Academic Team

A solid higher education background along with extensive hospitality experience

Jack Iveson's Story as Head of Academic Operations in The Hotel School Sydney

A solid higher education background along with extensive hospitality experience

Academic Team

Brisbane Staff

Allison Knight

Lecturer and Tutor, Brisbane

Dedicated online and face to face lecturer with twenty years' experience in teaching undergraduate students’ hospitality, tourism, human resource management and business-related subjects in Sydney, Brisbane, Australia and Birmingham, UK. Offer a proven track record of commended performance teaching, with a passion for education and the service industry. I have developed subject outlines and course material. Assisted the implementation of courses to facilitate positive and collaborative relationships between students, teachers and stakeholders across the community to drive program implementation that is tailored to meet site specific, cultural and student needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

Masters Social Science, Leisure and Tourism
Grad. Cert Education/Higher Education Administration

Mathew Little

Head of Campus - Brisbane

Mat’s expertise is the product of a lifetime in the hospitality industry combined with extensive experience in the Higher Education sector. Prior to joining The Hotel School to lead the Brisbane campus, Mat was a Lecturer in Business and Tourism at Southern Cross University. At SCU, Mat designed, coordinated, and delivered courses in Hospitality, International Tourism and Management. Mat also collaborated with Le Cordon Bleu to deliver the Master of Gastronomic Tourism. A firm believer in applying critical theory with ‘real world’ use, Mat implements practice-based coursework—tours of regional tourism/hospitality venues, internships, and networking—to connect students with industry leaders to achieve tangible results. Mat’s favourite thing about his role at The Hotel School is the close relationships fostered between staff and students and is excited to launch their international careers in Hotel Management from beautiful South-East Queensland.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master of Business Administration, Bond
Master of Project Management, Bond

Sarah Keast

Lecturer and Tutor, Brisbane

Learning & development runs through my veins, it's my passion and I love to learn as well as help others to learn too. I have over 10 years of corporate Learning and Development experience and now I am thrilled to be assisting the new generation of business professionals to find their way. Specialities: Managing the training function in an economic downturn, developing and delivering program material, policy & procedure writing and implementation, business process mapping and re-engineering.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master of Business Administration, University of Liverpool

Melbourne Staff

Jordi Datzira Masip

Postgraduate Program Co-ordinator

Jordi Datzira Masip is an Early Career Researcher and recent doctoral candidate at La Trobe University (Australia). He is the Postgraduate Program Coordinator at The Hotel School (Melbourne), in partnership with Southern Cross University. His major research interests relate to the management of tourist destinations from a local community perspective. He specialises in policy, planning and development, strategic marketing, destination branding, and socio-cultural impacts as they relate to tourist behaviour.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master in the Management of Urban Tourism, University of Barcelona
M.Sc in Tourism Planning and Development, University of Surrey
Bachelor in Tourism Management, University of Girona

Dr Jillian Adams

Lecturer and Tutor Melbourne

Jillian graduated with honours in Geography and majors in Literature, Journalism and Fine Arts then went off to Paris to pursue a career in hospitality. She is a qualified teacher and a graduate of Cordon Bleu in Paris. She completed a Masters in Oral History and Historical Memory at Monash University in 2011. Jillian completed her PhD at Central Queensland University in the School of Education and Creative Arts in November 2015. In it she argues that narrative non-fiction and domestic material culture from the 1950s in Australia challenges the static and often nostalgic impressions of the housewife. She has co-edited a special edition of online journal MC, published work in numerous academic journals and presented papers at local and international conferences.

QUALIFICATIONS

PhD in Food History and Creative Writing
Masters in Oral History and Historical Memory, Monash University
Diploma in Professional Writing, Council of Adult Education (CAE), Melbourne
Bachelor of Arts (Hons. Geography), Melbourne University
Bachelor of Arts (Literature and Journalism), Deakin University
Diploma of Education, Melbourne University
Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training, Swinburne University
Professional Sensory Evaluation, University of Adelaide
Reading Historic Cookbooks: A Structured Approach, Radcliff Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Gregor Blair-Smith

Lecturer and Tutor Melbourne

Gregor’s educational background began in biochemistry. He left this vocation to join the family business in construction and worked on industrial and high rise projects for many years as a project manager before turning to Hotel Management. After 20 years in hotels as a Hotel General Manager, he turned to teaching in vocational hospitality and tourism, and then higher education for the past 11 years. He currently teaches hospitality and tourism operational subjects for The Hotel School Melbourne and management subjects for the RMIT College of Business.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master of Business Administration, University of Queensland
Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry)

Nadia Vago

Lecturer and Tutor Melbourne

Nadia joins the Hotel School Melbourne at SCU with over 10 years tutoring experience at La Trobe University in the Business School (Tourism & Hospitality) and over 10 years industry experience in the Hospitality and Hotel Industry in operational, supervisory and managerial roles in properties, including The Langham Hotel Melbourne, Sheraton Towers Southgate, Quest Serviced Apartments and Le Meridien at Rialto. Nadia has completed a Diploma in Hospitality followed by an Honours Degree in Business (Tourism and Hospitality) at La Trobe University in 2000. In 1998, during Nadia’s degree she was also awarded the “Best of La Trobe University” by the School of Tourism and Hospitality and a panel of industry judges. Most recently Nadia has also completed her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. In July 2016, Nadia was also awarded the “Pro Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Support Staff Award” from La Trobe University, Melbourne. This was in recognition of enhancing the overall student learning experience by contributing to subject development and improvement.

QUALIFICATIONS

Diploma in Hospitality
Bachelor of Business (Tourism and Hospitality) (Hons.), La Trobe University

Sydney Staff

John Iveson

Head of Academic Operations Sydney

John brings a diverse higher education background along with extensive hospitality experience to The Hotel School team. John brings substantial online framework and instructional design experience, having been through the implementation of online programs in multiple types of platforms. He has also been involved in creating best practice in open space learning through the delivery of ‘flipped classroom’ base models, peer-supported learning schemes and coaching practices in the classroom. Referring to himself as a ‘Hospitality lifer’, John has extensive hospitality experience having worked in restaurant operations all over the world, in many functions and roles, from dishwasher to Head-Chef. John’s Education experience has seen him run organisations in both the Higher Education and VET sectors, across multiple disciplines, from Hospitality, to Marketing, Events and Public Relations.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master of Arts, University of Technology, Sydney
Bachelor of Arts, Caldwell College, NY

Paul Weeks

Postgraduate Program Coordinator

Paul joined SCU School of Business and Tourism in 1991 after 20 years managerial experience in hotel, motel and food service organisations, moving to The Hotel School Sydney (THSS) in 2000, and returning to SCU after 15 years in Sydney. His previous and current experience includes instructional design for subjects offered through the School’s distance education programs, development of curricula across a range of discipline areas, lecturing in management, services management and information technology. Paul has co-authored two Australian ‘hospitality’ industry texts: Club Management, and Managing Convention Businesses. Research interests include teaching and learning, IT in hospitality; history of hotels; convention services, and club management. Received an inaugural Vice Chancellor’s award for Teaching Excellence, and two subsequent VC’s Teaching Awards as a member of two teaching teams. With a colleague from SCU, Paul won a 2017 SCU Engagement Award for Engaged Learning. Paul is a member of the Emeritus Faculty at Southern Cross University.

QUALIFICATIONS

PhD candidate (SCU)
Master of Education (SCU)
Graduate Diploma in Education (Training and Development) (UNE-NR)
Higher National Diploma in Hotel and Catering Administration (Oxford Polytechnic)
Graduate of the Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management Association (UK)

Dave Hurlow

Undergraduate Program Coordinator

With over 15 years’ experience in the education industry, Dave is passionate about giving students all the tools they need to be successful in their careers. After teaching English grammar both in Europe and Australia he spent years leading a busy Academic Learning Centre in a private management college where he set up a hugely successful Peer mentoring service, advised faculty on embedding academic skills into the curriculum, and helped students achieve their best, before moving into Higher Education Compliance and Quality, curriculum design, review and accreditation. Dave is very excited to be the new Undergraduate Program Coordinator at The Hotel School, Sydney and working directly with students again. He is currently studying a Master of Applied Linguistics.

QUALIFICATIONS

BA (Hons) Media Production
TESOL
TEFLA

Chafica El-Labban

Lecturer Sydney

Chafica El-labban is a Graduate of The Hotel School and one of our great success stories. Chafica teaches multiple units across the bachelors and master’s program at The Hotel School. With access to industry and her experience in the field Chafica works on inspiring students to reach beyond their potential and become active leaders in the industry. Chafica has worked for multiple international hotel chains and brings with her practical knowledge and skills which she applies in the class room. Chafica is an entrepreneur in the digital marketing field and utilises her current business trends and experiences to support the learning experience.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management
Masters of Management in International Tourism Management

Julie Luiker

Lecturer & Academic Support Coordinator

Joining The Hotel School in 1990, Julie remains one of the longest serving team members. Julie focuses communication and tourism across the bachelor program and coordinates the academic learning service to develop and ensure students are supported to maximise their academic results.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master of Arts, Organisational Communication
Bachelor of Education, Adult Education

Academic spotlight on

Trish Powers

Lecturer Sydney Staff

Trish Powers is a Lecturer at the Hotel School Sydney. In this capacity, she teaches on various Event Management units within the hospitality discipline. Originally trained and working as a High School teacher Trish has subsequently held senior teaching posts in higher education over the last twenty years. A passionate educator, Trish has received seven Excellence in Teaching Awards covering both online and face-to-face modes. She has delivered four presentations and papers at education conferences internationally. Actively involved as a consultant and trainer, Trish runs her own Training Company consulting to business and universities both in Australia and China. She has also worked extensively as an Event Director and as a model, makeup artist and journalist. Trish is currently working on her Doctorate in Education with the University of Wollongong on a topic related to adults successfully transitioning into online higher education.

QUALIFICATIONS

Masters in Adult Education with Distinction, University of Wollongong