Course Advisory Committee (Game Development)
The Course Advisory Committee (Game Development) is a standing committee of the Academic Board of AIE Institute Ltd. Course advisory committees have delegated responsibility from the Academic Board to develop new higher education courses for AIE Institute and for conducting reviews of AIE Institute’s courses.
Dr Geoff Mitchell
Director
Geoff is a Digital Strategist with the Brisbane City Council. He has over 30 years’ experience as an academic and an IT professional in government agencies, private sector organisations and higher education institutions. Geoff has more than 18 years’ experience in the Higher Education sector across Australia and New Zealand, including roles as the Director of Learning Environments and Technology Services at QUT, Director of the University Teaching Development Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, and the Manager of Educational Products and Services at Griffith University. Prior to working for Brisbane City Council, he was the Digital and Emerging Technology Manager at Virgin Australia.
Geoff has been involved with AIE Institute since 2019 and is an Independent Director, the Chair of the Course Advisory Committee and a member of the Academic Board.
Mr Steve Wang
General Manager, Wargaming Sydney
Steve Wang is the General Manager of Wargaming Sydney, the Australian division of Wargaming – the massively successful developer of World of Tanks, World of Warplanes, and World of Warships, played by 200 million gamers around the world.
Steve has been at the forefront of the Australian games industry for over 35 years. After graduating from UNSW with a BSc in Computer Science, he went on to co-found Micro Forté, one of the first Australian computer games studios, in 1985.
In the early 2000s, Micro Forté formed BigWorld Technology with the ambitious plan to build a game engine specifically designed for MMOs and online games. BigWorld, with Steve as COO, was the first company to develop such a middleware platform.
Wargaming acquired Micro Forté in 2012 and Steve became the new Wargaming Sydney studio’s General Manager. Under Steve’s leadership, the studio has gone from strength to strength and today employs over 120 artists, programmers, QA and support staff.
Steve is also passionate about giving back to the wider gaming community through creating monthly meetups where developers give educational presentations; sponsoring events including GCAP; and supporting members of the team to present their work worldwide at GCAP, GDC, Siggraph and E3.
Karl Cizakowsky
Head of Faculty, Game Design, AIE
Karl Cizakowsky’s experience runs over 2 decades in video game development and film, primarily in senior and leadership positions working on console, PC and mobile platforms. Starting at Ratbag Games in 2000, Midway Studios and Krome Studios, he moved on to several mobile and indie development projects. He has also worked as an Artist/Modeler on several film projects at Rising Sun Pictures and done contract work for Screen Australia. He joined the Academy of Interactive Entertainment in 2015 as the Head of Faculty for Game Design.
Patrick Delmastro
Head of Faculty, Game Art and Animation, AIE
Patrick started working in the game development industry in 2003 and has significant experience as a senior and lead artist, contributing to over 30 published games across mobile and console platforms throughout his career thus far. He has experience working for studios such as Electronic Arts, Creative Assembly, and a multitude of independent Australian game development companies.
Patrick entered the education sector in 2010 as a guest lecturer and began teaching regularly in 2014, delivering game development and VFX courses alongside industry work. In 2020, Patrick was appointed Head of Faculty for Game Art and Animation at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment and a member of the Course Advisory Committee at AIE Institute.
Dr Le Hoa Phan
Course Advisory Committee Member
Le Hoa is a member of the senior leader team at the University of Southern Queensland and is currently on secondment as the Director, Enterprise Information, Data and Analytics (substantive role Director, Academic Quality Unit). Le Hoa is considered an expert in curriculum quality, and data management, analytics, visualisation, and consumption by a range of stakeholders.
With over 20 years of experience in higher education, Le Hoa is responsible for managing a team of data engineers, analysts, and quality and governance experts to ensure that the executive and academic staff have sufficient information for strategic decision-making. Her doctoral studies were in higher education policy and economic efficiency analysis,
Ann-Maree Davies
Academic Director
Ann-Maree's journey in education and technology is a testament to her passion for empowering students and fostering innovation. Her career commenced in 2016 when she joined AIE (Academy of Interactive Entertainment), following four impactful years delivering AIE Certificate courses at a secondary college.
Equipped with a Degree in Computer Science with a Major in Pure Mathematics, Ann-Maree embarked on a trajectory dedicated to merging her technical expertise with pedagogical excellence. Initially, she ventured into teaching Information Technology at TAFESA before augmenting her skills with a Graduate Diploma in Education.
Driven by a profound understanding of the transformative power of education, Ann-Maree recently culminated her academic pursuits with a Master of Education (Leadership), further enhancing her capacity to inspire and lead.
Beyond academia, Ann-Maree's personal interests converge with her professional endeavors. As an ardent gamer, she recognizes the profound potential of creative industries and is committed to paving tangible pathways for aspiring students. Her ethos revolves around nurturing talent through a blend of diligence and imaginative processes while fostering meaningful connections with students.
Ann-Maree's dedication to education, technology, and industry collaboration exemplifies her role as a catalyst for transformative change within the educational landscape and beyond.
James Willmott
Head of Faculty, Game Programming
James has been a trainer at AIE since 2017 and comes from 20 years in C++ programming 3d applications, live streaming software/hardware solutions, medical VR, and has experience in 3d modelling, texturing, and animation for film, tv and real estate. He has a deep love for programming and mentoring.
James has enjoyed video games of all genres since the 80’s and has spent way too many hours on Skyrim and Overwatch. He looks forward to working with everyone to shape a bright future for the programming faculty and AIE.