Emerging Scholar Awards
For each conference, a small number of Emerging Scholar Awards are given to outstanding graduate students and emerging scholars who have an active research interest in the conference themes. Emerging Scholars perform a critical role in the online conference by commenting and engaging the parallel sessions, and presenting their own research papers. The 2026 Emerging Scholar Award recipients are as follows:
Tilburg University, Netherlands
Pratiksha is a Post Doctoral Researcher at Tilburg University for the EU Horizon 2020 project AI4POL and is affiliated with Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) and Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC). She holds a PhD in consumer protection and data rights on collaborative economy platforms from UC Louvain, Belgium. She was also the legal researcher for the PROSECO Project (Platform Regulations and Operations in the Sharing Economy). She has a double degree in Business Administration and Law and a Masters in Corporate and Commercial Law from India. Her second masters is a Master of Corporate Law, University of Cambridge, UK. She is a qualified lawyer in her home state of Karnataka and the Bar Council of India. Her research interests include digital regulation, data and consumer law, AI and regulation, comparative law, and global studies with perspectives from the Global South.
Izmir University of Economic, Turkey
Melih Uğraş Erol is an Assistant Professor of Law at Rauf Denktaş University (TRNC) and a part-time Lecturer at Izmir University of Economics. He received his PhD in Law from Erasmus University Rotterdam and also holds an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from Lund University, an M.Sc. in European Studies from Middle East Technical University (METU), and an LL.B. from Eastern Mediterranean University. Dr. Erol has taught and lectured internationally. His research focuses on international law, human rights law, digitalization and human rights, vulnerable identities, and minority rights, with publications in peer-reviewed journals and books. He is a member of several professional academic networks. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9905-8633
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Bo-Yuan Ray Deng is a Research Assistant in the Department of English at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, an advanced English instructor in a language institutional centre in Taiwan and a foreign language consultant in WenCaiFeng Language and Education Consulting Co., Ltd. He graduated from the Applied Linguistics and TESOL (English Department) at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology. His research expertise lens on innovative teaching pedagogies, cognitive psycholinguistics and psychology-linguistics, especially anxiety in learning and individual differences (IDs). He is also recruited as the writing mentor of WriteRight, an AI-powered writing platform.
Rutgers University, United States
Jules studies marginalized identities and digital subcultures through an intersectional lens. Her current research focuses on how neurodivergent individuals who are also marginalized in gender, sexuality, or race self-identify and find support. Her previous research on gender and sexual minorities draws her toward the intersection of stigma and privilege in these contexts. Before joining Rutgers, Jules spent ten years in the research and nonprofit sectors developing social justice and community healing initiatives. She has an MA degree in sociology from The New School, publications in Sexualities and the Journal of Positive Sexuality, and an interdisciplinary background in the arts.
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia
Muhamad Firdaus Mohd Noh is an experienced educator with over thirteen years of service as an English language teacher. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Measurement and Evaluation at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), where his research focuses on developing skill-based language assessments. His scholarly interests centre on the application of psychometric models in language assessment, particularly in exploring how measurement frameworks can enhance the validity, reliability, and diagnostic value of assessment instruments. He has published in reputable journals and has presented his research at both national and international conferences. His academic accomplishments have been recognised through several prestigious awards, including the PROMS 2025 Distinguished Student Scholarship in Singapore and The International Research Foundation (TIRF) Doctoral Dissertation Grant Award.
There was a significant amount of learning as a result of attending and participating in the conference. However, the most important lesson was realizing the significant benefits that can be gained from interdisciplinary collaboration."
I gained unparalleled knowledge from the presentations from other participants while also gaining confidence and encouragement."