Goel Aman Lal is a seasoned IT educator and consultant with over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology field. Currently, he serves as a Course Facilitator at the School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics (STEMP) at the University of the South Pacific. His academic journey is marked by the ongoing pursuit of a Master’s degree in Information Technology Information Systems, expected to be completed in 2024. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology Information Systems, a Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching (PGCTT), and a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems with a minor in Management from the Fiji National University.

Throughout his career, Goel has excelled in various roles, including IT operations, project management, and corporate planning. His technical expertise spans system administration, network management, database design, and hardware and software troubleshooting. He has also conducted numerous in-house corporate training sessions and managed client services, contracts, and customer support.

As an educator, Goel has a deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of IT professionals. He teaches and facilitates courses on Communications & Information Literacy, Data & Information Security, and has been actively involved in curriculum development and student mentorship. His research interests include data and information security, cybersecurity, predictive analytics in education, and artificial intelligence, where he has contributed to multiple conferences and journals.

Goel’s practical experience in managing IT systems, coupled with his academic background, positions him as a knowledgeable and dedicated professional in the field of Information Technology.

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).