Hairani M Nur

Hairani M Nur is a Principal Teaching Fellow at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Her teaching areas focuses on the planning and execution of events at Diploma and Degree programme. For practical elements, she continuously adds value to students’ experiential learning with event projects that incorporate external stakeholders such as academic conferences. Apart from teaching, she guides the School’s teams for national and international competitions on MICE-related topics, with the most recent competitions being MICE Destination Marketing Contest 2021 organized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and AFECA Asia MICE Youth Challenge 2021organized by the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA). She designs and implements short courses such as Certificate in Sustainable City Destination and Certificate in Sustainable City Destination Application, with participations from Japanese and Indonesian universities. She participates in professional trainings especially those organized by the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (MACEOS) to enhance her skills and knowledge in business events.

Professor Dr Daniel Chong Ka Leong

Professor Dr. Daniel Chong is Dean and Professor of Hospitality at Sunway University, with more than 20 years of experience in hospitality education, industry training and academic leadership. He holds a French degree in Tourism and Hospitality, an Australian MBA, and a Doctorate in Business Administration specialising in Services Branding. A former hotelier and F&B professional, Professor Dr. Daniel has held operational, consulting and training roles across multinational hotel groups, restaurant franchises and hospitality consulting. He is a Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT®), WSET-certified wine trainer, Master Barista certified by Illy Università del Caffè, and an Accredited Corporate Trainer under Malaysia’s HRD Corp. An award-winning educator, he has received teaching excellence awards and the Excellence in Innovation and Enterprise Award. His research focuses on the challenges and opportunities shaping hospitality and tourism in Asia. Internationally, he serves as Malaysia’s National Representative to the ASEAN–Korea Tourism Roundtable and as a Board Member of the Asia Pacific Tourism Association.

Belinda Fong Chong Lynn

Ms Belinda Fong specialises in events management education, communications and media. Her diverse background obtained from the fields of journalism, hospitality, and public relations in the education industry, as well as the hospitality industry, gives her a broad perspective for advancing her teaching career in the area of media communications and events management. Her industry experiences are incorporated in her lessons with the Diploma, Degree, and Masters students, especially those involving the fundamentals and principles of events management and operations, media, and marketing communications. She is currently pursuing her PhD, where her research focuses on areas of digital cultures and communications. 

Soon Pau Voon

Soon Pau Voon is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Food and Ethnicity. His research interests include the anthropology of food (feasting and commensality) and the social history of food (Malaysian ethnic food). As a chef, he has led the Malaysia Junior National Culinary Team in the IKA/Culinary Olympics 2020 in winning Gold in Restaurant of Nations and Silver in IKA Buffet, ranking 6th overall. He is currently the Hon. Secretary of the Professional Culinaire Association, Malaysia and a member of the Asia Pacific Food Studies Network.

Dr Sara Abhari

Sara Abhari possesses more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry, working as an event planner and an executive catering chef. Her career in food and beverage kickstarted in 2002 as a food entrepreneur and co-founder of a catering kitchen (S.Kitchen). Her wealth of knowledge and skills in this area of hospitality has also opened up other opportunities where she also became a culinary consultant and instructor. Sara is also an enthusiastic writer and was formerly a food writer and critic for the International Nutrition and Diet Magazine.  

Dr Afsaneh Rostami

Dr Afsaneh Rostami holds a PhD in Hospitality and Tourism and is currently a lecturer at Sunway University. She has five years of professional experience in the tourism industry prior to entering academia, which brings strong practical insight to her teaching and research. Her academic background includes a Master’s degree focusing on tourism marketing, place branding, and agrotourism. During her PhD studies, her research primarily focused on gender studies within the tourism context.

Dr Trevor Shenal Anton

Dr Trevor Anton earned his PhD in Hospitality and Tourism from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Sunway University, Malaysia. He also acquired his BSc in International Hospitality Management in 2021. His current research interests include small and micro business entrepreneurship and development, smart technology adoption and application, and the development and application of suitable qualitative action research approaches within the business and hospitality industries.

Norhafizatul Akma Binti Hamzah

Chef Norhafizatul Akma Hamzah currently teaches both pastry and cuisine, covering practical and lecture-based classes. With several years of experience working in the pastry outlet of a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Chef Norhafizatul Akma Hamzah brings extensive knowledge and skill to the kitchen. She holds a Master of Arts in Culinary Arts Management from University College Birmingham, UK. A seasoned competitor, she has earned multiple medals in renowned events such as IKIP and Battle of the Chefs. During her studies, Chef Norhafizatul received the prestigious Best Student for Industrial Award from Galadari Hotel, Sri Lanka, an esteemed recognition for undergraduate students, which she received at her graduation. In her master’s program, she was selected to represent Young Chefs at a conference dinner project and also won the Best Idea for New Business Restaurant Concept for her Culinary Project in collaboration with the industry. More recently, she earned certifications as a Halal Executive and a ServSafe Manager, upholding the highest standards in food safety and quality.