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.
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.
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 an experienced educator and has been working in the Victorian Education system since the mid-90s. After working at various Registered Training Organisations and completing a Master of Science in Computer Science in 2000, Frank took a position with RMIT University as a teacher, moving quickly to a management position. In 2003, Frank was awarded the ‘RMIT Business Teaching Award’ in the categories of ‘Student Centred Teaching’ and ‘outstanding contributions to Student Centred Learning’, after being nominated by his students. Frank joined the AIE family in 2015 bringing the same passion for student centred learning and education to his role.
Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think”. Frank believes that the responsibility of education is to connect with student in such a way to trigger the inspiration which encourages students to think for themselves and to become hungry to learn.
In the Games and VFX creative industries, where practical skills are highly valued, Frank strives, together with his staff, to provide an educational environment where creative individuals can come together to learn, be inspired and achieve their dreams.
Lea Michael
Head of School, Canberra Campus
Lea has over 16 years of campus management and educational resource management experience, specialising in Online adaption and facilitation of all levels of courses.
As AIE evolved from a single campus in Canberra to several campuses across Australia, Lea ensured all programming courses were successfully duplicated across to each new campus, maintaining resources and training staff as they joined the teams.
After taking on opening an Online delivery focussed campus for AIE in 2012, Lea has sustained its growth over the years and has facilitated the training of AIE staff across all Campuses to adapt to Online delivery. With the ability to adapt quickly, project manage and focus when challenges arise, Lea manages two very different campuses and sets of staff simultaneously.
Since achieving the top 2% in her classes and gaining a Vice Chancellors award during her Bachelor of Science, Majoring in Computer Science, Lea has continued to maintain her programming and project management passion through contract and personal projects.
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.