Meena mixes IT, Business, teaching and research at Sydney
Published on 11 February, 2010
Lecturer Meena Jha is certainly no stranger when it comes to providing IT teaching experience and professional support to CQUniversity's Sydney campus. Indeed, she has just notched up 10 years of continuous employment service and shows no sign of slowing down...
Story by Dr Chris Keane
Prior to arriving in Australia in 2000, Meena lectured in computer science and information systems at the Priyadarshini College of Computer Science in New Delhi.
Over the past decade she has coordinated and taught a host of IT subjects to undergraduate and postgraduate students at Sydney campus, including software architecture, programming principles, E-commerce, business intelligence systems and interface design principles, to name a few.
Meena's infectious enthusiasm and professionalism is apparent to all. She has earned the trust and respect of her students and believes she is well equipped to manage the different expectations and uncertainties she sometimes finds in them.
New international students are sometimes in need of emotional and social support, she says, because they encounter "cultural and financial shock" in a developed country like Australia.
"You have to remember that English is not their first language and feelings of alienation and separation from family can upset students on arrival in a strange culture."
As an experienced course advisor Meena can "read" the students who require particular attention and support.
"You have to empathise with the students' needs and reassure them," she says.
She agrees that referring students to the specialised support services on campus is all part of her job.
When Meena's not teaching or providing advice to new students she can be found pursuing her PhD research in Software Architecture.
Her work in this area has led to several co-authored research publications on the topic of 'software reuse in software product lines and its reliability for industry users'. Meena says she is privileged to have the guiding hand of her supervisor, Dr Liam O'Brien, Principal Researcher with National ICT Australia.
In September 2009 Meena had the opportunity to present her ideas at the 11th International Conference on Software Reuse, in Virginia USA.
"It was really a fantastic experience", she says. "I met innovative researchers and business people from international companies such as Qantas and United Airlines. It was wonderful to get feedback on my presentation".
Meena says she aims to complete her doctorate by December 2010 if she does not become too distracted by her other passions such as watching ‘Bollywood' films, painting, reading and cooking.