Dr Melina Neophytou is the Academic Operations Manager at IAFOR, where she works closely with global researchers, keynote speakers, and academic partners. She received her PhD in International Development from Nagoya University, Japan, in 2023, specialising in political sociology, the welfare state, and contentious politics. Her research interests currently focus on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the relationship between state and society. Especially focusing on technologies such as Facial Recognition (FRT) or biometric surveillance, she currently researches how AI impacts the freedom of expression, protests and social policy. Born in Germany and raised in Cyprus, she has been living in Japan for the past decade. She is fluent in German, Greek, and English, and speaks Japanese at a conversational level.
Grant Black is professor in the Faculty of Commerce at Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan, where he has taught Global Skills and Global Issues since 2013. An academic, global manager, and systems builder, he specializes in intercultural intelligence (CQ), organizational management, and global management skills. Black is President of Black Inc. Consulting (Japan), a Tokyo-based firm focused on international and intercultural project management. He is a Vice-President and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Academic Forum (IAFOR). His academic journey includes a BA with Highest Honors in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara, an MA in Japanese Buddhist Studies from UCLA, and a Doctor of Social Science (DSocSci) in Management from the University of Leicester and certification as a Chartered Manager (CMgr). Black previously was Chair of the English Section at the Center for Education of Global Communication at the University of Tsukuba. He is the author of Education Reform Policy at a Japanese Super Global University (Routledge, 2022).
