Paul Teng is Managing Director and Dean at the National Institute of Education International Pte. Ltd., Singapore; and concurrently senior fellow (food security), Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. He also holds honorary appointments as Adjunct Professor, Murdoch University and Senior Fellow, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Research & Graduate Studies in Agriculture. He is Chair, board of trustees, International Service for Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA) and chairman of the board, Asia BioBusiness Pte. Ltd.. He graduated from Lincoln University, New Zealand, with a BSc in agricultural science (first class honours, 1972) and PhD in 1978. His honours include: CGIAR Excellence in Science Award, 2001; Outstanding Scientific Article; Eriksson Prize for Plant Pathology, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Fellow, American Phytopathological Society; Honorary Doctor of Science, Murdoch University, Australia. Current interests are in andragogy, food security, urban agriculture, biotechnology, sustainability and inclusive agribusiness.

Heong is Qiushi Chair professor Zhejiang University and Sr. Advisor, Center for Agricultural Biosciences Internatl. (CABI), Malaysia . He obtained his BSc (zoology) from U. of Malaya; his MSc, PhD and DSc from Imperial College, London. He is recognized internationally as an authority on science, technology and the implementation of pest ecology, biodiversity, ecological engineering, farmers' decision-making and pest management. He has served as a snr. res. off., Malaysian Agric. Res & Development Inst, and principal scientist, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. His honors include: Medal for Agriculture Development, Medal for Scientific Excellence from the Govt. of Vietnam; St Andrews Prize, US Council of Agric S and T Charles Black Award, TWAS Prize for agriculture, WB Marketplace Award, COM+Award for communication, Intern Plant Protection Award of Distinction and Zhejiang Westlake Friendship Award, Research Star Award. He is fellow of Academy of Science, Malaysia.

Das studied at the University of Queensland, Australia, where he obtained his BSc (Hons.) in Chemistry in 1965, Dip Ed in 1966 and PhD in 1969. He was previously: Foundation Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Malaya (UM) (1980-98); Head, Chemistry Department, UM (1987-90); Dean, Faculty of Science, UM (1990-98); Senior Professor & Director of Advanced Materials Characterization Allied Laboratories, UM (1998-99); Founding Vice-chancellor, Asian Institute of Medicine, Science & Technology University (2001-2007) and Founding Vice-chancellor, QUEST International University Perak ( 2007-2013). His awards include the National Science Award, 1988-89; the Gold Medal Award, Institute of Chemistry, Malaysia, 1993 and the Malaysian Scholarly Publications Council-Ministry of Education Award for his 2014 book "Tin in Applications: Meeting the green challenge". Now in a retired capacity, he volunteers his services as Emeritus Professor (UM), Senior Fellow or Academician (Academy of Sciences Malaysia), and Vice-President of the Malaysian Research & Development Organization (an NGO). In 2005, he was honored with the civil award of 'Dato Setia Di-Raja Kedah' from the State of Kedah.