Sympodium at the Academia-Industry Seminar 2026, Kuala Lumpur

Sympodium was proud to power the Academia-Industry Seminar 2026, held on 18 June at IACT College, Petaling Jaya — welcoming over 200 academicians, students, communication educators and public relations professionals from across Malaysia.

Officiated by YB Dato' Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir, Minister of Higher Education Malaysia, the seminar was jointly organised by PR Practitioners Malaysia, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, and MACE (Malaysian Communication Educators).

Sympodium Founder & Director Dr Neville Bolt delivered the keynote address, exploring how geopolitical and geoeconomic forces are fundamentally reshaping strategic communications — from evolving security landscapes to the marketplace dynamics that organisations must now navigate. His address challenged participants to think beyond traditional communications frameworks and engage with the structural forces driving change on a global scale.

During his visit, Dr Bolt also attended discussions at Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) Malaysia, joining senior industry practitioners for in-depth conversations on the implications of geopolitics and geoeconomics across sectors.

The seminar represents a significant step in Sympodium's engagement with Malaysia's strategic communications community, and a reaffirmation of our commitment to connecting serious intellectual inquiry with the real challenges facing communicators and institutions today.

A special thank you to Datuk P Kamalanathan P Panchanathan, Chairman of the Public Relations Practitioners Society of Malaysia, for his leadership and support in making this collaboration possible and to Dr Mohd Emil Azril Bahari for his incredible support and coordination.