawyer with extensive experience in the legal field, he combines academic teaching with professional practice, offering students a practical perspective on criminal law principles and regulations. His research focuses on contemporary issues in criminal legislation, criminal procedure, and national and international case law. His academic and professional activity establishes him as a dedicated specialist in training future generations of legal professionals and advancing the study of criminal law.
Mr. Flávio Bastos da Silva
Flávio Bastos da Silva is a PhD student in Political Science and International Relations at the School of Economics, Management and Political Science, University of Minho (Braga, Portugal). He holds a Bachelor's degree in European Studies and a Master's degree in International Relations. He is currently a collaborating researcher at the Centre for Legal, Economic, International and Environmental Studies (CEJEIA) and at the Research Centre in Political Science (CICP). His research interests include Foreign Policy Analysis (with a focus on China, the European Union, and Portugal), the International Order, Global Governance, and Democracy Studies.
Ms. Fatiha Sharmin
Fatiha Sharmin is a 5th-semester undergraduate majoring in the Department of Sociology of Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). Being a young sociologist, she has already made a name for herself due to her interest in qualitative research, which has earned her a place as a speaker at several international conferences. Her scholarly interests are mostly in Rural Sociology and Medical Sociology where her main interests are in comprehending lived experiences, social inequalities and community based realities. Fatiha is much devoted to relating the fieldwork and scientific learning and hopes to close the distance between the sociological theory and the speech of ordinary citizens based on fieldwork and research rigorously.
Mr. Thirima Dura Suresh Gayan Priyangana
Thirima Dura Suresh Gayan Priyangana is a PhD candidate at the School of Cultural Industries, Nanjing University of the Arts, China, where she is currently pursuing her doctoral studies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Special) in Performing Arts and a Master’s degree in Mass Media Studies from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Professionally, she serves as a Development Officer in the Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka, under the Ministry of Education. Her academic interests lie in social science research, with a particular focus on media, culture, and heritage studies. She has actively contributed to both national and international symposia and conferences in various capacities, including coordinator, organizing committee member, event manager, and abstract presenter. Her research addresses topics such as digital cinema, cultural sustainability, media influence, cultural tourism, and youth behavior in Sri Lanka.
Ms. Jingyi Zhang
Jingyi Zhang graduated from Jilin University of Arts with a major in Fine Arts (Visual Arts Curation). She has a strong interest in reading and visual storytelling. Her short film UNKNOWN was a provincial finalist at the First China Changchun Jingyue Short Film Festival (2020), followed by another provincial finalist selection for her film Escapee at the Second China Changchun Jingyue Short Film Festival (2021). She also received a university-level Excellence Award at the Internet+ College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for the project Weilan Rural Children’s Art Education Studio, and a national Excellence Award in the 2021 China Advertising Association Academy Awards Autumn Collection for her creative work “Crunch! So Delicious!”. Jingyi is currently preparing to present her research at the 4th International Conference on Social Sciences in the Modern Era.
Ms. Oana-Karina Lugojan
Oana-Karina Lugojan is a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Humanities of the West University of Timișoara, Romania. She holds an MA in Theory and Practice of Translation and a BA in English Language and Literature. With more than five years of experience in teaching English as a Foreign Language, she is dedicated to helping students develop autonomy in acquiring English by blending traditional classroom approaches with more innovative learning strategies. Her doctoral research focuses on developing learner autonomy in higher education English language learning. She uses both quantitative data and qualitative tools, such as reflective diaries, learning journals, and focus groups, to better understand how students engage with autonomous learning. Her main areas of interest include English language teaching, learner autonomy, and the integration of mixed-method research in applied linguistics.
Mr. Huo Qianting
Huo Qianting (Florence) is a Ph.D. candidate (already passed the thesis oral defense) in Social Sciences at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. She holds an M.A. in Communication and New Media from the University of Macau and a B.A. in English from Sun Yat-Sen University, China. Her professional experience includes lecturing at Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University, Guangzhou Nanfang College and teaching academic English at Guangzhou City Construction College. Her research explores digital media, gender and sexuality, and queer cultures in contemporary China, with a particular focus on lesbian identity, self-representation, and platform capitalism. She has received the Travel Award from Duke University’s Feminist Theory Conference (2020), Full Postgraduate Studentship of University of Macau (2012-2014) and the China National Inspirational Scholarship (2008-2010) to support her studies. Fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, she is committed to advancing feminist and queer media scholarship in the Sinophone world.
Ms. Namira Amin
Namira Amin is a psychology graduate with a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) from Taylor’s University (2024). She currently works as a Program Associate in Communication and Research at the Centre for Communication Action Bangladesh (C-CAB). Over the past five years, she has gained interdisciplinary experience across education, research, communication, and community programmes, examining behaviour in real-world contexts. Her work spans organisational psychology, HR and employer branding, teaching support, autism-focused interventions, and qualitative mental-health research. She also engages in academic writing and theoretical development, translating complex human experiences into practical insight. Guided by ethical practice and careful analysis, she is particularly interested in applying psychology beyond clinical spaces to classrooms, workplaces, and communities to create meaningful social impact.
Ms. Chidimma Okafor
Okafor Chidimma N. is a Ph.D. student whose work explores emotional intelligence, social enterprises, well-being, mission drift, and organizational effectiveness. She focuses on how emotional intelligence and purpose-driven leadership shape motivation, alignment, and performance in contemporary workplaces. Her research highlights how meaningful work can strengthen satisfaction, resilience, and long-term organizational success, especially as Millennials and Gen Z seek value-based careers. She promotes strategies that connect personal purpose with institutional missions to attract and retain talent. Interdisciplinary in approach, she bridges psychology and management in both research and teaching. She holds a background in Economics in Management and Leadership (2022) from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gyöngyös Campus, in Gyöngyös. Her work informs inclusive and ethical leadership practices.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Brian Lee
Head of Communication Studies at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
Associate Professor Brian Lee is the Head of Communication Studies at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore. He teaches and conducts applied research in e-learning, intelligent education, social media and strategic communications. He has recently published various timely op-eds, such as the impact of ChatGPT on education, how TikTok shapes users’ social behaviour, etc.
Previously, Brian has been awarded research grants for work on two major applied research projects: One on social media and another on e-learning.
As an applied researcher in communication studies and e-learning, Brian has served as a key speaker at various international conferences, such as the International Conference on New Trends in Social Sciences (Belgium, 2023), the International Conference on Humanities, Wisdom Education and Service Management (China, 2023) and the International Congress on Behavioural & Social Science (Dubai, 2024), among others.
Prof Lee holds a doctoral degree in Communication and Information from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a Master’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
Yicen Jiang
Dulshani Martinus
Yossapol Chutipanyabut
Senwei Dai
Prof. Hamutal Bar-Yosef
Prof. Marija Lončar
Prof. Dr. Sc. Marko Alerić
Prof. Dr. Tamara Gazdic-Aleric
Ms. Yujia Zhu
Mr. Ionuț Alexandru Pleșcau
Yicen Jiang
Dulshani Martinus
Yossapol Chutipanyabut
Senwei Dai
Prof. Hamutal Bar-Yosef
Prof. Marija Lončar
Prof. Dr. Sc. Marko Alerić
Prof. Dr. Tamara Gazdic-Aleric
Ms. Yujia Zhu