Dr Nazirul Hazim A. Khalim is a Lecturer in Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University Malaysia and an Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University European Research Foundation (MUERF), Prato, Italy. His research applies computational modelling and machine learning to study online information dynamics, time series volatility, and cultural heritage. He is a member of the Econometric Society (ES) and the International Statistical Institute (ISI).

Active projects examine volatility spillovers from AI news shocks to global energy markets, monetary policy transmission in Islamic and conventional banking channels, nonparametric testing on high-frequency brain signals, political disinformation ecosystems across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and computational phylogenies of Malay limar and songket textiles using vision–language models. A recent Springer LNCS chapter on the phylogeny of Southeast Asian cultural heritage, presented at HCI International 2025 in Gothenburg, extends this line of work. Further manuscripts are currently under review at Technological Forecasting & Social Change, Journal of Democracy, the Journal of Economic Inequality, and the ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage.

He collaborates across Monash University Australia and Indonesia, and European partner institutions in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. His research is currently supported by grants totalling over AUD 947,000, including a European Commission CERV, Monash AI Institute, and Ministry of Higher Education Public-Private Research Network (PPRN 2.0).

Dr Nazirul Hazim is a founding member of the Monash Data and Democracy Research Hub and serves on both campus and faculty Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committees. 

Current Project (2026-2028)

The SEED project – Supporting European Youth Engagement against Disinformation, co-funded by the European Union, aims to counter disinformation at the local level by making young people and educational communities the key actors of the process in three European countries: Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. Funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV)-2025-CITIZENS-CIV — Citizens’ Engagement and Participation, European Union.

Dr Nazirul Hazim’s research interests span applied econometrics and computational methods for economic, cultural, and social questions, concentrated in four interrelated strands.

• Computational social science and democracy. Political disinformation dynamics in Southeast Asia, PLS-SEM modelling of V-Dem governance indicators, and methodological work on measurement error when large language models are used as research instruments in social science. Ongoing projects include a comparative study of disinformation ecosystems in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines with collaborators at Monash Australia and Indonesia.
• Financial and monetary econometrics. Time-varying parameter VAR, BEKK-GARCH, and nonparametric volatility methods applied to dual banking systems, energy markets, and the macro-financial impact of AI news shocks. Current work examines volatility spillovers between generative-AI announcement shocks and global energy markets, and monetary policy transmission across Islamic and conventional banking channels, with collaborators in Malaysia and Central Asia.
• Entrepreneurship, innovation, and institutional ecosystems. Dynamic capabilities of startups operating in turbulent environments, PLS-SEM modelling of institutional ecosystem resources and the innovation paradox in emerging economies, and the mechanisms by which multi-strand institutional systems can enable firm growth while suppressing innovation. This strand builds on his doctoral research on Malaysian technology startups and informs his advisory work on national entrepreneurship ecosystem policy.
• Cultural heritage and digital humanities. Computational phylogeny of Malay limar and songket textiles using CLIP and DINOv2 representations, extending his Springer chapter on Southeast Asian artefact evolution (HCI International 2025, LNCS 16342). Related work on P. Ramlee studies applies computational text analysis, engagement modelling, and network structure to participatory cultural memory in YouTube comment discourse.
• Causal inference, inequality, and high-dimensional methods. Regression-discontinuity and natural-experiment designs applied to institutional structures that produce inequality of opportunity, including tournament seeding in professional tennis; GPU-accelerated nonparametric testing of EEG brain signals; and continuous-scale classification of research philosophies via machine learning.

A cross-cutting interest concerns pedagogical innovation, including VR-based teaching of econometrics and vector geometry in collaboration with UNSW Sydney and Monash VARS Labs, and interactive browser-based tools for learning causal inference and time-series methods.

Dr Nazirul Hazim undertakes industry and policy consulting in areas aligned with his research expertise:

• HABIB Jewels Group — lead researcher on the MOHE PPRN 2.0 project, building a data-driven organisation using AI and machine learning, including on-premise analytics infrastructure and executive dashboards.
• TERAJU, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia — consulting expert on national entrepreneurship ecosystem policy, including PLS-SEM capability transfer.
• Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) — Official Research Partner for predictive analytics on concert programming and audience engagement.

He accepts selected engagements in quantitative methods capability-building, organisational analytics, and evidence-based policy advisory across Malaysia and the broader ASEAN region.

Dr Nazirul Hazim serves as Chief Examiner across several units in the School of Business:

• ETW2510 Introductory Econometrics
• ETW3420 Forecasting Theory and Applications
• BEW4010 Quantitative Research Methodology — Honours research methods
• BEW3110 Work Experience Program — industry-integrated learning capstone unit
• BEX3202 AI Application for Business — co-designed for the new Bachelor of Digital Business; launching Sem 2 2026.

He also facilitates cross-disciplinary Summer and Winter Units RED (Research, Experimentation and Discovery), GIG (Global Immersion Guarantee), and Southeast Asian Cultures and Societies.  His teaching emphasises computational literacy, reproducible workflows in R and Python, and the translation of econometric theory into interactive, visually grounded learning tools.

Public engagement and media

Dr Nazirul Hazim has contributed to national media including RTM, BFM, Dewan Budaya, and The Edge, and appeared on the Future Conversations Podcast discussing disinformation. He was an invited participant in a Special Session of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) at the Parliament of Malaysia on racial and religious harmony, convened with Meta and TikTok, and represented the Monash Data and Democracy Research Hub at the ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management in Singapore (2024). He co-organises the Data and Democracy Dialogue series in partnership with the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Election Commission of Malaysia.

Cultural and heritage work

He is the co-organiser of the Cosmopolitan Arts of the Nusantara Lecture and Workshop Series with HARTA Gallery and Habib Jewels, which has convened more than 24 events since August 2023.

Civil society partnerships

He works with Architects of Diversity on disinformation awareness on democracy and data governance programming in Southeast Asia.

Research leadership and infrastructure

• Co-Director, Monash Complex Computational Modelling Lab (MCCML)
• Member, Monash Data and Democracy Research Hub (Malaysia / Indonesia / Australia tri-campus)
• Chair, Data and Democracy Dialogue Series (2023, 2024, 2025)
• Coordinator, SPARKLE Infectious Disease Modelling Workshop (July 2026, M Resort KL, approximately 40 participants)

Equity, diversity and inclusion

• Member, Campus Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee
• Member, Faculty Equity, Diversity, Social Inclusion (EDSI) Committee
• Co-lead, EDI Week 2024

Education and student engagement

• PRME Champion (Education), School of Business — World Humanitarian Day, 3Zero Club, Goa Institute of Management delegation, 2022-2024
• Co-organiser, Data Futures Week (2025, 2026)
• Co-organiser, Graduate Employability Day 2025 (more than 300 students and industry leaders)
• Advisor, Monash Political Awareness Club (MONPAC)

Recognition

• School of Business Excellence Award 2025 — Engagement and Impact Excellence
• Staff Mobility Program, Monash Australia (16–29 November 2025)