The Plenary Speaker for CITA’25 is Prof. Ts. Dr. Ali bin Selamat, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He also serves as the Head of the Computing and Artificial Intelligence Cluster at Akademi Profesor Malaysia. A highly respected academic, Prof. Ts. Dr. Ali possesses extensive expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, software engineering, information retrieval, pattern recognition, neural networks, soft computing, computational collective intelligence, strategic management, key performance indicators and knowledge management. To date, he has published over 400 research papers, achieving an H-index of 85 and accumulating more than 23,000 citations in the Web of Science. In recognition of his impactful scholarship, he was listed among the World’s Top 2% Scientists in the 2023 single-year impact category by Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier. Prof. Ts. Dr. Ali has also played a leading role in national academic initiatives, including his previous appointment as Deputy Head of the Science, Technology & Innovation Cluster (Computing & Innovation) under the Ministry of Higher Education. He previously served on the editorial board of Knowledge-Based Systems (Elsevier) and was Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Malaysia. 

Prof. Patrick Then assumed the Chief Executive Officer of state-owned Sarawak Artificial Intelligence Centre (SAIC) since March 2025. SAIC aims to accelerate Sarawak economic growth by leveraging AI technologies. SAIC conducts high-impact research and development for Sarawak’s needs, and advises policymakers on AI governance, policy, audit, and talent development.
Before that, he led School of ICT as Head of School, Centre for Digital Futures as Director, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak. As SAIC CEO, he continues mentoring researchers and academics in academia. He has been recognized as eminent researcher in health informatics in the region collaborating with prominent cardiologists and clinicians in Clinical Research Centre Sarawak General Hospital in Malaysia and the National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia. He has published papers in high impact journals and proceedings. He is a strong advocate of transdisciplinary research where he translated artificial intelligence techniques into healthcare, manufacturing and other applications. He is a sought-after keynote speaker in IT and cardiology conferences in Europe, India, Indonesia and South Korea. He is the holder of multiple patents and software copyrights that have been translated into commercial product. He is a highly recognised digital health Key Opinion Leader by Ministry of Health Malaysia.
He is an elected fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, fellow of the Society for Design and Process Science USA, Senior member of Australian Computer Society, Senior member of IEEE, and Board member of Sarawak Development Institute.