Since July 2026, I have been a Lecturer in Information & Communications Technology at Universal College of Learning (UCOL) in Palmerston North. I teach undergraduate and postgraduate students in mobile application development, cybersecurity, and data analytics. My current courses include D303 Mobile Application Development and D804 Advanced Mobile Application Solutions. I am also undertaking the New Zealand Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching (Level 5) through Open Polytechnic.
Before joining UCOL, I was Associate Professor in Computing at the University of Fiji from August 2024 to July 2026. I taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in data science, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, and penetration testing. I led curriculum renewal for the Bachelor of Information Technology and helped develop a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Data Science. I also supervised postgraduate research, including a Master’s project on a multi-persona AI conversational framework for student mental-health support in Fiji.
At the University of Auckland, I was a Research Fellow in the GIScience team in the Department of Environment from May 2021 to May 2023. I contributed to two geospatial data sovereignty tools that help people anonymise, encrypt, and notarise spatial data before sharing it. The work focused in particular on protecting Indigenous data, including biodiversity information, and reflected the need to integrate sensitive datasets responsibly in Aotearoa New Zealand. My later work includes the open-source MapSafe QGIS Plugin, published in 2025.
My research explores how digital technologies can protect sensitive information, support wellbeing, and shape decision-making. I combine technical methods with an understanding of the people, communities, and governance processes involved, paying particular attention to privacy, trust, and cultural context. My main research areas include:
Geoprivacy and Indigenous data sovereignty. My geospatial research focuses on how sensitive location information can be anonymised, encrypted, verified, and shared without giving up control to a third party. Through MapSafe and its QGIS-based work, I have explored geomasking, spatial aggregation, secure storage, and data-integrity mechanisms. A central concern is how geospatial systems can support Indigenous and Māori data sovereignty, including responsible governance of biodiversity and other culturally sensitive data in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mental health and artificial intelligence. My work in this area examines how AI can provide carefully designed, culturally grounded support for student wellbeing. I supervised a Master’s thesis at the University of Fiji that investigated a trainer-gated, multi-persona conversational framework for school-based student support in Fiji. The research considers human oversight, safety, privacy, trust, and the importance of helping students connect with appropriate people and services rather than treating AI as a replacement for human care.
Open-source software decision-making. My doctoral and subsequent software-engineering research investigates how decisions are discussed, justified, and influenced in open-source communities. Using Python Enhancement Proposals and large developer email repositories, I have studied decision processes, rationale, roles, social influence, and the relationship between documented procedures and what happens in practice. Related work has also examined influence and governance in Bitcoin communities, combining repository mining, natural language processing, social network analysis, and empirical software-engineering methods.
I previously lectured at the University of Fiji from 2009 to 2012. I developed undergraduate and postgraduate courses in emerging areas of computing and emphasised practical, industry-focused learning. I also coached student teams developing web and mobile applications.
My research draws on text mining, natural language processing, repository analysis, social network analysis, and machine learning. My publications include work in software engineering, information systems, geospatial privacy, Indigenous data sovereignty, and cybersecurity. See my full list of publications and research projects.
I completed my PhD in Information Science at the University of Otago in 2021. My doctoral dissertation examined how people and processes shape decision-making in open-source software communities. I also hold an MSc in Computing Science (2006) and a BSc (2001) from the University of the South Pacific.
Before moving into academia, I worked for six years in software development, database administration, and business analysis roles across public- and private-sector organisations. Read more about my industry experience.
I am originally from Lautoka, Fiji. My current academic role is based at UCOL in Palmerston North, New Zealand.