QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2026

Professor Sibrandes Poppema is the President and Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University in Malaysia since January 2021. He is a Dutch Canadian Citizen and studied Medicine at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He trained as a pathologist and holds a doctorate in Immunopathology from the University of Groningen. He held postdoc positions at the University of Kiel in Germany and Harvard University in the USA. He has widely published on subjects in immunology, haematology, oncology and transplantation and is among the top 2% cited authors in immunology. He held several leadership positions in healthcare and in education institutions, including as Director of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta and later at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands. He was Dean of UMCG for 9 years and next President of the University of Groningen for 10 years.

Dr Nigel Healey is Professor of International Higher Education and Vice President (Global and Community Engagement) at the University of Limerick. He is currently serving as Interim Provost and Deputy President. Prior to his appointment at the University of Limerick in April 2020, he held senior academic positions at Fiji National University, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Canterbury and Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as teaching positions at the University of Leicester and Leeds Beckett University.

Dr Healey has served as an economic policy advisor to the prime minister of Belarus and the deputy minister of economy of the Russian Federation and managed a number of multinational research and economic development projects in Europe and Asia. His current research interests are in the internationalization of higher education, transnational education and higher education policy and management.

Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong is a full-time faculty member and is presently the Deputy Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Office of QS/THE Rankings. Previously, he served as Assistant Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Quality Management Office, chair of the IE Department and dean of the College of Engineering of Lyceum of the Philippines-Laguna, and as senior manager of INTEL Philippines.

Engr. Ong is a Professional Industrial Engineer and an ASEAN Engineer. He was the very first to join the ASEAN Engineer registry in 2012 from the UST Faculty of Engineering. The recognition is given to engineers in the Southeast Asian region who have achieved “operational excellence in the field of engineering.”

With his more than two decades of accomplishment-laden experience in several multinational manufacturing companies by assuming various senior and technical management positions, Engr. Ong successfully turned around every manufacturing arena into delivering the necessary factory systems to enable World Class Manufacturing. His excellent leadership efforts won for him several recognitions/awards. One of his notable achievements, when he was named as INTEL Key Employee in Year 2000 in recognition of his valuable services and contributions to INTEL’s operation. This is Intel’s highest recognition award given to a deserving and consistently rated outstanding employee. INTEL Philippines was the nation’s leading exporter for many years past.

With his strong background in various key areas of expertise, he is the prime mover in the successful ISO Certification of UST. He is being considered to be a high caliber consultant that can be tapped in both the industry and academia. Moreover, Engr. Ong crafted a framework of the UST’s EQMS (Educational Quality Management System) for excellence which became his research paper as accepted in two international conferences in the same year entitled, “An Integrated Framework: Unifying Diverse Perspectives in EQMS” and turnedout in reality when UST earned the distinction of being the first and only university in the Philippines with the four-star rating in QS Stars Rating awarded in 2015 and 2017. Now, UST becomes first and only Philippine university with five stars QS rating. Moreover, four of his research papers have been accepted into International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, which is a Q3 Journal under SCIMAGO-SCOPUS Rankings.

Engr. Ong is currently the only Filipino sitting as a member of the InternationalAcademic Advisory Committee of Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) since 2015. Simultaneously, he has been chosen as the chair of the parallel sessions committee under the different tracks in every QS International Conference and Exhibit annual events. Several international universities have invited him to sit as one of their advisory board members at their international conferences.

Engr. Ong holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering degree from the University of the Philippines-Diliman where he was a consistent UPCE-PCIERD scholar and a BSIE degree from the MAPUA Institute of Technology.

Pei-Shan Tsai, PhD, RN, isa distinguished professor at Taipei Medical University College of Nursing. Her research focuses on the link between stress‐response systems and chronic illnesses and outcomes of nursing care of patients with stress‐related illnesses. Having published morethan 130 peer-reviewed articles in medical, psychology, and nursing journals, Tsai is noted for bringing researchers from different fields together to collaborate on research projects that have important clinical and policymaking implications. In her capacity as Dean of TMU Office of Global Engagement, she leads a team of professionals and academics to assist international exchange of people and ideas, facilitate collaboration in education and research, and promote the institution’s achievements. Working closely with the University’s Senior Leadership Team, Tsai provides strategic advice and practical solutions to the institution’s vision for international development. She is an active participant in international networks and a member of the QS Academic Committee.

Dr Diah Wihardini is the Director of BINUS Global of Bina Nusantara (BINUS) University in Jakarta, Indonesia. She took her PhD in educational measurement at UC Berkeley under the Presidential Fulbright scholarship, a M.Ed at Flinders University, and a B.Sc (Hons) in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Adelaide. Her research interests include item response modelling and development, international assessments, teaching and learning, and educational policy analysis.At BINUS, she handles all activities related to internationalisations and collaborations, and teaches mathematics and statistics courses at undergraduate level.

BIO

Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong is a full-time faculty member and is presently the Deputy Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Office of QS/THE Rankings

TOPICS

• Building Better Universities
• Building Better Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• Topic Title Text Here
• Topic Title Text Here

BIO

Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong is a full-time faculty member and is presently the Deputy Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Office of QS/THE Rankings

TOPICS

• Building Better Universities
• Building Better Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• Topic Title Text Here
• Topic Title Text Here

BIO

Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong is a full-time faculty member and is presently the Deputy Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Office of QS/THE Rankings

TOPICS

• Building Better Universities
• Building Better Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• Topic Title Text Here
• Topic Title Text Here

BIO

Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong is a full-time faculty member and is presently the Deputy Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Office of QS/THE Rankings

TOPICS

• Building Better Universities
• Building Better Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• Topic Title Text Here
• Topic Title Text Here

BIO

Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong is a full-time faculty member and is presently the Deputy Director of the University of Santo Tomas’ Office of QS/THE Rankings

TOPICS

• Building Better Universities
• Building Better Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• SDGs for Universities
• Topic Title Text Here
• Topic Title Text Here