Course & Industry Advisory Committee

Course & Industry Advisory Committee

Adjunct Professor Asif Iqbal has over twenty years’ experience as an
academic, most of it in academic management roles. Educated in several
continents, Adjunct Professor Iqbal’s initial commerce degree in Pakistan and a
degree from the UK was followed by employment as an academic at the
Assumption University of Bangkok and as the Head of the Marketing
Department at the Bradford University, Bangkok Campus/Centre.


In Australia, Adjunct Professor Iqbal lectured at the University of Wollongong,
Australian Catholic University, Central Queensland University, and the
University of Newcastle. He worked at the Central Queensland University for
six years as lecturer and the Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law. In
that role, Adjunct Professor Iqbal led a team of over 100 academics in wide-
ranging disciplines. As Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, Adjunct
Professor Iqbal played a key role in the establishment of the new Sydney
campus of Central Queensland University.


In 2005, Adjunct Professor Iqbal was instrumental in setting up the Sydney
Campus of Curtin University of Technology where he worked as the Academic
Director leading a large team of academics until 2009. He managed the
comprehensive campus audits conducted by the Australian Universities
Quality Agency (AUQA) and was the Chair of the Academic Board at the
Sydney Campus of Curtin University of Technology.


Adjunct Professor Iqbal has been a member of various corporate and academic
committees at the Central Queensland University, Curtin University of
Technology, the University of Wollongong, the University of Newcastle,
Australian Institute of Business and Queensland International Business
Academy (QIBA Sydney).


As a member of the CPA Australia Universities Committee, he played a key
participant’s role in establishing a new membership pathway through the study
of foundation courses.


Following his role at Curtin University and prior to joining Southern Cross
School of Business (SCSB), Adjunct Professor Iqbal established the higher
education division of Williams Business College and led it successfully in
gaining the status of a non-self-accrediting higher education institution. The
College Governing Council then appointed Adjunct Professor Iqbal the
Campus Director and Dean of Williams Business College. Adjunct Professor
Iqbal served as the Chair of the Higher Education Executive Management
team and a member of the Governing Council and the Academic Board. He is
well-known for his expertise in higher education management and is widely
consulted in the areas of higher education registration and course
accreditation regulatory processes.

Associate Professor Georgia Clarkson is the Chair of the Course & Industry Advisory Committee and serves as a distinguished member of the Academic Board at Southern Cross Institute (SCI). She has a mixed disciplinary background in arts, teaching, and paramedicine. She has a focus on inclusivity in education having completed her PhD around the impact of inclusive educational practice.

Associate Professor Clarkson has worked as an academic since 2008 and has been employed by several higher education providers, where she has worked in leadership roles in shaping programs and projects. Her interdisciplinary experience has guided her leadership of numerous teaching development projects in collaboration with colleagues from a broad range of disciplines. Experience in policy development and governance enhances her higher education leadership experience.

Dr Xin (Cathy) Jin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management at Griffith University, where she also serves as the Director of Higher Degree by Research for the Griffith Business School. A leading academic in the field of tourism and hospitality, Dr Jin brings deep expertise in visitor behaviour, destination marketing, and event tourism.
She holds a PhD from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and postgraduate qualifications from the University of Westminster and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. She has led and collaborated on numerous government-funded and industry research projects and was recognised with the CAUTHE Fellows Commendation Award in 2022 for her significant contribution to tourism and hospitality research.

Dr Jin is actively engaged in academic publishing, serving as Co-Editor of Tourism and Hospitality Research and Associate Editor for Event Management, along with editorial board memberships on several high-impact journals, including Tourism Management, International Journal of Tourism Research, and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Tourism Research.

A Fellow of the International Association for China Tourism Studies, she is also an experienced doctoral supervisor with a strong record of research leadership and curriculum development across undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Dr Jin contributes her extensive academic, industry, and governance experience to the Course and Industry Advisory Committee, supporting the continued enhancement of academic quality and graduate employability in hospitality and tourism programs.


Associate Professor Alison Owens is the Chair of the Academic Board and
serves as a distinguished member of the Governing Council, Course &
Industry Advisory Committee and Learning & Teaching Committee at
Southern Cross Institute (SCI). She is the Academic Lead, Scholarship and
Professional Learning at the Centre for Education and Innovation at the
Australian Catholic University (ACU).


Associate Professor Owens has over twenty-five years’ experience in
teaching and researching in higher education. She is the recipient of
multiple internal and external research grants and publishes widely on
higher education topics. Her fields of interest and impact are the
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Creative Arts.


Associate Professor Owens completed her Doctorate in Education in 2006
(University of Technology Sydney) and completed a PhD in Creative Arts
(Central Queensland University) in 2018. In recognition of her commitment
to professional learning for academic staff and PhD supervisions, she was
awarded the ACU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Postgraduate Teaching
Excellence in 2023.

Dr Indra Seher serves as a distinguished member of the Course & Industry Advisory Committee at Southern Cross Institute (SCI). She has Ph.D. in Computing and Information Technology from Western Sydney University and has over two decades of professional experience. With a diverse work experience in the IT industry as well as academics, she brings extensive experience to teaching, designing, and coordinating tertiary-level courses in Information Systems.

As an active researcher, Dr Seher’s interests span areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, and Natural Language Processing. Her professional journey includes a tenure as a Project Manager at Western Sydney University and significant involvement as a Reviewer, Programme Committee Member, and Technical Committee Member for various international conferences.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Dr Seher has served as a course advisor for both postgraduate and undergraduate students. She remains dedicated to teaching and innovative research in Computing and IT, embodying a proactive and challenging mindset.

Honorary Professor Maypilama is a senior Yolŋu researcher and respected Cultural Authority from the Waramirri clan of Galiwin’ku, Elcho Island. She is a Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University’s Molly Wardaguga Research Centre and the Northern Institute, with over 20 years of experience in Yolŋu-led research, community engagement, and education. A founding member of Yalu Marŋgithinyaraw (now Yalu Aboriginal Corporation), Honorary Professor Maypilama has played a pivotal role in developing culturally responsive health and education programs for Yolŋu communities. Her expertise spans maternal and child health, nutrition, chronic disease, hearing loss, and early development. Fluent in multiple Yolŋu Matha dialects, she has guided numerous collaborative projects that bridge Yolŋu and Western knowledge systems, championing ethical research practices and improved education outcomes for Yolŋu people.

Honorary Professor Maypilama is widely recognised for her exceptional ability to work between cultures and for her unwavering commitment to community-led approaches. She has mentored both Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, ensuring that research undertaken in Yolŋu communities is culturally grounded, respectful, and mutually beneficial. Through her leadership, Honorary Professor Maypilama continues to influence national conversations on Indigenous research methodologies and education, while actively supporting the next generation of Yolŋu leaders and scholars.

Dr Bikram Chatterjee serves as a distinguished member of the Course & Industry Advisory Committee at Southern Cross Institute (SCI). He has extensive academic experience in Australia and New Zealand and is a member of CPA Australia. He previously worked as an Assessment Consultant with CPA Australia and has published in several high-ranked international journals, including Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Pacific Basin Finance Journal, Journal of Business Research, Accounting & Finance, and Accounting Education. He has also published in Campus Review on innovative business curriculum. Dr Chatterjee takes a strong interest in course development and assurance of learning, bringing valuable expertise to SCI’s Course & Industry Advisory Committee.