Senior Management
The senior management of AIE Institute provides effective operational management across administrative and academic functions to achieve AIE Institute's strategic objectives.
Vicki De Margheriti
Director
Vicki has over 35 years’ experience managing companies and facilitating business and industry growth in the games development, 3D animation and visual FX industries. She is the CEO of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment Ltd (AIE) and has been involved in the operations and strategic planning of all of its business units, including Canberra Technology Park (CTP), AIE Incubator, Game Plus, Film Plus, as a Director and Co-founder since its inception.
Vicki is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been a director on the board of games studio Micro Forté and middleware developer BigWorld. Vicki believes in equipping people with the skills, knowledge and confidence to follow their dreams. She thrives on providing a fun, creative and motivating work environment that is conducive to learning and allowing staff and students to achieve their full potential.
Vicki has seen AIE grow from a single classroom in partnership with CIT in 1996, to an international success with campuses in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Seattle, Lafayette and Online. She looks forward to managing AIE’s future expansion plans and its ongoing contributions to facilitate industry growth in Australia and abroad.
Chris Young
CFO
Chris Young is AIE’s CFO, bringing over 30 years of financial and commercial experience to the organisation. Originally from England, he’s a qualified Chartered Account in both the UK and Australia, with a background in the telecommunications sector. He worked for Cable & Wireless, British Telecommunications, Telstra and Hutchison Telecommunications, and more recently as a consultant and the CFO of several small companies.
Chris brings a strong financial modelling background to the role which, in addition to his base finance and accountant expertise, he uses to ensure the organisation maintains a strong financial foundation able to invest in the student experience here at AIE.
He lives in Canberra and enjoys spending time with his wife and two teenage boys. He loves watching cricket but hasn’t yet kicked the habit of supporting England, a source of great pain (and jibes from friends and family).
Lea Michael
Academic Director
Lea has over 16 years of tertiary education leadership management within digital games, visual effects and filmmaking sectors, specialising in facilitation of course adaptation to online or blended delivery plus management and coaching of distributed teams.
During Lea’s 20+ years at AIE she has been instrumental in supporting the evolution from a single campus in Canberra to multiple campuses across Australia and internationally, including facilitating course and staff restructuring and reorganisation to open the Online campus.
Since completing a Bachelor of Science, Majoring in Computer Science and being awarded a Vice Chancellors award for top 2% in class, Lea is completing a Masters in Business Administration to align with her interest in leadership and scholarship. Game programming is still a key personal passion that is weaved into any opportunity that presents itself.
Alexandra Mannell
Head of School, Sydney Campus
Alexandra joined AIE in 2018 as the Deputy Head of School - Sydney, returning to the harbour city after a number of years working in Melbourne. Alexandra has over 15 years of vocational education and RTO management experience with a demonstrated history of leadership in the VET sector across a wide range of industries including hospitality, general construction and plumbing. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education and a Master of Education, specialising in workplace learning.
Alexandra's skills lie in training resource development and delivery, RTO compliance, project management and VET team development; her passion lies in working with and encouraging all learners to develop the skills and knowledge they need to achieve their goals and fulfil their potential.
Since joining the AIE team Alexandra has managed to resist the temptation to become a gamer but she has certainly developed a new found appreciation for the technical skill, creativity and hard work that goes into making amazing games and films.
Frank Farfalla
Head of School Melbourne
Frank Farfalla is a seasoned education professional with over 25 years of experience in dual-sector education. His passion lies in creating pathways for students and in facilitating connections between stakeholders including government, industry, and education bodies, to foster environments where students can realise their aspirations, while developing skills to make them future industry leaders.
Recognised with awards in ‘Student Centred Teaching’ and ‘Outstanding Contributions to Student Centred Learning’ Frank believes that educators at all levels should strive to meet their responsibilities in such a way as to inspire students to become critical thinkers with a hunger to learn.
Under Frank’s leadership at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE), industry partnerships and internships have been strengthened, vocational school programs have been expanded and graduate opportunities have increased and diversified.
Working in the creative industries of games, film and visual effects, which highly value practical skills, Frank provides an educational environment where staff are supported, and learners are inspired to develop the skills they need to succeed.
Chris Higgins
Head of School, Canberra Campus
Chris Higgins joins AIE as the new Head of School for Canberra and Online Campus, bringing over 25 years of experience in educational leadership, innovative curriculum development, and supporting students and educators to thrive. Known for his enthusiasm in building dynamic, high-performing teams, Chris has successfully led numerous initiatives focused on improving student outcomes, enhancing teacher capacity, and driving organisational growth.
Married with three energetic children, Chris balances his professional commitment with passions that range from snowy slopes all over the world to exploring underwater realms as an avid scuba diver. When not facilitating student success or championing cutting-edge educational approaches, you might find Chris debating rugby —he's a proud, self-described "Brumbies tragic," always optimistic that this will finally be their championship year.
Chris is excited to foster a vibrant and creative learning environment at AIE, supporting both students and staff to excel in the seriously fun and creatively demanding fields of games, film, and animation. If you're keen to chat about student engagement, innovative learning practices, or why the Brumbies remain Australia's greatest rugby team
Travis Hart
Head of School, Adelaide Campus
Travis joined AIE in 2023 as the Deputy Head of School at Adelaide Campus. His career began in the fashion and textiles industry, working as a graphic designer with various brands before moving into adult education. Travis has extensive experience with the delivery, development and management of several vocational and higher educational courses and programs. Additionally, Travis has managed various industry led student projects involving market research, product design concepts and ‘go to’ market business plans.
Travis honed his passion by completing a Graduate Certificate in Cross Disciplinary Art & Design, focusing on how art and design affects us and our immediate environment. Following this, Travis also completed a Masters of Entrepreneurship, specialising in sustainability and business solutions.
In addition to his passion for art and design, Travis is an advocate for inclusivity, wellbeing and animal rights.