Goel Aman Lal is a seasoned IT educator, systems consultant, and researcher with over 20 years of experience across higher education, IT operations, and digital training. He currently serves as a Course Facilitator at the School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics (STEMP) at the University of the South Pacific (USP), where he delivers undergraduate courses in communications, data and information security, database systems, and computer networks.

Goel holds a Master of Information Systems (GPA 4.00) from USP, along with a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology Information Systems (GPA 4.00) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching (GPA 3.67). He earned his Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems (GPA 3.74) from the Fiji National University, where he also served as an Information Technology Consultant and Instructor from 2011 to 2013. During this time, he taught the TAFE Diploma in Networking and led short courses in computing for industry and academic audiences. Additionally, he holds an Honors Diploma in Information Technology (Software Technology) from NIIT, with a GPA of 4.00, further demonstrating his strong foundation in core technical and software development competencies.

Goel previously worked as Systems and Network Administrator at the Fiji Sports Council from 2003 to 2010, managing IT infrastructure across 11 venues. His responsibilities included network and server administration, Web Design, security system integration, technical training, client support, and strategic planning for digital services and disaster recovery.

With expertise spanning curriculum development, blended learning, instructional design, and technical systems engineering, Goel is deeply committed to advancing student success and institutional growth. At USP, he supports academic innovation through course redesign, tutorial oversight, student mentoring, and learning analytics initiatives. He is also actively engaged in initiatives such as the Invitation Project, designed to inspire and motivate students through personalized academic encouragement and early intervention strategies.

Goel’s research contributions are published in IEEE conferences and international journals, focusing on cybersecurity, AI in education, blockchain technologies, and student performance analytics. As part of USP’s institutional research into the use of large language models, he contributed to the development and delivery of the “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT” module, aimed at enhancing learning and teaching in Pacific Island Countries.

He is a recipient of the SEDA Professional Development Awards (UK) in both Learning and Assessing and Technology-Enhanced Learning, and actively engages in global education initiatives, including Open Educational Resources (OER) through the Commonwealth of Learning.

Blending academic excellence, technical acumen, and strategic insight, Goel Aman Lal is widely recognized as a leader in IT education and digital transformation across the South Pacific.

Undergraduate Courses:

• UU100 Communications & Information Literacy
• UU100A Communications & Information Literacy
• IS351 Data & Information Security

• Data and Information Security: Focus on securing data and information in various sectors, particularly in banking and finance, addressing challenges related to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.
• Cybersecurity: Investigating emerging threats and developing strategies to protect systems and networks from cyber-attacks, with a focus on enhancing security measures in digital environments.
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Application of AI techniques such as feedforward neural networks in robotics, obstacle avoidance, and educational performance prediction, as well as leveraging AI for enhancing cybersecurity measures.
• Predictive Analytics in Education: Developing models to predict student performance and dropout rates using data-driven approaches, including the use of ensemble decision trees and neural networks.
• Blockchain Technologies: Investigating the applications and implications of blockchain technologies in modern systems, with an emphasis on secure transactions and data integrity.
• Disaster Recovery and Contingency Planning: Exploring methods for ensuring business continuity and recovery in the face of unforeseen events, particularly in the context of IT systems and infrastructure.
• Technological Convergence: Studying the integration of various technologies, particularly in enterprise systems, to streamline operations and improve efficiency across sectors.

Journals:

1. Goundar, S., Deb, A., Lal, G., & Naseem, M. (2022). Using online student interactions to predict performance in a first-year computing science course. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 31(4), 451-469.

Conferences:

1. Lal, Goel Aman, Manpreet Singh, and Jashvir Bir. (2023). Data and Information Security Issues and Challenges for Banking Sectors in Fiji. 2023 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE). IEEE.
2. Chaudhary, K., Lal, G., Prasad, A., Chand, V., Sharma, S., and Lal, A. (2021, October). Obstacle Avoidance of a Point-Mass Robot using Feedforward Neural Network. 2021 3rd Novel Intelligent and Leading Emerging Sciences Conference (NILES) (pp. 210-215). IEEE.
3. Khan, G., Naseem, M., Nair, S., Lal, G., Chand, S., Nusair, S., Reddy, E., and Kumar, B. (2020, December). Is Gender Associated with Proactivity: An Investigation in Higher Education. 2020 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
4. Khan, G., Naseem, M., Nair, S., Lal, G., Chand, S., Nusair, S., Reddy, E., and Kumar, B. (2020, December). Is Pacific Ethnicity Associated with Proactivity: An Investigation in Higher Education. 2020 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
5. Naseem, M., Chaudhary, K., Sharma, B., and Lal, A.G. (2019, December). Using Ensemble Decision Tree Model to Predict Student Dropout in Computing Science. 2019 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE) (pp. 1-8). IEEE.

Book Chapters:

1. Goundar S., Lal, G., and Singh. (2021). Introduction to Enterprise Systems and Technological Convergence. In Enterprise Systems and Technological Convergence: Research and Practice (pp. 13-25).

Literature Review:

1. Goundar, S., Shah, Z., Singh, N., Lal, G., and Singh, A. (2021). A literature review in support of blockchain technologies. In Blockchain Technologies, Applications and Cryptocurrencies: Current Practice and Future Trends (pp. 1-47).