Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Dr Christoph Hafner
Christoph A. Hafner focuses his research on English for specific purposes, especially in science and law, along with digital literacies and technology-enhanced language learning. He is the President of the Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional Communication Association and previously served as President of the Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics. Over the course of his career, he has written and edited several influential books in the field. These include the second edition of The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes (Wiley, 2025, co-edited with Sue Starfield), the second edition of Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction (Routledge, 2021, co-authored with Rodney Jones), and English in the Disciplines: A multidimensional model for ESP course design (Routledge, 2019, co-authored with Lindsay Miller). Alongside Sue Starfield, he also co-edits two major Routledge book series focusing on research and introductory guides in English for specific purposes.
Prof. Dr Surinderpal Kaur a/p Chanan Singh
Surinderpal Kaur is a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She holds a PhD from Lancaster University, UK, and brings over thirty years of experience to her work in linguistics, critical discourse studies, and multimodality, focusing on discrimination, migration, Islamophobia, extremism, terrorism, gender, and sexuality. Currently, her work centres on climate change communication and education. At UM, she serves as SDG Champion for Climate Change, directs climate research, and co-chairs the Committee for Climate Change under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability advisory panel. Internationally, she represented Malaysia at COP29 in Baku on Humanising Sustainability, curated programs for COP30 in Belém, and is preparing programming for COP31 in Türkiye with MGTC. In addition to her deanship, she chairs the Malaysian Language Deans Council and is developing a Digital Humanities Centre at her faculty as a TELL hub for Malaysia and ASEAN. Beyond academia, she runs youth capacity-building programs, using linguistics to tackle urgent social and environmental issues.
Plenary Speakers
Dr Nguyen Dang Nguyen
Dr. Nguyen Dang Nguyen is the Dean of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City. He completed his BA in English at HCMC University, his MA in TESOL at Vietnam National University, and his PhD in Educational Leadership and Management at De La Salle University. With over three decades of teaching experience at the faculty, his primary academic interests center on applied linguistics, professional development in TESOL, and educational leadership.
Prof. Dr Hadina binti Habil
Prof. Dr. Hadina Habil is a Professor at the Language Academy within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. As an applied linguist, her research and teaching focus on English for specific purposes, workplace discourse, business communication, discourse analysis, and academic writing. She holds a master’s degree in teaching ESP from Aston University in the UK and a PhD in English Language from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Throughout her time at UTM, she has taken on several leadership roles, including Chair of the Language Academy and Deputy Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies.
