Sian Lun Lau
Professor Ts. Dr.-Ing.
Researcher · Educator · IEEE Senior Member
I am a Professor at the School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, Malaysia, and an Adjunct Professor at the Vellore Institute of Technology (Chennai Campus), India. My research lies at the intersection of ubiquitous computing, sustainable smart cities, context-awareness, and applied machine learning.
Prior to joining Sunway University in 2013, I spent nearly a decade as a researcher at the University of Kassel, Germany, where I earned both my MSc and Dr.-Ing. (magna cum laude) and contributed to multiple EU and German national research projects.
Background
BEng (Hons) — Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Research Interests
Exploring the convergence of computing, context, and sustainability
Ubiquitous Computing
Designing unobtrusive computing systems that seamlessly integrate into everyday environments, enabling natural human-computer interaction through smartphones and wearable devices.
Sustainable Smart Cities
Developing intelligent urban solutions that optimize energy consumption and create more sustainable, liveable cities through IoT, data-driven and crowd-sourced approaches.
Context-Awareness & Activity Recognition
Building systems that understand and adapt to user context — activity, location, environment — to deliver personalized and responsive services automatically.
Applied & Explainable ML
Applying ML techniques including federated learning, deep learning, and explainable AI (XAI) to solve real-world problems in IoT, security, and interdisciplinary domains.
Sustainability & STEM Education
Research on SDG4 (Quality Education) — sustainability education, unplugged computational thinking, hackathon-based learning, and STEM/AI education for underserved communities.
AI Ethics & Governance
Contributing to responsible AI development as a member of Z-Inspection, a framework for assessing trustworthy AI systems across societal dimensions.
Selected Publications
80+ peer-reviewed papers across journals, conferences, book chapters, and books
Unplugged but Empowered: Investigating the Impact of 3Ps on Computational Thinking Activities
I. Sakinah et al.
Preserving Fine-Grained Droplet Structures by Spatial Gaussian Blurring Against Pooling Deformation in U-Net-Based Semantic Segmentation
W. L. Lim et al. — IEEE Access, vol. 14
Trust-Aware Authentication and Authorization for IoT: A Federated Machine Learning Approach
K. I. Ahmed et al. — IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 12, no. 8
Sustainable AI in the Cloud-to-Thing Continuum: A Bibliometric Review on Lightweight, Small-Sample, and Federated Learning Approaches
S. L. Lau et al. — IEEE ISVLSI
SustHack: Hackathons as a Model of Citizen Participation in Innovating for Sustainable Urban Development
M. O. Adisa et al. — Book Chapter, Routledge
Investigation on IoT and Cloud Technology Implementation for Smart Agriculture
J. A. Yap et al. — IEEE ICOCO
Semantic Liquid Spray Understanding with Computer-Generated Images
W. L. Lim et al. — IEEE Access
Impact of Building Information Modelling and Advanced Technologies in the AEC Industry
H. K. Biswas et al. — Journal of Building Engineering, vol. 82
Saliency-Based Explainable AI (XAI) for Interpreting U-Net Semantic Segmentation of Synthetic Liquid Spray Images
T. W. Chin et al. — IEEE ICOCO
Towards a User-Centric Context Aware System: Empowering Users Through Activity Recognition Using a Smartphone
S. L. Lau — Doctoral Thesis, Kassel University Press
Research Projects
25+ funded research projects spanning international collaborations across Europe, Asia, and the US
Bridging the Cyber Skills Gap
A hackathon-based approach for designing cybersecurity education, bridging the gap between academia and industry needs.
Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) — €51,700BEST: Blended Education for STEM Teaching
International collaboration on blended education approaches for STEM teaching between UK and Malaysia.
ISPF Grant, British Council & Academy of Sciences Malaysia — £140,000ImpactXChange
Impact eXChange through International Hackathon for Sustainable Solutions — cross-border innovation for sustainability.
Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) — €64,000DeepSpray+
Improved post-processing of images from liquid atomization simulations using deep learning techniques.
U.S. Army International Technology Center Pacific — $82,000SustHack
Synchronizing sustainable development actions between Finland and Malaysia using the hackathon approach.
Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) — €32,000ProtoPolicyAsia
Empowering local communities and government in Malaysia in addressing social issues in ageing and disabilities.
UK AHRC GCRF Grant — £85,867SEAM4US
Sustainable Energy mAnageMent for Underground Stations — advanced technologies for optimal and scalable control of metro stations.
EU FP7 (Energy-Efficient Buildings)EU & German National Projects
Contributed to EU FP6 MobiLife, ITEA S4ALL, and BMBF MATRIX (telemedicine) projects at the University of Kassel, Germany.
EU / BMBF GermanyTeaching & Supervision
Shaping the next generation of computing and engineering professionals
Undergraduate Courses
Programming for Engineers, Code Camp, Startup Foundry, Web and Network Analytics, Big Data Analytics in the Cloud, Concurrent Programming, Software Architecture, Mobile Application Development.
Postgraduate Courses
Smart Technology and IoT, Big Data Management, Cloud Infrastructure, Research Methodology, Mobile and Executive Computing, Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation.
Student Supervision
Currently supervising 3 MSc and 7 PhD students. Graduated 5 MSc and 7 PhD students as main or co-supervisor. Supervised 20+ thesis and projects at the University of Kassel.
Innovation & Design Thinking
Promoting design thinking in education, mentoring students in hackathons, and fostering innovation through human-centred problem solving and sustainability-focused competitions.
Professional Activities
Service, leadership, and engagement with the global computing community
IEEE Computer Society Malaysia
Vice-Chair / Chair-Elect (2023–2026), Secretary (2021–2022), Executive Committee (2017–2020)
Professional Bodies
IEEE Senior Member (No. 90886544) · IET Member · BEM Graduate Engineer · MBOT Professional Technologist
Conference Leadership
Programme Chair for IEEE ICOCO (2021–2024), IEEE IC3e (2015–2020), IEEE SAS 2020, VSMM 2016, and more
Keynote Speaker
Keynotes at CIIR 2025 (Kolkata), AISC 2024 (Kolkata), ICCSCI 2022 (Bandung), ICIRA 2020, and conferences across Asia
Standards & Policy
ISO/TC 324 Sharing Economy expert · MTSFB WG1 Smart Cities member · Z-Inspection AI ethics initiative
External Examiner & Reviewer
External examiner for PhD/MSc at universities across Malaysia, Germany, and India. Reviewer for IEEE Access, Springer, and MDPI journals
Editorial Work
Associate Editor, Journal of Cases on Information Technology (JCIT). Editor, Blockchain and AI Technology in the Industrial IoT (IGI Global)
International Engagement
IACST Malaysia Director · SDGs in Action Mentor (York University, Canada) · HRD Corp Subject Matter Expert
Let's Connect
I'm open to research collaborations, invited talks, student supervision, external examiner roles, and conversations about computing, sustainability, and education.