ACM-W Asia Pacific

ScholarCohort 2026: ACM Celebration of Women in Computing Asia-Pacific (APCWiC)

ScholarCohort 2026 is part of the ACM Celebration of Women in Computing Asia-Pacific (APCWiC). The event is sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), ACM-W, and ACM-W Asia Pacific. This flagship gathering brings together students in computing across the Asia-Pacific.

Eligibility and Application

Who can apply: Postgraduate students or senior undergraduates in computing or related disciplines.

Selection criteria: Demonstrated interest in research, commitment to participation, and diversity of backgrounds.

Apply by: 31 December 2025 

Schedule and Program Structure

Full agenda will be released closer to the event.

Format: In-person • Duration: 2 days • Venue: Monash Malaysia

Speakers and Facilitators

The following is our diverse lineup of speakers and facilitators.

Dr. Bimlesh Wadhwa

National University of Singapore

Dr. Rukiye Altin

Kiel University

Click ro read bio

Rukiye Altin is a full-time researcher in the Computer Science Education Research Group in the Department of Computer Science at Kiel University, Germany. The group focuses on students’ perceptions of computer science topics, modelling and measuring computer science competencies, and examining teachers’ subject-specific didactic knowledge in computer science. Her research focuses on computer science education, gender diversity in computing, and the integration of AI in K–12 classrooms.
She is an active member of ACM, currently serving as the ACM-W Global Chair and an ACM DEI member, and formerly served as the ACM-W Europe Chair. Through these roles, she contributes to initiatives that support and connect women in computing worldwide. Her academic work bridges research and practice, with the goal of fostering more inclusive and equitable participation in computer science education.

Dr. Judy Bowen

University of Waikato

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Judy Bowen is an Associate Professor in Software Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Originally from South Wales, Judy moved to New Zealand in 1999 and completed her MSc and PhD at the University of Waikato, both focussed on the use of formal methods for interactive system design. Her research spans the disciplines of software engineering and human-computer interaction and focuses on interactive system design, model-driven development and testing, and the impacts of ubiquitous technology, wearable technology and IoT solutions on end-users. She leads the Human-Centred Computing group at the University of Waikato and has run large projects on wearable technology in the workplace, medical device design and model-driven development.

Dr. Anuja Dharmaratne

Monash University

Dr. Susi Susilawati

Monash University Malaysia

Click to read bio

There have been a big shift in transport planning and management recently in which transport planning is no longer focused on constructing transport infrastructures instead focused more on providing reliable transport services and improving accessibility. An integrated, well-coordinated and reliable traffic systems is needed. Dynamic traffic modelling which incorporate time dependent traffic demand and supply generated from readily available big data enable to better manage urban transportation. To tackle the challenges, a multidisciplinary intelligent and smart transportation ecosystem project is currently undergoing which aims to smoothen traffic flow in by reducing commuter heavily reliance on road traffic through voluntary travel demand management.

Dr. Susilawati received her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Transportation Engineering from the University of South Australia in 2007 and 2012. Before joining Monash, she worked in multinational consulting firms as a geo-spatial data analyst in Indonesia and Australia. Her research interests are mainly on dynamic transport planning and modeling that consider the stochastic nature of traffic demand and road capacity to measure travel demand management’s effectiveness, including congestion charging and create reliable transport systems and. She has been working on projects to evaluate various effects of road disruptions on traffic performances considering supply and demand variation using the transport network vulnerability approach. 

Her current research activities focused on the evaluation of the effects of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) adoption on public transport’s first-mile and last-mile connectivity and the in-vehicle value of time (IVVT) and schedule delay.

She is a PI of two FRGS on sustainable and intelligent transport and Co-PI on several multidisciplinary projects on smart city and active mobility. In 2010, she was awarded the Inaugural Young Researcher Award by the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB).

Dr. Arati Dixit

Applied Research Associates Inc. & North Carolina State University

Dr. Reyyan

Ayfer

Bilkent University

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Reyyan Ayfer, after working for the industry for more than a decade, dedicated 35 years of her career to Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, taking on a diverse range of roles. She served as an instructor, chair of Computer Technology and Programming, vice chair of Computer and Instructional Technology Teacher Education, director of the Institutional History Unit, and coordinator of BETS (Bilkent Educational Technology Services). Her research interests encompass programming, data structures, computer science education, information ethics, and security. Throughout her career, Reyyan committed to advancing the field of computer science and fostering a positive learning environment.

Ayfer held several leadership roles within the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to enhance computer science education and increase women’s representation in the field. She received the Anita Borg Change Agent Award in 2008 after eight years as ACM-W Ambassador for Turkey. She organized the 15th annual European conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) for ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE). She is the founding chair of ACM-W Europe and is proud to see amazing women getting together at womENcourage events. She oversaw global initiatives as the vice chair of ACM’s Council on Women (ACM-W).

Dr. John See

Heriot-Watt University

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Dr. John See is a Professor at School of Mathematical and Computing Sciences, Heriot-Watt University (Malaysia Campus). Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer at Multimedia University, Malaysia where he was the Chair of the Centre for Visual Computing (CVC), and founded the Visual Processing (ViPr) Lab. From 2017-2019, he was also a Visiting Research Fellow at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) as a recipient of the Belt and Road Initiative Young Scientist Fellowship. He received his Bachelor, Masters and PhD degrees from Multimedia University.

Dr. See has published more than 140 articles in reputable journals and conferences such as IEEE T-PAMI, T-AC, T-MM, T-CSVT, and top-ranked computer vision and AI conferences such as CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, ACM Multimedia, AAAI and NeurIPS. He has served as chair of several workshops, special sessions, and in the technical programme committee of various international conferences. Over the span of his academic career, he has received more than MYR 3 million in research funding from international, national, and industrial grants as Principal Investigator (PI)/Co-PI. He currently serves in the following editorial boards:

He is also a Member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), Senior Member of IEEE, and was an Elected Member of the IEEE Multimedia Systems and Applications (MSA) Technical Committee (CAS) for Term 2020-2024 and Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP) Technical Committee (SPS) for Term 2021-2023.

Dr. Chun Yong Chong

Software Engineering Laboratory–Leibniz, Huawei

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Chun Yong Chong is a Principal Research Scientist at the Software Engineering Laboratory–Leibniz, Huawei, where his work centers on AI for Software Engineering (AI4SE) and Software Engineering for AI (SE4AI). His current research spans AI-assisted development tools and evaluation of large language models with an emphasis on coding and broader software-engineering capabilities. Previously, he served as a Senior Lecturer at Monash University Malaysia. His work has appeared in leading SE venues such as ICSE, FSE, ASE, ISSTA, ICST, and TOSEM, and he has contributed to the community as a technical committee member and reviewer across these conferences and journals.

Dr. Marcus Lim

Jun Yi

Monash University Malaysia

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Dr. Marcus Lim Jun Yi is a High Performance Computing Specialist at Monash University Malaysia, where he manages and optimizes Linux based HPC infrastructure for large scale research. He supports compute intensive tasks including deep learning training using SLURM scheduling, Docker containerization, and parallel processing frameworks. With a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence, he bridges advanced computing infrastructure with research innovation, enabling AI, genomics, and data science projects. His expertise includes Python, Bash, C++, Kafka, and TorchServe for scalable AI pipelines.

Dr. Joanne Lim

Mun Yee

Monash University Malaysia

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Associate Professor Ir Ts Dr Joanne Lim is a professional engineer with over 18 years of experience in industry and academia, currently serving as an ECSE Course Director at the Department of Electrical and Robotics Engineering, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). She has developed cutting-edge smart city technologies integrating IoT and AI for diverse industries, including systems that ease traffic congestion, enhance smart city monitoring, and improve railway and drone communication reliability. She is also a certified HRDF trainer and a RCOC-B drone pilot.

Joanne’s primary research goal is to advance urban mobility and sustainability by leveraging AI-driven data analytics, IoT-enhanced communication systems, and autonomous drone technologies. Her work has resulted in significant improvements in transportation efficiency, safety, and monitoring capabilities. She has designed AI models for data analytics and contributed to strengthening IoT networks for industrial and urban applications. She also pioneered the IoT and Drones Laboratory at Monash University Malaysia, establishing a key platform locally and internationally for research, innovation, and industry collaboration.

Over the past eight years, Joanne has led 15 external industry-funded research grants as Project Leader and Principal Investigator, completing seven and currently leading eight ongoing industry projects. Her contributions have earned her four local awards and two international awards. She has collaborated with more than 15 industry partners, delivering practical solutions and industry-ready prototypes, including the successful deployment of an intelligent transportation system for different states in Malaysia. 

Dr. Mark Chia

Mobius Group

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Mark is the founder of Mobius Group where he is responsible for the vision and strategic direction of the company. He is a thought leader and trainer in data science who is passionate about the data science ecosystem. He is a firm believer in talent development and sits on the advisory boards of various universities. He is also a member of advisory panels in various organisations.

Before launching Mobius, Mark was the Director of Group Data at Astro. He was responsible for the integration, utilisation and monetisation of data across the Astro Group. He brought together the disciplines of data management, visualisation and advanced analytics to generate value for Astro.

Prior to Astro, Mark was the Advanced Analytics Lead at SAS, a global leader in analytics. He also helmed the SAS graduate and internship programmes. He has worked in data science and IT for over 15 years with various companies abroad.

FAQs

Before the event

Do I need prior research experience?

No. We welcome all students with an interest in research. The programme offers sessions tailored to different stages (early, mid, and late), so you can choose what best fits your background and interests.

Is there a registration fee?

Yes. Registration is RM 75 for ACM members and RM 100 for non-members. Selected participants will be contacted to complete payment, and detailed instructions will be provided at that stage.

How do I arrange my travel and accommodation?

Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodation, in line with the policies of their academic institutions. We will share recommended accommodation options near the venue, along with a transportation guide.

Will financial support be provided?

Limited support may be available on a reimbursement basis. Participants should plan to cover their own expenses, and keep booking confirmations and receipts in case they qualify for reimbursement.

During the event

Are the sessions mainly research-based?

Not exclusively. In addition to research-focused sessions on current emerging topics, there will be hands-on workshops on technical tools and methods, as well as career-oriented sessions to prepare you for opportunities beyond undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Will the event be hybrid or in-person only?

The programme will be held fully in person at Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway campus. Catering will be provided, and participants will be contacted regarding dietary requirements or other specific needs after registration.

In what ways will I actively participate in the sessions?

You’ll take part in hands-on workshops, contribute to group discussions, and join activities that encourage reflection and sharing. Networking sessions will also give you the chance to mingle with peers, mentors, and professionals in a more informal setting.

What will I gain from participating?

You’ll leave with practical research insights, skills to strengthen your future career pathways, and, most importantly, lasting connections in a supportive community that celebrates women in computing and champions diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field.

Is the event accessible for participants with disabilities?

Yes. We are committed to making the event inclusive. Please let us know during registration if you have any accessibility needs.

Organizing Team

Click here to see the organizing team!