Message from the Chair, Academic Board

Since its establishment, MIT has upheld a strong commitment to research, even as it has maintained a primary focus on teaching. Many academic staff members have pursued their research interests at MIT, growing the institute’s history of published research across a wide range of disciplines.

In recent years, new staff appointments have brought in individuals with substantial research backgrounds, most holding PhDs and remaining actively engaged in their fields. MIT has thus significantly enhanced its research output, which is now very respectable.

The introduction of Research Master’s degrees has marked a pivotal shift in MIT’s research culture. With these programs, MIT has taken on a formal responsibility to foster a research environment that supports the development of students through close interaction with active researchers. In response, MIT has appointed a Research Director, formed research clusters, hired a research administrator, and provided support to the first cohorts of Research Master’s students. Professor Singh highlights the achievements of these inaugural students elsewhere in this newsletter.

The rapid growth in the number of research students presents significant challenges. Providing high-quality supervision, ensuring proper support for project development (including ethics approvals), and managing confirmation and examination processes are all critical needs. Over the next two to three years, we anticipate several hundred students progressing through these programs, posing challenges MIT has not previously encountered. Meeting these challenges will require a collective effort across the institution.

Research is therefore central to MIT’s identity and future. When evaluated by TEQSA, our accrediting body, we will be assessed on our ability to meet the Higher Education Standards Framework, particularly in relation to research supervision and cultivating a vibrant research culture. For those of us engaged in research, this is a call to action. We must work collaboratively, ideally across disciplines, schools, and research clusters, to create supportive environments where students can thrive and grow alongside their peers. Supervisors will be the key, with a responsibility to nurture students through project definition, ethics approval, confirmation and ultimately thesis submission, not at a distance, but as experienced mentors providing an apprenticeship in academic research.

With dedication, cooperation, and shared vision, MIT has the potential to become one of the leading non-university higher education institutions in Australia for research. That is my vision, my hope, and my expectation.

As Chair of the Academic Board, I’m pleased to introduce this research newsletter and to offer my full support to all involved—students, academic staff, and the indispensable administrative and professional teams who make this work possible.

With best wishes,
Professor Doug Grant
Chair, Academic Board

From the Research Director’s Desk

Research at MIT continues to grow from strength to strength. MIT’s first cohort of students completed the Master of ICT Research and Master of Business Research programs, addressing current and emerging issues in data analytics, the Internet of Things, deepfakes, network security, taxation, IT-based auditing, and the Viability of Co-living Spaces as Solutions to the Housing Crisis. The completed research theses were examined by examiners from international and national universities, maintaining high standards and meeting the requirements of the Australian Quality Framework 9. Six of the nine completing students managed to publish their research in academic journals and presented papers at international conferences.

Our Master of ICT (Research) graduate Ramcharan Ramanaharan published the article, titled "DeepFake video detection: Insights into model generalisation — A Systematic Review", in a Q2-ranked journal, Data and Information Management, with his supervisors Dr. Deepani B. Guruge and Professor Johnson Ihyeh Agbinya from MIT School of IT & Engineering.

R. Ramanaharan, D.B. Guruge, and J.I. Agbinya, DeepFake video detection: Insights into model generalisation—A Systematic review. Data and Information Management (Q2 Journal), DOI: 10.1016/j.dim.2025.100099.

The academic staff at MIT has shown a keen interest in topics in the Learning and Teaching space, completing a project on the critical issue of preventing contract cheating:

D.B. Guruge, R. Kadel, S. Shailendra, and A. Sharma, Building Academic Integrity: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a New Framework to Address and Prevent Contract Cheating. Societies (Q2 Journal), 15(1), 11, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15010011

Call for MIT Internal Funding Applications

MIT continues to support ongoing research and has put out a call for internal research funds. MIT academic staff are invited to apply for internal funds to complete a research project using the attached form.

Publications

Congratulations to the authors of the following publications:

Journal Papers

R. Ramanaharan, D.B.Guruge, and J.I. Agbinya, DeepFake video detection: Insights into model generalisation—A Systematic review. Data and Information Management (Q2 Journal), DOI:10.1016/j.dim.2025.100099.

Guruge, D. B., Kadel, R., Shailendra, S., & Sharma, A. (2025). Building Academic Integrity: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a New Framework to Address and Prevent Contract Cheating. Societies, 15(1). doi:10.3390/soc15010011

Ghouse, S. M., Shekhar, R., & Chaudhary, M. (2025). Driving financial inclusion: exploring mobile wallet adoption among rural Omani millennials. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 16(4), 1229-1257. (ABDC – rank B)

Durrah, O., Charbatji, O., Chaudhary, M. , & Alsubaey, F. (2024). Authentic leadership behaviors and thriving at work: Empirical evidence from the information technology industry in Australia. Psychological Reports, 127(4), 1911-1940.

Gnawali, K. R., & B Kadel, R. (2025). Defection Analysis of Post-Paid Telephone Customers in Nepal Using the Weibull Model. Businesses, 5(1). doi:10.3390/businesses5010006

Kwan, P., Kadel, R., Memon, T. D., & Hashmi, S. S. (2025). Reimagining flipped learning via bloom’s taxonomy and student–teacher–genai interactions. Education Sciences, 15(4). doi:10.3390/educsci15040465

Shrestha, R., Kadel, R., Shakya, S., Nyachhyon, N., & Mishra, B. K. (2025). Awareness and understanding of climate change for environmental sustainability using a mix-method approach: A study in the Kathmandu valley. Sustainability, 17(7). doi:10.3390/su17072819.

Conference Papers and Presentations

P. Thilakanathan, D.B. Guruge, A. Gyasi-Agyei, and D. Pilodiya, A Study of Enhanced XceptionNet Architectures in Deepfake Detection, 14th International Conference on Advanced Engineering and ICT-Convergence, Sydney, Australia, 2025.

Kozhipuram, A. V., Shailendra, S., & Kadel, R. (Accepted for publication). Navigating Education with Large Language Models (LLMs): A Review. In 2025, the International Conference on Advanced Engineering and ICT-Convergence (ICAEIC).

Sharma, A., Shailendra, S., & Kadel, R. (Accepted for publication). Experiences with Content Development and Assessment Design in the Era of GenAI. In 2025, the International Conference on Computer Science, Engineering, and Education (CSEE).

Tahidul, I. M., Shailendra, S., & Kadel, R. (2024). Analysis of energy consumption and efficiency in the two-tier network for LoRa and LR-FHSS IoT sensor communication. In 2024 international conference on innovations in science, engineering and technology (ICISET) (pp. 1–5). doi:10.1109/ICISET62123.2024.10939423.

Ripon Dutta, Johnson I Agbinya, and Mohsin Murtaza, "Effects of Age on Heart Rate Variability and Mental Workload in Smart Vehicle Operations with Secondary Tasks", in Proceedings 14th International Conference on Advanced Engineering and ICT-Convergence (14th ICAEIC-2024, Melbourne Institute of Technology, Sydney Campus, February 10-13, 2025, pp. 348 - 358.

Chowdhury, B., Tarafder, T., & Sultan, P. (2024). The use of emerging technologies to enhance document and archive management systems in the finance sector. Paper presented at the Business and Social Sciences Research Conference, December 20–21, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://www.dhakaconference.com/ (Best Paper Award 2024).

Sultan, P., Tarafder, T., & Chowdhury, B. (2024). Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in student assessments: challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations in higher education context. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on the Role of Statistics and Data Science in 4IR (ICRSD4IR), December 26–28, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://www.dhakaconference.com/

Tarafder, T., Huda, M.M., Ahmed, A.S.I, & Sultan, P. (2024). Governance and employee wellbeing in the Bangladeshi readymade garments (RMGs): The role of front-line managers. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on the Role of Statistics and Data Science in 4IR (ICRSD4IR), December 26–28, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://icrsds4ir.ru.ac.bd/conference/all

Tarafder, T., Chowdhury, B., & Sultan, P. (2024). Leveraging RFID to enhance supply chain efficiency and combat counterfeiting: The context of RMGs in Bangladesh. Paper presented at the Business and Social Sciences Research Conference, December 20–21, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://www.dhakaconference.com/

Research Committees at MIT

Research and Scholarship Committee

The Research and Scholarship Committee is a subcommittee of the Academic Board, responsible research and scholarship activities within the Melbourne Institute of Technology. Its primary purpose is to provide guidance, oversight, recommendations, resource support, and an accountability framework for research and scholarship initiatives, ensuring alignment with the organization's goals and objectives. It advises the Academic Board on matters relating to the governance of research and scholarship at MIT and reports on its activities to the Academic Board to enable the Academic Board to exercise its oversight of regulatory compliance, risk management and quality assurance relating to research and scholarship.

Membership:
Chair - Professor Mohini Singh, Research Director
Member – Professor Johnson Agbinya
Member – Professor Savitri Bevinakoppa
Member – Associate Professor, Kris Nicholls
Member – Dr Wanod Kumar
Member – Dr Jayasighe Hewa Dulige

Research Ethics Committee

The Research Ethics Committee (REC) is responsible and accountable for the ethical oversight of proposed human research studies and the protection of the welfare and rights of its participants. The policy and procedure are based on:
• The Australian Code for Responsible Conduct of Research (2018).
• The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research developed jointly by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and Universities Australia.
• The Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities. Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders were developed by NHMRC.

Membership:
Chair – Professor Mohini Singh, Research Director
Member - Dr Ken Mardaneh
Member - Dr Amoakoh Gyasi-Agyei

Research Higher Degrees Committee (HDRC)

The Higher Degree by Research Committee (HDRC) manages HDR candidates during the period of candidature. It supports candidature management and manages all:
• enrolled candidates, and
• HDR supervisors for Higher Degree by Research candidates.

Membership:
Chair – Professor Johnson Agbinya
Member - Associate Professor Michael De Martinis
Member - Professor Adel Al-Jumaily

Research Examination Committee

The Research Examinations Committee (EC) is established as a subcommittee of the HDRC to ensure the quality, integrity, and fairness of research examinations at the Melbourne Institute of Technology. The Committee's primary purpose is to provide oversight and guidance on matters related to research thesis examinations for postgraduate programs, primarily to progress and manage the process of candidates' examinations effectively and according to MIT thesis examination policy. It operates to implement MIT’s HDR Examination Policy and Procedure.

Membership:
Chair – Professor Mohini Singh, Research Director
Member - Professor Adel Al-Jumaily
Member - Associate Professor Monica Choudhary
Member - Dr Samar Shailendra
Member - Dr Ken Mardaneh

Introducing our Research Administration Team

Ms Helen Macmahon

Ms Helen Macmahon is the Manager of Academic Services and Administration at MIT, where she is responsible for overseeing a range of academic support services for both coursework and Higher Degree by Research (HDR) programs. She also serves as Secretary to several key committees, including the Research Ethics Committee. Helen has held several senior administrative roles at Swinburne, RMIT and Latrobe Universities. Earlier in her career, as the Head of Department (Business Administration) at Holmes Institute. Helen was responsible for curriculum management, supervising teaching staff, and coordinating student industry placements. She was also a lecturer in Business Administration.

Helen and her team oversee the student and administration support activities for all research students. Helen is dedicated to using her broad expertise and an amazing team: Krystal Liu, Madeleine Aldridge, Andrew Suttie and Ilaria Gigantino to make a meaningful impact at MIT, with a strong commitment to continuous improvement and enhancing the Higher Degree by Research student academic experience.

Dr Andrew Suttie

Dr Andrew Suttie is the Academic Services Officer (HDR) (P/T) with MIT since mid-May and is helping the team and the Research Director with maintaining Research Ethics records and HDR Examinations. Before joining MIT, Dr Suttie held management and senior roles in HDR Admissions at the University of Melbourne, Swinburne and Victoria Universities. He said:

“working in HDR candidature administration here at MIT has given me a whole new perspective on the HDR experience”.

Dr Suttie’s educational background is in modern history and politics with an honours degree from La Trobe University, a Graduate Diploma from the Australian National University, and a PhD awarded by the University of NSW. He also worked as an academic and in the public sector in Canberra and Melbourne.