Professor Stephen Ball, a sociologist who has been described as one of the most eminent researchers in the field of education policy, is Emeritus Professor of Sociology of Education, at the University College London’s Institute of Education. He is Fellow of the British Academy, Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Laureate of Kappa Delta Pi and founding editor of the Journal of Education Policy.

The experience of growing up in a working-class area of post-war London, and the tutorship of Dennis Marsden inspired Professor Ball to become a sociologist and undertake research to tackle inequality, rendering it intolerable to society. After 16 years at King’s College, London, Professor Ball became Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education, University College of London – a position he held between 2001 and 2015.

Professor Ball’s principal areas of interest are sociologically informed education policy analysis and the relationships between education, education policy and social class, changes in governance and new state modalities, as well as the global education reform movement. He has been a prolific scholar since the early 1980s, with over 370 publications and over 48,000 citations to his name. He has developed research and written books and articles on various themes in the field of education. The most recent books he has authored analyse research on global actors’ education policy in African and India, and how philosopher Michel Foucault’s theories apply to education. A new book Against School will be published in 2025.

Professor Marilyn Cochran-Smith is the Cawthorne Endowed Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools, Emerita, at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College, USA, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She is a Fellow and former president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and is highly respected nationally and internationally for her scholarship and leadership in teacher education research, practice, and policy, as well as for her sustained commitment to teaching and teacher education for equity and social justice.

With a passion for education from a young age, Professor Cochran-Smith worked as a primary school classroom teacher for six years, winning the Outstanding Young Educator Award for her school district. She later obtained her PhD in Language Education from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1996, she joined the Lynch School of Education and Human Development faculty at Boston College as Professor of Education.

Ever since the 1980s, Professor Cochran-Smith has suggested that teachers must not be regarded merely as consumers and implementors of the knowledge generated by those outside schools and classrooms. She has garnered many awards for her scholarship, and also served on multiple prestigious panels on US teacher education. Her research interests include practitioner inquiry and teacher education research, practice and policy. She has written 10 books and more than 250 articles, chapters and editorials, and her work has been cited over 57,000 times.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Professor Frederick Ma graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and History from the University of Hong Kong. He went on to hold key leadership positions at various financial institutions and major organisations in the private sector. In the public sector, he served as Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong SAR government from 2002-2008, and was Chairman of MTR Corporation Limited from 2016-2019.

Professor Ma was Chairman of the Council of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) between 2017 and 2020. During his chairmanship, he gained the Education Bureau’s support for the site in North Point for EdUHK to establish a down-town study centre. He also personally donated funds to EdUHK to set up key scholarships and greatly supported fundraising efforts of the University. Professor Ma is also the Permanent Honourable President of Hong Kong Special Schools Council, and has taken up honorary professorships in the Business School at the University of Hong Kong and the Faculty of Business Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

Professor Ma has made valuable contributions to the higher education sector in Hong Kong, especially during his chairmanship of the Council of the University, and with his unwavering support in promoting character education beyond the classroom to the wider community in recent years, with his loyal and distinguished service to the Government and the Hong Kong community.

Hon Maria Tam is a well-known veteran politician and former member of four different levels of representative councils. She is currently a member of the District Councils Eligibility Review Committee. Hon Tam has actively participated in significant historical changes in Hong Kong, playing a crucial role in the process of Hong Kong's return to China and the formulation and promotion of the Basic Law. Her efforts and achievements are deeply imprinted in Hong Kong's history.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London, Hon Tam was called to the bar at Gray’s Inn, before returning to Hong Kong. Holding the belief that law is not merely a tool for maintaining social order but also a crucial force for protecting the underprivileged, she has made outstanding contributions over many years to the process of Hong Kong’s return to the Motherland, and promotion of Basic Law education in Hong Kong and at the national level. She was appointed as a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee in 1985 and member of the Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR, Hong Kong Affairs Advisor and member of the Selection Committee. She joined the Basic Law Committee of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in 1997.

Hon Maria Tam was appointed Justice of the Peace and received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in 1982. She received the Gold Bauhinia Star in 1998 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2013.