Prof. Isam Zabalawi is the President of the Australian University (AU). With a PhD in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Leeds University, he is specialized in analog and digital signal processing and communication techniques. His interests include the communication industry, information technology, technology transfer and higher education development and reform. Prof. Zabalawi is a well-published research scholar and prior to joining AU in 2017, held senior positions including President of The Arab Academy for Banking & Financial Sciences, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Jordan, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah (UAE), Chairman of the Higher Education Accreditation Council of Jordan, founding minister for establishing the German-Jordanian University and founding President of the International University for Science and Technology (IUST) in Syria 2005-2007. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and awarded the Engineering Executive credentials. Additionally, he is a fellow of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) – United Kingdom and he is a fellow with the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI). He served as a Higher Education Reform Expert (HERE’s) with the European Commission and Erasmus+ (Tempus) Office, Jordan.

Adel Ben Youssef is an Associate Professor of Economics at Université Côte d’Azur and a permanent member of the CNRS research laboratory GREDEG (UMR 7321). He is also an associate researcher at the Economic Research Forum (Cairo) and the Global Labor Organization (Bonn). Internationally recognized for his work on ecological and digital transitions, he has made major contributions to advancing the concept of the twin transition—the synergy between digital innovation and environmental sustainability—as a key framework for public policy, industrial development, and climate strategies. With over two decades of academic and advisory experience, Professor Ben Youssef has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in top international journals and contributed to numerous collective works, notably on Industry 4.0, smart cities, green finance, and labor market transformations. His recent works explore how AI, digital skills, and renewable energy are reshaping sustainability trajectories in both developed and emerging economies. He has served as Tunisia’s climate finance negotiator at seven consecutive COP summits (COP23 to COP29), reflecting his long-standing engagement in global climate diplomacy. He also acts as a scientific advisor and expert for international organizations including the UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP, UN-Habitat and UNOPS. He is member of advisory boards of INCIT and MENAPAR. He is Editor-in-Chief of Platforms (MDPI) and Associate Editor of Development and Sustainability in Economics and Finance (Springer) and Green and Low-Carbon Economy. He has led more than 30 large-scale international projects and facilitated over 100 workshops on sustainable development, digital governance, and climate action. Professor Ben Youssef is among the top 2% of worldwide scientists ranked by Standford University in collaboration with Elsevier and 1% of economists worldwide according to ScholarGPS. He has supervised numerous doctoral theses on digital transformation, energy transitions, and smart tourism strategies across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Raimund Klein is a highly skilled individual with experience in manufacturing design and global supply digitisation across Europe and Asia. He excels at identifying opportunities to improve, enhance and optimise processes through data analysis. His strong business acumen, solid education and progressive executive management experience enable him to build highly efficient teams in multinational organisations that work collaboratively to meet organisational goals efficiently. With close to 40 years of experience in business strategy and planning, sales, marketing strategy and more, Raimund is a staunch advocate for the digitalisation of manufacturing, firmly believing that digital transformation is a must for future success. In his current role, Raimund actively fosters collaboration between public and private sector manufacturing-related organisations to catalyse industrial transformation across geographies and industries. He also provides direction and guidance for the development and deployment of globally referenced frameworks, tools, concepts and programmes for the international manufacturing community. This includes the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) which helps manufacturers start, scale, and sustain their manufacturing transformation journeys, and the neutral and independent Consumer Sustainability Industry Readiness Index (COSIRI), which benchmarks the sustainability maturity of organisations and their ESG transparency. Under Raimund’s leadership, INCIT has officially partnered with government and independent entities to advance manufacturing transformation around the world. This includes Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) to foster and accelerate Industry 4.0 transformation across the Kingdom through the adoption of SIRI; the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to accelerate the transformation of the manufacturing sector in the Philippines; and the Selangor Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) to transform manufacturing by addressing sustainability and talent development. Previously, Raimund was Head of Digital Industries ASEAN at Siemens and was accountable for developing new business models for digitalisation and automation. Raimund speaks actively about a range of manufacturing-related topics including productivity, Industry 4.0, sustainability, smart manufacturing, and manufacturing transformation. He was invited to speak at events like Open Innovation Day: TechTraverse 2023, Future Mobility Asia 2023, and on platforms like APAC Network about how manufacturing is playing its part to address the climate challenge.