Our Faculty and Staff

Ms Fatima Reyes
General Manager
Image
BA Political Science, Juris Doctor, MBA, MSPPM (CMU)

Fatima Reyes is the General Manager of Adelaide Institute of Higher Education. She has over 20 years of experience in leadership roles and is a lawyer by training. Fatima started her career in a general practice law firm and then moved to a public-listed corporation as an in-house lawyer. She has also worked for the Philippine Central Bank, providing advisory and research information to the Governor and the Monetary Board. More recently, she was the Director of Operations for Carnegie Mellon University-Australia, working with both Pittsburgh and Adelaide campuses, as well as Corporate Secretary to the CMU-Australia Advisory Board. Fatima is a firm believer in the power of education and has been involved in training and capacity building of human resources in various organisations. She is committed to helping students reach their goals and is passionate about providing a transformative learning experience.
Mr Stan Astachnowicz
Head of School
Image
BBus (SACAE), Dip Ed (Flinders), CPA

Stan
is the Head of School at Adelaide Institute of Higher Education. He has been involved in Business education and leadership for four decades and almost three of those have been in the university sector. Stan was twice nominated for the prestigious Carrick Awards for Australian university teaching, recognizing his excellence in higher education business teaching and learning. Stan's expertise has led to him having academic oversight over his then university's entire Business School offshore teaching operations and he has successfully graduated thousands of students across Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and mainland China. His professional interests have also taken him into governance roles and consultancies in the private higher education sector. He currently serves as a consultant to the university sector and is also a member of CPA Australia. Stan is passionate about providing students with opportunities that business education offers and is committed to helping students reach their goals.
Dr Narjess Abroun
Associate Head of School – Melbourne Campus and MBA Course Coordinator
Image
Dr Narjess Abroun is the Associate Head of School in Adelaide Institute of Higher Education in Melbourne. She has a PhD in Marketing from RMIT University and is a member of the course advisory board for Buyer Behaviour at RMIT. She also has a Bachelor and Masters degree in Economics and has taught more than 20 academic subjects across different business disciplines for over 13 years. Narjess has been involved in leadership duties and contributing to managerial decisions and academic strategies since 2017. Her research interests include consumer behaviour in life-threatening contexts and advanced pedagogical techniques for improving teaching and learning of business subjects in higher education. She is currently writing a book about the collective emotions of a Middle East migrant woman.
Ms Christa Viljoen
Bachelor of Business Course Coordinator and Lecturer
Image
Christa Viljoen is the Course Coordinator for the Bachelor of Business program and a lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Adelaide Institute of Higher Education. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of CAANZ and is currently doing her PhD with the University of South Australia. Her research focuses on the financial planning of older women and she has co-authored a number of papers in academic journals. Christa started her professional career in London and has worked in professional services and the private sector. She has ten years of experience managing academic teams in South Africa and Australia and was previously part of the Academic Directorate team and program coordinator at the South Australian Institute of Business and Technology (SAIBT). Her lecturing expertise include Accounting, Management Accounting, Finance, and Property Investment. She is passionate about providing quality education to international students and creating a quality team environment for staff.
Dr Elise Westin
Student Learning Advisor and Lecturer
Image
Dr Elise Westin is an educator for AIHE and the University of Adelaide where she creates teaching methods focused on social learning (in-person and online) through the development of communities of practice. She achieved a Bachelor of International Studies, a Bachelor of Development Studies (with Honours in Anthropology), a Masters in Applied Linguistics, a Graduate Certificate in Education (TESOL) and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Adelaide. Additionally, she was an alumna of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program (GHRUP) at the Zoryan Institute in Toronto. Her specialisations include the digital transformation of education, engaging curriculum design, cross-cultural communication, and international student learning experiences. Her experience in universities has enabled her to provide support to linguistically, culturally, and cognitively diverse student cohorts from various disciplines. Through a student-centred approach, she is able to meet individual needs of students and address their specific ways of learning. Her publications on critical review texts and reflective writing texts offer guidance to educators for their own curriculum. These include papers on academic discourses, intergenerational trauma, a Routledge handbook on Romantic literature and culture, creative non-fiction pieces on her grandmothers experiences during the Holodomor and WWII, and edited collections on academic literacies and text-based teaching.
Dr. Faisal Abdullah
Lecturer
Image
Dr Faisal Abdullah is a professional educator and accountant with more than 20 years of experiences combined. Faisal has experience in a range of fields, including banking, accounting, not-for-profit organisations, and higher education. He has had a strong passion in education, teaching, and learning since his undergraduate studies when he started teaching in his first year of university. Ever since this experience, he has endeavoured to become a lecturer. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, majoring in accounting, Faisal began working in a commercial bank, where he gained 10 years of experience as an accountant. His work experience in banking has given him a great deal of opportunity to explore the financial system, and he utilises the knowledge and experience gained from this opportunity in his teaching practices.
Dr Wasana Jayawickramarathna
Lecturer
Image
Dr Wasana Jayawickramarathna has over 15 years of experience in teaching and academic research, both locally and internationally. In 2022, she joined AIHE as an academic, while also teaching at RMIT University and Monash College in Melbourne. She specialises in teaching various marketing and management related subjects for both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Wasana completed her Bachelor degree in Business Management, with a specialisation in Marketing, and her Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. She holds a PhD in Marketing from RMIT University in Australia, with a published thesis on social marketing, specifically on Bottom of the Pyramid consumer markets. Her research interests include consumer behaviour, social marketing, marketing research, and corporate social responsibility.
Dr Chris Riley
Lecturer
Image
Dr Chris Riley has a commercial background in management, financial accounting, and administration, and he has worked for more than 25 years in government, corporate, and community organisations. Since 1999, he has worked in academic, research and consulting positions, and currently lectures in business and management subjects, primarily with international students at the MBA level. Chris has many years of experience in the facilitation of action learning and action research projects with senior managers. He has worked on the Academic Advisory Board for Carnegie Mellon in Adelaide, and more recently at EQUALS International. He enjoys the challenges and rewards of helping students in their studies as they progress along the pathway to achieving their hopes and dreams.
Dr John Wilkinson
Lecturer
Image
John Wilkinson is a South African-born educator, researcher, and industry professional. He achieved a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Natal, an MBA at the University of Adelaide, and a PhD at the University of South Australia, along with a Graduate Certificate in Education. He held the positions of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Program Director and Associate HeadSchool of Marketing at the University of South Australia until 2016, and Head of DisciplineMarketing at Australian Institute of Business (AIB) from 2017 to 2019. At AIB, his focus was on a marketing specialisation within an online MBA program. He has also been a Research Associate in the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science. His industry experience includes positions of Product Manager, Industrial Detergents with Unilever South Africa; Manager, Marketing Information & Analysis with Kodak Australasia; Domestic Market Manager, Ingot with Alcoa of Australia; and Marketing & Sales Manager with Monier Castings. He has supervised four PhD and DBA students, and his published work includes a range of Australasian and international journals, books, and research presented at conferences in Australasia, Europe and the United States. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Selling, a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, a Certified Practising Marketer (CPM), and a member of the Global Sales Science Institute.
Dr Nick Hadjinicolaou
Lecturer
Image
Dr Nick Hadjinicolaou is an enterprise agility lead, implementing scaled agile and portfolio management to support organisational agility and best practice in lean. Prior to this role, he was the national Program Director for the Global Project Management program at Torrens University, Australia. He has an extensive Agile project and program management background, specialising in Project Portfolio Management through his PhD and the review and delivery of programs, projects, PMOs and change management for complex projects. Nick has managed several Masters programs, involving complex internal and external stakeholders. He has been a passionate learner, facilitator and trainer in project management for the last 20 years in VET for several sectors including Defence, Government, SMEs, Telecommunications and services. His current research interests include strategic future readiness, organisational agility and scaled agile. His key career highlights include completion of his PhD, setting up ASP Australia Chapter, setup of the project management program at Torrens University, setup of MBIS and MEM, managing two large digital transformation programs, the Sydney 2000 Olympics, data centre relocations and global cloud-based application roll-out for IBM India, China, Hong Kong, and IBM Taiwan. His industry experience spans State & Federal Government, education, telecommunications, health care, professional services, defence & utilities.
Dr Ali Abbas
Lecturer
Image
Dr Ali Abbas is an experienced academic with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry in Australia and overseas for over 15 years. He is a strong education professional with a PhD in International Finance from RMIT University. Ali is a dedicated lecturer in accounting, finance, and economics courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is motivated to improve students' experience beyond reasonable expectations. He has strong educational qualifications and a passion for the accounting and finance fields. Ali's research articles appear in many well-known international journals including the Journal of Intellectual Capital, and the Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, among others. His research interests include, but are not limited to, International Finance, FDI, Financial Economics, Applied Economics, and Econometrics. Ali is a confident user of statistical packages R, Stata, and EViews. He is an experienced and skilled data analyst in collecting, organising, interpreting, and disseminating various types of statistical figures.
Ms Ceinwyn Elleway
Manager – Learning Design and Technologies
Image
Ceinwyn Elleway has 23 years of experience across school and higher education contexts, both local and international. Her professional background includes 17 years as a teacher and leader in the school sector, with a focus on the teaching of English and working with students in flexible learning and transition pathways. After moving into the higher education sector, Ceinwyn held roles as Program Coordinator and Director of Initial Teacher Education at Flinders University, specialising in curriculum development in undergraduate teaching programs. Additionally, Ceinwyn worked in postgraduate continuing professional education programs, working extensively in international contexts, including China and Vietnam. More recently, she undertook an Australian Government curriculum redevelopment project in the Pacific. Ceinwyn has a particular interest in equity of access to education and how this can be achieved for all students through effective teaching and learning strategies. Ceinwyn is currently completing her PhD in Education Leadership. She was the recipient of an Endeavour Research Fellowship and undertook her PhD research in Vietnam. Her research focuses on transnational engagement in education.
Ms Lisa Sofia
Student Experience and Academic Coordinator
Image
Lisa Sofia is the Student Experience and Academic Coordinator at AIHE and has been working in education for over 8 years. She completed an Honours degree in Multimedia Studies, where she majored in Italian Studies at the University of South Australia. She has worked in higher education in Student Support Services and has taught English as a second language in Italy. She continues to work with international students to support them through their studies while living here in Australia.
Ms Marissa Bui
Student Services Administrator
Image
Marissa Bui is the Student Services Administrator at AIHE and has been in the education sector for over 10 years. She holds a Master's degree in Development Economics from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam, a Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) from Adelaide Institute of Business and Technology, and a Certificate IV and Training and Assessment from Time Education and Training. Her dual degree was English and Chinese Studies. Marissa also does the Bachelor of Accounting with University of South Australia part-time. Before coming to Australia, she worked in the education and health sectors in Vietnam for both governmental and non-governmental agencies, and was involved in the Department of Education's national projects. Marissa can speak Vietnamese and Chinese and has experience as a supervised trainer and assessor for Adelaide Institute of Business and Technology. As an international student herself, she understands the obstacles students face during their studies and is dedicated to helping them through AIHE's services.
Mr Marko Savovic
Lecturer
Image
Marko Savovic is a lecturer and tutor with experience across multiple institutions, including the University of South Australia and Flinders University. He holds a Masters in Business (International Business) from Flinders University. Marko’s professional background is in business administration, public service, and non-profit organisations. After completing his Bachelor of Commerce and International Business, he had the opportunity to work in financial planning and insurance. This was an important area of development and a significant change from his earlier work in business administration across a number of public sector organisations. Currently, he is undertaking a PhD in the field of Human Resource Management at the

University of South Australia. He has been teaching and mentoring business topics across a variety of institutions for over a decade. This professional tutoring work began at Flinders University in 2016 in the area of Governance, Sustainability and Ethics. In later years, he taught Accounting, HRM, Entrepreneurship and International Business. In 2019, he joined the University of South Australia, where he was able to teach a variety of topics, including International Business Environments, Strategic Management and Organisational Leadership. He has been a lecturer at AIHE since 2022 and is currently tutoring in the areas of Strategic Planning and Innovation in Business.

Mr Max Smith
Lecturer
Image
Max Smith is a casual Lecturer in International Business at a number of universities in Adelaide. After a successful career in Australia’s international telecommunications industry, Max joined Flinders University’s Business School in the late 1990s and became a member of the School's international business team. In 2011, he was appointed as Associate Dean (International and Community) for the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Flinders University, a position he held until his early retirement in mid-2016. His primary teaching, delivered in both Australia and China, was in the topics International Business Environment and International Marketing. He is a past member of the Academy of International Business; the Australian and New Zealand International Business Academy; the Academy of World Business, Marketing and Management Development; the Australian Marketing Institute; and the Academy of Marketing Science. He was a Visiting Fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2009 and is also a past Board Member of the Exporters' Association of South Australia. His research interests include Psychic Distance in International Business, SME and Family Business Development, and International Business Negotiations.
Ms Kate Duryea
Lecturer
Image
Kate Duryea started her professional life as a journalist and then later worked in marketing communications, event management and marketing. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and International Relations) at The University of Queensland and an MBA at the University of New England. Kate has worked in the media, tourism, and property industries, including arranging a major international boat event. She operated her own business for several years with national and international clients. For over 17 years, she has worked as a sessional lecturer, tutor, and course builder for several Australian institutes.

Adelaide Institute of Higher Education (AIHE) is registered as an Institute of Higher Education with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), the Australian Government regulator for Higher Education. AIHE delivers fully accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to domestic and international students that are recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

TEQSA Provider Number: PRV14326
TEQSA Provider Category: Institute of Higher Education
CRICOS Provider Code: 03763K
ABN: 54 618 241 802

Adelaide Institute of Higher Education
is a member of

Adelaide International School
Adelaide Institute of Business and Technology
Adelaide Research Institute

 

QUICK LINKS

Contact Us

Adelaide Campus (Main Campus)

Level 5,127 Rundle Mall,
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
+61 8 8470 0156
info@aihe.sa.edu.au

Melbourne Campus
Level 2, 203-207 and 209-211 Lonsdale Street,
Melbourne, Victoria 3000
+61 3 8849 0171
info@aihe.sa.edu.au

Business hours
Our support Hotline is available
Mon – Fri: 9am to 5pm
Sat – Sun: Closed

© Copyright AIHE 2023.

Search