I am an Industrial Engineer with five years of prior experience in the industry, four years of research work in operations research, and four years of teaching in management. This background helped me to be acquainted with engineering students’ future professional requirements and thus be able to make significant contributions in promoting professional skills by transforming the delivery of engineering management units as well as leadership in the professional placement program at the School of Engineering for the last seventeen years. I joined the Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Technology in 2006. I took over the teaching of Engineering Management units as a catalyst for the development of professional non-technical skills in all Engineering disciplines at the Swinburne University of Technology. I successfully managed the transition of teaching Engineering Management units from expensive external providers to in-house delivery with better and more relevant content and higher student reviews. The inclusion of project management, organisational behavior, and career planning in the first unit, combined with entrepreneurial and more professional practice-based knowledge, such as quality management and reliability, created two units that significantly contribute to engineering general professional skills for all engineering students. 

Not only is the content richer and more focused on industry-sought-after capabilities, but the method of delivery has also been uniquely designed. Students were introduced to group projects that required them to apply the content of the unit and share their progress via a shared digital space, “WIKI”(or Supergroup). The education literature often has reported failures in such applications; however, in this case, it has managed to be transformational and an efficient application of “constructivism theory”. I also designed and delivered the first engineering management transformation under WIL Spine initiation at the School of Engineering. In this transformation, Turner and Townsend, an industry partner for this unit, were engaged to directly contribute to the delivery of the content and assessments by defining authentic projects and providing feedback. This is aligned with the 2025 strategy, Moonshot 1: Every Swinburne learner gets work experience.

I have been the WIL Spine coordinator at the School of Engineering since mid-last year, through which we are consolidating this initiative by redefining, auditing, mapping, and scaffolding professional skills within WIL Spine units. Further, I have been working as a WIL coordinator for the School of Engineering, coordinating, sourcing, endorsing, and managing placement opportunities for around 50 students in the school each year. Engineering has the largest cohort of students at Swinburne University. The WIL team was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Award in 2019. I also initiated Employability Workshops in my units to encourage students to take initiative on their employability early on in their studies.

I have supervised PhD students and one master's student, with successful completion in areas such as digital skills in construction, performance management, sustainability, BIM, and the efficiency of the banking sector. I have a total of 22 Scopus-cited publications with an H-index of 9, and 34 papers with 1062 citations and an H-index of 15 according to Google Scholar. Perhaps, I could have been more productive with my publications and research work if I had had a less dominant teaching load and/or worked in a department that had colleagues with similar research interests.  However, I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with so many students in areas that have been particularly relevant to their growth and career opportunities related to the field of engineering management. 

I wish to further my education and research to gain a deeper understanding of students and professional skills. My dream is to develop frameworks that could capture my experiences with engineering students, which could be equally valuable in different disciplines.

Professor Subhash Abhayawansa is an internationally recognised accounting scholar whose work helps organisations, investors and professional bodies make better decisions about value creation, sustainability reporting and the use of non-financial information. He is Professor of Accounting at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, where he leads research in sustainability and innovation, and he is a widely trusted voice on how reporting practices shape business strategy, market judgments and organisational accountability.

Subhash’s research sits at the intersection of business, capital markets and sustainability. He examines how organisations communicate performance beyond the financial statements, how investors and analysts use that information, and how reporting can better support long-term decision-making. His work speaks directly to the issues practitioners now face: ESG and sustainability reporting, business value creation, integrated thinking, disclosure quality, and the growing demand for decision-useful non-financial information. He has published extensively in leading academic and practitioner outlets, including top-tier journals in accounting and accountability research.

He is also shaping the field through editorial and professional leadership. Subhash serves as Co-Editor of the Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, a major international journal influencing scholarship and practice in sustainability accounting and reporting. He also serves on the editorial boards of several journals across accounting, finance and organisational change.

Beyond academia, Subhash has built a strong record of engagement with the accounting profession. Through leadership roles with The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), he has contributed to discussions and debates on marketplace trends, professional education and lifelong learning, including the integration of sustainability and ESG content into professional development pathways. That combination of research depth and professional engagement allows him to translate complex reporting issues into practical insight for boards, executives, regulators, educators and accounting professionals.

His work has earned international recognition. Elsevier and Stanford University list him among the world’s top 2 per cent of scientists. He is regularly invited to speak at academic and professional forums, contribute to expert panels, and advise on emerging developments in accounting and sustainability reporting. Before entering academia, he worked in market research, supply chain management consulting and capital markets regulation, giving him a grounded understanding of how reporting issues play out in practice.

Subhash holds a PhD in accounting from the University of Sydney, an MBA from Deakin University, and a Bachelor of Science for which he received the gold medal for best academic performance. He is a member of CIMA, CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Nicola Acevedo specialises in novel and neurobiological therapies for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with a focus on neurostimulation and psychedelic treatment. Nicola has multidisciplinary experience in clinical trials across psychiatry, neurology, neurobionics, public health, neuroethical and neurocognitive disciplines. Nicola's PhD investigated the efficacy and cognitive-affective mechanisms of neurostimulation treatment for OCD, producing 9 peer reviewed publications including 8 first author and an international collaboration, her PhD was termed a 'tour de force'. Nicola is driven by innovation and impact in the mental health field, with a focus on advancing personalised and biopsychosocial treatment approaches and improving access to care. Nicola is currently working in the field of psychedelics, managing a clinical trial implementing intravenous psilocin assisted psychotherapy for body dysmorphic disorder. 

Dr Mitchell Adams is a Senior Lecturer at Swinburne Law School with expertise spanning intellectual property law, legal technology, and empirical legal research. A registered Australian Trade Marks Attorney and admitted solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, he holds a PhD in law as well as science and law degrees from Monash University. He writes on intellectual property rights, using empirical legal methods to investigate international registration systems. His current research is focused on trade mark law and designs law. Other research areas include entertainment law and the legal protection afforded to fictional characters.

With over $500,000 in secured external research funding, his work has achieved direct policy impact, most notably through contributions to IP Australia's IP First Response Tool. He is also the producer of 40 Floors Up, the only law-themed board game in Australia. The game has been played by hundreds of secondary school legal studies students and has been purchased worldwide.

Beyond his research, Dr Adams is a nationally and internationally recognised innovator in legal education, having pioneered technology-enabled curricula that have positioned Swinburne Law School as a leader in preparing practice-ready graduates. He is a 2023 Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Legal Innovation, the recipient of the 2024 INTA Pattishall Medal for Teaching Excellence, awarded by the International Trademark Association, and named Academic of the Year at the 2022 Australian Law Awards. Mitchell is also the director of the Legal Tech and Design Clinics at Swinburne Law School to investigate the use of generative AI in legal practice. 

Dr. James Agathos is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology, in the Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences. He completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne, in the Department of Psychiatry.

James's research work broadly aims to leverage advanced neuroimaging methods to expand our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning psychiatric disorder. During his PhD, he investigated the neural circuitry involved in cognitive restructuring, a key therapeutic approach used in first-line psychological therapies. His current research focuses on the impact of circadian and diurnal rhythms on reward processing in bipolar disorder.

Kafeel Ahmed is a Lecturer, Electrical Energy Engineering in the School of Science, Computing, and Engineering Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology. He is an active member of the New Energy Technologies research group and a key contributor to the Siemens Swinburne Energy Transition Hub. Kafeel facilitates industrial training programs on PSSE and PSS SINCAL, offering comprehensive modules ranging from basic to advanced levels, with a focus on renewable energy integration.

He received the B.E., M.Eng., and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan (2010), the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2016), and Swinburne University of Technology (2023), respectively.

Kafeel Ahmed’s academic career includes roles as Senior Lecturer at DHA Suffa University and Lecturer at Indus University in Pakistan. Before transitioning to academia, he gained valuable industry experience as an Assistant Manager in distribution network operations at K-Electric. 

Dr. Ayman Elkholy currently serves as a postdoctoral fellow at Swinburne University of Technology through the AUSMURI project. He collaborates with researchers in both Australia and the US, focusing on the development of new materials responsive to light and magnetic fields for various applications. 
During his doctoral studies at the University of Queensland (UQ), his research was dedicated to enhancing aqueous electrochemical energy storage systems, with a focus on both electrode and electrolyte engineering. He also has research experience in electrocatalysis, corrosion, and molecular modeling, and has authored 22 peer-reviewed journal papers and contributed a book chapter. His publications have garnered over 1000 citations, resulting in an h-index of 17 (Google Scholar).

Dr S M Miraj Ahmmod is a Lecturer in Accounting and Finance of the Accounting, Economics, and Finance (AEF) department at Swinburne University of Technology. He holds a PhD in Accounting from Swinburne University. He has earned a Master in Finance from the European School of Management (ESCP-EAP), France and a Master of Business Administration (International Business) from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. In addition, he holds a Master of Commerce and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was awarded full scholarships to complete all these degrees.

In the industry, Dr Ahmmod has experience in equity research and business valuation. His research primarily focuses on compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), digital assets and portfolio optimisation, with a particular interest in sustainability accounting and reporting. His key research interests include data analytics, FinTech, blockchain, cost of capital, ESG, financial markets, indices, blended learning and assessments.

Dr Ahmmod has received several awards, including the 2022 Teaching Excellence Award (team) and the 2024 Adobe Innovation Grant (Course Level Stream, Team).

Dr. Amimul Ahsan was born in Netrokona, Bangladesh. He received a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Fukui, Japan (2009). Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Gazipur, Bangladesh [July, 2021-to date] and is Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), Melbourne, Australia [Oct, 2017-to date]. He was a former faculty member (Senior Lecturer; equivalent to Assistant Professor) in the Department of Civil Engineering and Key Researcher at the Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA), University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia [2010-2017]. He has nearly 20 years of research, teaching and project experiences. He has published extensively in water and environmental engineering, including a few books & book chapters, and over hundred journal articles. He has received a few international awards, including “Who's Who in the World 2015,” “Leading Engineers of the World 2013,” and the “Vice Chancellor Fellowship Award (Science and Technology)” from Sultan Selangor (Chancellor, UPM) in 2015. He is the editor-in-chief and founder of the Journal of Desalination and Water Purification and the Journal of Advanced Civil Engineering Practice and Research. He is involved with several collaborative research projects globally and has a Scopus h-index of 22. http://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=36008141300 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0015-6123

Specialization

Environmental Engg.: Saline/Surface water and wastewater treatments, solar water distillation, Groundwater, rainwater, waste management, composting, landfill, sludge, air quality, policy.

Scopus Profile

https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=36008141300

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0015-6123

Dr. Blair Aitken is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology and a member of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) Special Interest Group on Driver State Monitoring Systems. His research focuses on the effects of recreational drugs and prescription medications on cognition, gaze behaviour, and functional impairments such as driving performance. He specialises in the use of eye-tracking to detect real-time indicators of human alertness and cognitive state, including impairment, fatigue, and drowsiness. Dr. Aitken also investigates the cognitive effects of so-called “smart drugs” and the relationship between hangovers and affective states.

Current PhD supervision/co-supervision (*principal supervisor):

1. Clara Theresia* (Swinburne University Postgraduate Research Award SUPRA recipient, 2024): Persuasive Technology Intervention to Cope with Loneliness in Generation Z
2. Lee Trevena*: Enhancing training practices in the disability sector using augmented reality technology.
3. Amarria Dila* (Swinburne University Postgraduate Research Award SUPRA recipient): Co-creating an Assistive Tool for Supporting Therapy and Language Learning for Children with Hearing Impairment
4. Napawadee Kateratanamalee* (Thai Government Scholarship recipient): Design thinking, obesity, and children
5. Amani Uraif (Saudi Government Scholarship recipient): Harnessing Large Language Models (LLMs) to Enhance Independence for Visually Impaired Individuals (Co-suprvisor).
6. Diena Ramdania (Indonesian Education Scholarship recipient): Embodied Stories: Towards Understanding How Bodily Extension Shapes Children’s Movements (External supervisor).
7.  Fabio Hanspach (Swinburne University Postgraduate Research Award SUPRA recipient, 2024): AI-Supported Engineering Change Estimation and Management (Co-suprvisor).

Completed HDR supervision/co-supervision (*principal supervisor):

1. Tauqeer Faiz: Virtual Reality in Disaster Management (Co-suprvisor).
2. Dr Yansen Theopilus* (2026) (Indonesian Education Scholarship recipient): Persuasive Technology Innovation to Solve Children’s Digital Addiction in Developing Countries (Under examination).
3. Dr Harry Robertson (PhD, 2026): Plastic Packaging Waste Exploration Through Participatory Design.
4. Dr Zhao Zou (PhD, 2025): Socially assistive robots for cognitive training for people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia living in residential aged care facilities. [External supervisor]
5. Dr Mudassar Arsalan (PhD, 2025): Exploring Research Impact in the Age of Knowledge Discovery and Artificial Intelligence. [External supervisor]
6. Dr Di Zhu* (PhD, 2024): Co-Designing Technology-Based Interventions to Improve Social Connections and Participation for People with Mild Cognitive Impairment. 
7. Dr Thanh Tuan To* (PhD, 2024): 3D Printing Integration in Engineering Education: A Developing Country Perspectives.
8. Dr Carmen Chai (PhD, 2022): Serious Games for Increasing Motivation of Children with Cancer to Fight Cancer.
9. Dr Philemon Yalamu (PhD, 2022): Cultural integration in Designing Learning Management Systems for Higher Education.
10. Dr Jennifer Stargatt (PhD, 2022): “You haven’t always been just a little old lady”: Evaluating a digital storytelling program in residential aged care facilities.
11. Dr Tharushi Indeewari Wickramarathne* (PhD, 2021): Designing Affordable Cooling Sportswear for Tropical and Developing Countries.
12. Dr Edirimuni Amani Indunil Soysa* (PhD, 2020): POMA: An Affordable Tangible User Interface for Children with ASD in Low-Resource Countries. [School of Design Best PhD Thesis Award 2020].
13. Dr Aylwin Chai (PhD, 2020): Frontal Ground Plane Checking with Single LiDAR Range Finder-based Wearable Model.
14. Dr Dylan Davis* (PhD, 2018): What happens when the Design Process meets Community Engagement?
15. Khairul Azim Bin Zaaba (MSc, 2018): Real-Time Canny-Edge Based Obstacle Detection Model for Mobile Devices with Monocular Camera.

PhD topics and outlines:

Theme 1: Technology, Social Connection, Mental and Digital helath

Developing innovative digital interventions for social connectedness: This project aims to investigate how to develop innovative digital interventions for social connectedness.

Mental health and mobile apps/chatbot: Exploring the role of mobile apps/chatbots on the mental health of adolescents and older adults.

Technology in aged care and wellbeing of patients and carers: This project investigates the roles of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the wellbeing of patients and carers.

Theme 2: Technology and Children with Special Needs

Co-design with autistic children: The aim of this project is to explore the challenges of co-designing with autistic children in low-resource regions. 

Role of AAC and children with ASD in low-resource countries: This project will explore the role of AAC in low-resource countries and develop low-cost AACs for autistic children.

Novel interaction in delivering curriculum to autistic children in therapy settings: This project will explore the potential of tangible interactions in delivering curriculum for autistic children.

Theme 3: Generative AI and Creativity

Generative AI/ChatGpt and creativity: Investigating the role of GenAI in children's creavity

Dr. Pantea Alambeigi is a senior lecturer in architecture at Swinburne University of Technology. Her research focuses on sustainability, multisensory design, and performance-based architecture, with an emphasis on human-centered environments. She specifically explores the intricate relationship between human perception and the built environment through architectural acoustics and daylighting. By adopting a multisensory approach supported by simulation and computational tools, she investigates how human experiences influence—and are influenced by—architectural design and performance, to inform responsive design strategies.

Her interdisciplinary work extends the concept of “Seamless Architecture” through computational, data-driven design. Her research integrates emerging architectural technologies and environmental factors with human behaviour and spatial perception, aiming to enhance performance-driven design strategies.

She has extensive experience teaching and practicing architecture both locally and internationally. She has published numerous articles in architectural journals and presented at peer-reviewed conferences on topics including architectural acoustics, sustainability, and daylighting. Academically, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in design studios, construction, and sustainability.

César Albarrán-Torres is a Mexican-Australian scholar and film critic. He is Deputy Chair at the Department of Media and Communication. He has been widely published in academic and non-academic titles as a film and literary critic, author and translator. His current research focuses on postcolonial identities and subjectivities in film and television, as well as the negotiations between social media and politics in Mexico, particularly concerning the drug cartels. He also researches the intersections between digital media, finance and gambling. He is the author of Digital Gambling: Theorizing Gamble-Play Media (Routledge, 2018) and Global Trafficking Networks on Film and Television: Hollywood’s Cartel Wars (Routledge, 2021). He is a research affiliate of the Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making, funded by the ARC. 

His ARC Discovery project, "Understanding Children’s Mobile Gamble-Play Cultures: Gateways to Gambling", aims to minimize the harms involved in children's access to gambling by developing an understanding of how Australian children use mobile phones to engage in "gamble-play". It will generate a new evidence base to inform evolving regulation around children and gambling, and to improve child and parent literacies about the ways mobile media content introduces children to gambling-like play behaviours.

Available to supervise masters and doctoral students.

Kath's ARC Future Fellowship (2022-2026) defines and supports digital and data capabilities for sexual and reproductive health policy and practice through participatory qualitative methods. She co-leads the Swinburne Social Innovation Research Institute's Digital Economy & Society program; and is a Chief Investigator in the Swinburne Node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS), where she co-leads the Critical Capabilities for Inclusive AI Signature Project.

Past projects have investigated young people’s practices of digital self-representation, and the role of user-generated media (including social networking platforms and dating apps) in young people’s formal and informal sexual learning, safety and wellbeing practices. 

Kath is currently a Chief Investigator on the Swedish/Australian collaboration Digital sexual health: Designing for safety, pleasure and wellbeing in LGBTQ+ communities (2022-2025), with Professor Jenny Sundén (Södertörn University) and Dr Zahra Stardust (QUT).

In 2021-2022, Kath led the evaluation and research arm of the Crushed But Okay project, a collaboration with the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, funded by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. The research team (which included Professor Anthony McCosker, Associate Professor Dan Golding, Dr Angus Veitch, Dr Alexia Maddox, and Swinburne PhD candidate Joanna Williams) received a Swinburne Vice-Chancellor's Award for Research Excellence in 2022.

Recent co-authored books include: Everyday Data Cultures (with Jean Burgess, Anthony McCosker and Rowan Wilken, Polity 2022) and Data for Social Good: Non-Profit Sector Data Projects (with Jane Farmer, Anthony McCosker and Amir Aryani, Palgrave Macmillan 2023).

Dr Anita Amirsardari is a Lecturer/Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology and Timber Engineering Manager for the Australian Engineered Fasteners and Anchors Council (AEFAC). She completed her PhD in Structural and Earthquake Engineering at the University of Melbourne, where she also obtained a Master of Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Environments (Civil Systems).

Her research focuses on the behaviour and performance of structural systems, with expertise in earthquake-resistant design, testing and evaluation of connections and building components, structural reliability, robustness, and finite element analysis. Her work spans a range of construction materials, including timber, reinforced concrete, and steel, and involves close collaboration with industry and government partners in the development and delivery of research projects.

Anbu is a Senior Lecturer in Transportation Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology. Prior to joining Swinburne, he worked in the industry in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 2023 to 2026, gaining valuable professional experience.

Anbu previously served for over 11 years as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Jaffna (UoJ), Sri Lanka, where he contributed significantly during the formative years of the Faculty of Engineering. He held several academic leadership and service roles, including Head of Department, Convener of the Academic Development and Planning Committee, Student Counsellor, and Coordinator for Institutional Collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, India.

He holds a BScEng (Hons) from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and both an MEng and a PhD from Hokkaido University, Japan.

Anbu has secured competitive research funding across a range of interdisciplinary areas. His grants include AUD 70,000 for transport and traffic surveys under the World Bank-funded Jaffna Integrated Multimodal Transportation Study (2017), AUD 50,000 from the Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation (Sri Lanka) for research on 3D-printed prosthetics (2018), and served as a co-nvestigator of a project that secured AUD 23,500 from the National Research Council of Sri Lanka for a project investigating applications of pervious concrete (2019).

In recognition of his research excellence, he was awarded the President’s Award for Scientific Research (Sri Lanka) in 2021.