Since 2010, Dr. Mukhlis Chua and his family pioneered aquaponics and began mainstreaming the concept of sustainable urban farming in Malaysia. His passion for nature and fish drove him to transform his business model from extraction of natural resource to quite the opposite – food and water security, fair trade, and the circular economy. Chua graduated in 1983 from the University of Manchester in Mechanical Engineering with first class honors. He later obtained his Masters in Science in Advance Applied Mechanics from Imperial College London. In 2015, Chua completed his engineering doctorate in process plant management from the Technological University of Malaysia (UTM). Professionally, Chua founded Inter-Granite P Ltd in 1990, and had worked in many engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning projects with other major industry players. He has been instrumental in the success of a research collaboration program between Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine and UTM in the setting up of UTM Center for Non-Destructive Evaluation.