Academic Board
The Academic Board is the primary academic governing body of the Institute that was established by and reports to the Board. The Board has delegated authority to the Academic Board to approve academic policies, regulations and standards, and to oversee curriculum development and modification, and other functions as are specified in the Academic Board’s Terms of Reference that includes authority to establish sub-committees under its remit.
Professor Leonard Webster
PhD, MEdStud, BA, DipT, CertA
Independent Member, Academic Board (Chair)
Professor Leonard Webster is a highly respected academic leader with over 30 years of experience in higher education governance, quality assurance, and educational innovation. He has held senior executive and academic leadership roles across universities, government agencies, and private higher education institutions in Australia and internationally.
His previous roles include Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the International College of Management Sydney (ICMS), and Director of Regulation and Review at the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). Earlier in his career, he was an Associate Professor at Monash University and the University of New England, where he contributed to the development of innovative teaching models for flexible and online learning.
Professor Webster has consulted widely for international organisations, including the World Health Organization, Austrade, the Commonwealth of Learning, and the International Council for Distance Education. His scholarly contributions include multiple books and publications on higher education quality, learning design, and narrative inquiry, including the influential volume Using Narrative Inquiry as a Research Method (Routledge, 2019).
He holds a PhD and Master of Educational Studies from Monash University, a Bachelor of Arts from La Trobe University, and teaching qualifications from Deakin University. His professional recognitions include membership in the Australian College of Educators and the Higher Education Private Providers Quality Network.
Emeritus Professor Aileen Cater-Steel
PhD, MIT, BBus, FACS, GAICD
Independent Member, Academic Board
Emeritus Professor Aileen Cater-Steel is a distinguished academic and governance leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education, specialising in information systems, software engineering, and academic quality assurance. She has made a significant contribution to tertiary education through her leadership in academic governance, policy development, and course accreditation across universities and private higher education institutions.
Her previous academic leadership includes service as Chair of the Academic Board at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), where she led initiatives to strengthen academic integrity, learning outcomes, and institutional compliance. She has also served as Dean of Information Technology at SISTC and held Academic Board memberships with UniSQ, TIIS, and BBS.
Professor Cater-Steel holds a PhD in Software Engineering from Griffith University, a Master of Information Technology from UniSQ, and a Bachelor of Business from UniSQ. She is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a TEQSA-registered external expert. She has supervised over a dozen research students to completion and served as a PhD examiner for multiple Australian and international universities.
Her research has focused on IT governance, process improvement, digital transformation, and information systems in higher education. With over 150 peer-reviewed publications and leadership in major Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects, she has significantly contributed to both scholarly research and professional practice in IT service management and higher education administration.
Professor Jun Yan
PhD, MEng, BEng, SMACS, MIEEE
Independent Member, Academic Board
Professor Jun Yan is a senior academic leader and active contributor to academic governance and quality assurance in Australian higher education. He is currently a Professor in the School of Computing and Information Technology at the University of Wollongong (UOW), where he holds multiple academic governance roles, including member of the Academic Senate, University Education Committee, and Quality Assurance Review Group. He also serves on the Education Committees of both the faculty and UOW College Australia and has chaired course review panels and academic misconduct investigations.
Professor Yan is a TEQSA-registered expert, engaged in external review processes and academic quality assessments. His leadership portfolio includes roles as Academic Program Director for UOW’s campuses in Australia, India, and Singapore, and as Director of the Centre for Applied Computing and Distributed Systems. He has led curriculum development, academic quality reviews, and academic policy implementation across international and domestic programs.
He holds a PhD in Information Technology from Swinburne University of Technology, and has supervised 15 higher degree research students to completion, with nine currently under supervision. A prolific researcher, Professor Yan has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in areas including distributed systems, cloud computing, and e-learning technologies.
His academic leadership is marked by a strong commitment to academic integrity, student experience, quality assurance, and the continual enhancement of educational outcomes through robust academic governance structures.
Dr John Hurst
PhD, BE (Hons), BSc, GradCertHigherEd, SMACS, MIEEE, MBCS
Independent Member, Academic Board
Dr Angas John Hurst is a senior academic with extensive experience in academic leadership, governance, and quality assurance in Australian higher education. He served for over three decades at Monash University, where he held multiple leadership roles including Associate Professor in Computer Science and Software Engineering, Associate Dean (Teaching) in the Faculty of IT, and Chair of the Academic Board. In these roles, Dr Hurst led initiatives in curriculum quality, learning and teaching innovation, and academic policy implementation aligned with the Higher Education Standards Framework.
Dr Hurst is currently an external member of the Academic Board at Melbourne Institute of Technology, contributing to academic oversight, quality assurance, and institutional benchmarking. He has a long-standing commitment to academic integrity and continuous improvement in educational outcomes.
He holds a PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Monash University. Dr Hurst has supervised over 20 higher degree research candidates and authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in computing education and technology-enhanced learning.
He is a Senior Member of the Australian Computer Society and a Life Member of the IEEE, and continues to contribute to academic standards, research quality, and student learning through his ongoing governance and scholarly activities.
Dr Saeid Iranmanesh
PhD, MCompEng (AI), BCompEng (Software), FIEAust, SMIEEE,
Member, Academic Board (Dean)
Dr. Saeid Iranmanesh is an experienced academic, researcher, and course leader in the field of computer science and information technology. He holds a PhD in ICT from the University of Wollongong, and brings over a decade of academic leadership and teaching experience across Australian higher education institutions.
Dr. Iranmanesh most recently served as Associate Professor and Head of ICT Discipline at the Polytechnic Institute of Australia, where he played a key role in academic governance, course development, and quality assurance. His responsibilities included chairing the Course Advisory Committee, contributing to TEQSA accreditation processes, designing new IT streams, managing assessments and moderation, and aligning programs with the Higher Education Standards Framework (HESF) and ESOS Act requirements.
He has coordinated and taught in bachelor’s and master’s programs at multiple institutions, including the University of Wollongong, Victoria University, King’s Own Institute, Sydney International Institute of Technology and Commerce, and Melbourne Institute of Technology. He has developed and delivered units in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, mobile networks, digital forensics, and capstone projects, and has supervised numerous industry-based student projects.
In addition to his teaching and leadership, Dr. Iranmanesh has an active research profile with publications in top-ranked journals such as IEEE IoT Journal, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, and IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, with over 330 citations and an h-index of 10. He is a TEQSA external expert, Fellow of Engineers Australia, Senior Member of IEEE, and member of ACS.