key Note Speakers – Social Sciences 2nd International Conference of

Business Administration

Dr. Bakhtiar Ali

Dr. Bakhtiar Ali is a Senior Professor and HEC Approved Supervisor at the Department of Management Science, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan. With over 33 years of experience in both industry and academia at various senior positions, Dr. Bakhtiar brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in HRM, Organizational Behavior, and Management Philosophy. He has made significant contributions to the field through his extensive teaching, research, and academic administration roles. Dr. Bakhtiar also has extensive experience as an industry consultant and trainer, further enriching his practical insights and applications in these areas.

He has supervised 6 PhD and over 90 MS/MPhil theses, demonstrating his commitment to fostering new generations of scholars. An active researcher, Dr. Bakhtiar has published extensively in peer-reviewed national and international journals. He has also presented his research at numerous national and international conferences, showcasing his findings on knowledge sharing, ICT solutions, and organizational performance. Dr. Bakhtiar’s extensive experience, research acumen, and dedication to education make him a distinguished speaker and an invaluable asset to the international research community.

Dr.Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad

Dr. Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad serves as an Associate Professor of Finance and the Head of the MSc Financial Technology and Digital Finance program at Montpellier Business School, bringing a forward-thinking approach to the intersection of finance and technology. With a PhD from UMT Malaysia, Jawad has established himself as a prominent member of the global finance community, including his role as a member of the CFA Institute USA and CFA society France. His editorial contributions to the International Journal of Finance & Economics and Energy Economics, coupled with his recognition as a highly cited researcher, reflect his impactful research work in the field. Jawad's passion lies in advancing the understanding and application of asset pricing, investment management, and quantitative methods, particularly as they relate to the evolving landscapes of climate finance and digital finance. His commitment to excellence in research and education is driven by a belief in the transformative power of finance to address global challenges.

Dr. Abdul Rashid

Dr. Abdul Rashid is currently working as Professor/Director General and Chairman, Research at International Institute of Islamic Economics (IIIE), International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan. He possesses vast experience of research, teaching, and project leadership in economics, finance, and Islamic banking & finance. He carries a wealth of published research (more than 160 papers) earning an impact factor of greater than 30. Having received PhD Economics degree from the University of Sheffield UK in 2012, Dr. Rashid is actively involved in research in Applied Econometrics, International Finance, Corporate Finance, and Islamic Finance and related disciplines. He has published his work in Economic Inquiry, Empirical Economics, Small Business Economics, Energy, Energy Policy, Risk Management, Baltic Journal of Economics, Emerging Market Finance and Trade, Managerial Finance, Eurasian Business Review, International Journal of Finance & Economics, Portuguese Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Studies, Management Decision, Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, International Journal of Emerging Markets, Research in International Business and Finance, Journal of Islamic Business and Management, Pakistan Development Review and several other well-reputed national and international journals.

Dr. Rohida Basirddin

Associate Chair, School of Graduate Studies,
University Technology Malaysia,
Malaysia

Dr. Rohida Basirddin is currently working as Associate Chair, School of Graduate Studies, University Technology Malaysia, Malaysia. She is also serving as JKP Committee at UTM. She is also a member of the European Accounting Association, and a member of the British Accounting and Finance Association. She is also serving as a member of The Malaysian Action Research Network. She also provides consultancy in Projects and has secured fundings for many projects. She has a diverse experience in teaching and research, including publishing in many renowned international journals.

English

Prof. Dr. Safeer Awan

NUML, Islamabad

Dr. Munazza

IIUI, Islamabad

Dr. Arusa Kanwal

Dr. Shaheena Ayub Bhatti

Fine Arts

Dr. Muhammad Asghar

Director, Institute of Art & Design

Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan

A former distinguished Fulbright Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Art & Design at the University of Southern California Los Angeles, United States (2023-2024) and currently working as Director/Associate Professor in the Institute of Art and Design, GC University Faisalabad Pakistan. Dr. Asghar is a professional graphic designer, researcher and writer with extensive experience

and expertise in the field of art, design and visual culture of Pakistan. His work reflects a unique blend of academic rigor and creative insight, making him a prominent figure in the study of art and visual culture.

Dr. Asghar has written a comprehensive book titled "The Sacred and the Secular: Aesthetics in the Domestic Spaces of Pakistan/Punjab”published by LIT Verlag, Zurich Switzerland and further extended it HEC funded project titled“Identities and Manifestations: The Material Context of Art and Visual Culture in Public Spaces”.

Design, GCUF.

Shahnawaz Zaidi

Pride of Performance,

Educationist, Autor, Poet,

Artist (Tamgha e Imtaz)

Hasan Shahnawaz Zaidi is a renowned artist and designer of Pakistan. He has been awarded twice with Presidential Awards; Tamgha e Imtiaz in Art in 1998 and Pride of Performance in Art Education in 2014. Former Principal of the College of Art and Design University of the Punjab Lahore where he served almost three decades

Prof. Dr. Marcella Sirhandi

South Asian Art Historian,

Oklahoma State University, USA.

Sirhandi continued to publish books, essays and journal articles on contemporary Indian and Pakistani art. After the publication of Contemporary Painting in Pakistan, her first book, Sirhandi curated a number of exhibitions of Asian art and wrote catalogs for them.

Sirhandi worked with David Kamansky, director of the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena and Khalid Sirhandi to curate the first exhibition of Pakistani contemporary painting in the USA. A full color catalog was produced for the event in 1994.

Media and Communication Studies

Dr. Jason Gainous

University Of Sharjah

Jason Gainous is a professor in the Department of Mass Communication in the College of Communication, the University of Sharjah in UAE. His scholarly and research interests include political communication, digital media and public opinion, elite social media communication, big data content analysis methods, statistical methods, and research design. He has published three books, two with Oxford University Press (Tweeting to Power: The Social Media Revolution in American Politics and Directed Digital Dissidence in Autocracies: How China Wins Online) and one with Rowman and Littlefield (Rebooting American Politics: The Internet Revolution). He has also published many articles in top communication and political science journals. He is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.

Dr. Hassan Raza Syed

Taylor's University Malaysia

Dr. Syed Hassan Raza, an Associate Professor at the School of Media & Communication, Taylor's University, Malaysia, holds a Ph.D. in Communication with a specialization in International Advertising and Cross-Cultural Communication from Universiti Utara Malaysia. His research focuses on advertising, marketing communication, health communication, and environmental communication.

Dr. Raza has published extensively in renowned Web of Science and Scopus indexed journals and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals, including those by Sage. He completed his postdoctoral research at the National University of Taiwan and was a recipient of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan Fellowship in 2021. He is also associated with Sultan Qaboos University, Oman as Research Consultant.

He is an active member of the International Communication Association and the American Advertising Association. Dr. Raza was a country co-investigator for the GLOBE project in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Canada, and participates in international research projects with Abu Dhabi University, Curtin University (Malaysia campus), Hebei University in China, and Woosong University in South Korea. His collaborative efforts include scholars from the USA, South Korea, Turkey, Malaysia, Taiwan, UAE, UK, Indonesia, Thailand, Austria, and Chile.

Mumtaz Aini Binti Alivi

University Of Malaya

Dr. Mumtaz Aini Binti Alivi is a distinguished Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Malaya. She holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and a Master of Corporate Communication from Universiti Putra Malaysia

With over 20 years of experience at Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), Dr. Mumtaz has excelled in roles such as Broadcast Journalist, Newscaster, News Editor, and News Producer, and has served in strategic and quality control capacities within RTM.

Her research interests encompass journalism, broadcasting, news, online media, and political communication. Dr. Mumtaz has published extensively in prestigious journals and serves on editorial boards, including the Malaysian Journal of Media Studies. She is a recipient of the Best Broadcast Journalist award (2001) and has made significant contributions to national and international research projects and consultancy work.

Dr. Mumtaz's professional appointments include serving as a panel judge for the esteemed Malaysian Journalism Award organized by the Malaysia Press Institute (MPI). She is also a panelist for Pitching Evaluation (Private) and Screening (Syndicated) for RTM programs, a think tank member of the Cyber Generation Laboratory at the Institute for Social Science Studies (IPSAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia, and an expert advisor for Promotion and Publicity at the University of Malaya. Her extensive academic and professional achievements have established her as a leading authority in journalism and mass communication.

Political Science

Dr. Jason Gainous

Dr. Muhammad Nadeem Mirza

Associate Professor,
Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Prof. Dr. Ahmet T. Kuru

San Diego State University, USA

Prof. Dr. Adam Saud

Bahria University Islamabad

Professor Dr. Adam Saud is serving Bahria University Pakistan as Dean, faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He has master’s degree in political science and PhD in International Relations. His areas of interest are Central Asia, democratization, Foreign Policy, Terrorism studies and CPEC.

He has served different organisations in different capacities for more than two decades. He remained head of International Relations and Humanities and Social Sciences Departments, He also served as Coordinator of Quality Assurance Team. He has written number of research articles in ISI impact factor, peer reviewed international, local HEC recognized and other journals. He has presented 35 papers at national and international conferences.

He is a member of the BoG, Quaid-i-Azam University, Member FBOS of several universities and reviewer of number of renowned international and national research journals. He is the founding core member of Ministry of Information’s Working Group on Countering Violent Extremism. He is the Secretary of Pakistan Society for International Studies, an elite academic Society for the discipline of International Relations and Political Science. He is also a member of HEC- NCRC of IR.

Naif Al Bidh

KEEL UNIVERSITY

Naif Al Bidh is a Dubai based scholar of history and politics, he has earned his BA in International Studies at the American University in Dubai, MSc in International Relations at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, UK), MA in Intellectual History at the University Sussex (England, UK), and is currently in Keele University (England, UK). He has lectured history and political science courses in the College of Education at the American University in the Emirates, and lectured in the International Foundation Program at Middlesex University. His early research was focused on secessionism, territorial integrity, and self-determination in international law. This phase of his research attempted to shed light on the issue of Southern secessionism in Yemen in the context of the Arab Spring and the ongoing conflict and civil war, as reflected in his publication Pandemonium in Yemen (2022). The second phase of his research was revolved around Oswald Spengler's philosophy of history in lights of its recent revival and current developments in Western civilization and its political landscape, on this he has published Brave Pessimism: The Clash of Caesarism and Democracy in Spengler's Philosophy of History (2023). His latest work has attempted to redefine the field of speculative philosophy of history, and in his latest publication he sheds light on the similarities and differences with the newly emerging field of Big History through a comparative analysis. He is currently working on a paper that aims to provide a broader conception of Russian civilization and its potential future.

Prof. Dr. Amna Mahmood

Dr. Amna Mahmood is a Professor in the Department of Politics & International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences (F) in International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan. She has served as dean in Faculty of Social Sciences and chairperson in Department of Politics & International Relations at IIUI. She exceptionally holds 33 years’ experience in academia and higher education. Prof. Dr. Amna Mahmood has served as Member Advisory Group on Middle East, National Security Division, Prime Minister Secretariat, Islamabad, Member Advisory Board India Study Center (under Ministry of Foreign Affairs), ISSI, Islamabad and Member Board of Governors Area Study Center, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. In addition to above, Prof. Amna has also published more than 70 research publications in various reputed national and international journals. She also appears as an analyst on politics and international relations in different national and international TV shows.

Psychology

Brig. Prof. Dr. Tanvir Akhtar, SI(M) (Retd)

NUML University, Rawalpindi Campus

Brig® Prof Dr Tanvir Akhtar, SI(M)PhD psychology from National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University; served armed forces for 31 years and retired as chief psychologist Pakistan Army. In recognition to his matrimonious services for armed forces he was awarded with Sitra-I Imtiaz, military. After his retirement from Armed Forces he joined Foundation University Islamabad as head of psychology department. He initiated a research journal and being its chief editor, he got it recognized from HEC in Y category. An enthusiastic researcher he has published around 50 research papers and also authored a book on leadership. He is reviewer of international and national research journals. Has supervised 6 PhD students, 20 MS/MPil students and examined more than 500 PhD/MS and MSc students. He is a member of American Psychological Association and a active participant of 5 of its Divisions. Presently he is serving as a professor at National University of Modern Languages, Rawalpindi

Prof. Dr. Lucie Cluver

University of Oxford, UK

Prof. Dr. Lucie Cluver is a Professor of Child and Family Social Work, in the Centre for Evidence-Based Social Intervention in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, and an Honorary Professor in Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town. She is a Professorial Governing Body Fellow at Nuffield College. She works closely with the South African government, UNDP, USAID-PEPFAR, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNODC, the World Health Organisation and many other international agencies, to provide evidence that can improve the lives of children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. PI Professor Cluver has an exceptional track record of impact, and in the past three years has been selected as a winner of: the University of Oxford Vice Chancellor’s Innovation and Engagement award 2022; the UK Research and Innovation International Impact Award 2021; UKRI Women in Science (2021); O2RB Excellence in Impact Award 2021; the European Union Horizon 2020 Impact Award. In 2019, she was recognised as one of UKRI’s 15 Women with Impact in Research.

Dr. Catherine Ann Cameron

Honorary Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada

Dr. Ann Cameron is Honorary Professor in Psychology at the University of British Columbia; Emerita and Honorary Research Professor at the University of New Brunswick, where she taught and conducted research for over three decades; and Affiliate Member at the University of Victoria. In collaboration with colleagues in China, she is conducting cross-cultural studies of the development of integrity, verbal deception, and truth telling and trust. The latest study within this line of research is the Development of Integrity Project, a cross-lag longitudinal study she developed during the pandemic in collaboration with Dr. Kang Lee from the University of Toronto. With a different methodology she isalso studying thriving in early childhood, the transition to school, adolescence, and older adulthood in diverse locations around the globe. Wrote a book on it too. She is also developing an intervention-study of the prosocial development of displaced children in Rohingya mega camps in Bangladesh.

Prof. Agata Gąsiorowska

DSc Faculty of Psychology in Wrocław Institute of Psychology SWPS University

Agata Gasiorowska is a Full Professor of Psychology at SWPS University in Wroclaw, Poland. She is affiliated with the Center for Research in Economic Behavior (www.creb.edu.pl). Her research focuses on the intersection of social and economic psychology, especially psychology of money and consumer behavior, money attitudes, financial literacy, and market mentality.

Aisha Khizar Yousafzai

Professor of Child Development and Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA

Dr. Yousafzai’s work is situated in the broader context of child and adolescent health and development, particularly among children growing up in highly disadvantaged circumstances and who are at risk for failing to meet their developmental potential. Her research is directed to designing, implementing and evaluating interventions, strategies, and practices intended to mitigate the effects of exposure to early adversity on children’s development, with a particular focus on children and families in the majority world. Dr. Yousafzai’s three major strands of work cover 1) examining the impact of multi-component interventions on child and family wellbeing; 2) using evidence to adapt, replicate, and scale effective interventions; and 3) building on knowledge generated in the field to develop and test innovations to intensify the impact of interventions focused on those who are the most vulnerable worldwide. She has focused on improving child development in the majority world, understanding the structures and capacities of various delivery systems to identify and scale effective interventions across a diversity of healthcare, caregiving, and education cultures, making improvements in child health and development, and thus in population health and health equity more broadly. She works closely with UN agencies, foundations and networks to support child development.

Sociology

Dr. Taeko Takayanagi Social

Graduate School of Asia and Pacific Studies,
Waseda University in Japan

Dr. Taeko Takayanagi (Japan) is an Associate Professor at the School of Arts and Sciences at Tokyo Woman's Christian University in Tokyo. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Sydney. Her major field of research is women’s literacy and development, particularly in Kenya, and non-formal and formal education systems, and Indigenous language learning and people's well-being in developing countries.

Prof. Dr. Hazir Ullah

Director School of Sociology and Director ORIC,
Quaid -i- Azam University

Dr. Hazir Ullah is Professor & Director School of Sociology at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. He has published extensively (50 research articles and 02 books) on reproduction of class & gender hierarchies through education in Pakistan, quality issues in higher education, education for all and social mobility. His priority has been to engage in research with strong social justice agenda. His research has appeared in the world reputed journals: (i) Education Studies, (ii) Asia Pacific Journal of Education, (iii) Education and Urban Society, (iv) Asian Journal of Social Sciences. He has successfully mentored and supervised 07 Ph. Ds and more than 30 M. Phil and MS theses. Dr. Hazir is the highly cited sociologist in Pakistan with h-index 17 and i-index 21.

Prof. Dr. Adeela Ahmed Shafi

University of Gloucestershire, UK

Prof. Dr. Adeela has a background in psychology and education, teaching in higher education for over 18 years. She has worked on international projects in Rwanda and Pakistan, currently leading on three European Erasmus+ projects with partners in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Norway, Turkey, Hungary, Romania and Portugal. She has written on Pakistan education policy and has contributed to training and development in Pakistan. Adeela is an active community worker, standing for MP in 2010, is Chair of the Avon & Somerset Police Scrutiny Panel and founder of the Bristol Muslim Strategic Leadership Group as well as Commissioner for Race Equality in Bristol. Adeela was recognised for her contributions in research and services to social justice with an MBE in the Queens 2020 New Years Honours List.