Dr Salwa Mohd Ishak
Program Director: Master of Project Management
Optimisation and Stabilisation
Integration Management Office
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Dr Salwa Mohd Ishak is a Senior Lecturer in Construction and Project Management.
She holds a PhD in Built Environment from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, an MSc in Construction Management from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, and a BSc. Hons in Urban and Regional Planning from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Before joining UniSA STEM in 2020 (now known as the School of Civil Engineering and Construction Management at the Adelaide University), she was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Construction and Project Management at Universiti Sains Malaysia from 2014, a Research Assistant and a Tutor at UNSW from 2011 to 2014.
Before pursuing a PhD, Salwa trained and gained extensive experience in the construction industry, leading and overseeing all stages of multimillion-dollar projects across infrastructure, commercial, and residential developments.
In her research, she is deeply interested in exploring unconventional approaches in construction project management, sustainability, technology, automation, and digitalisation in practice, as well as BIM and AI, seeking innovative solutions and “what works” that can be applied to the construction industry and beyond.
Research Interest:
- Socio-Technical Evolution of Digital Construction: Analysing the diffusion of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) through Social Network Analysis (SNA) to evaluate their impact on leadership, team cohesion and collaborative governance.
- Sustainable Project Paradigms: Investigating the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability in redefining project management paradigms and decision-making frameworks.
- Project Governance and Climate Resilience: Advancing information governance and assurance models for high-risk environments, with a focus on climate adaptation and post-disaster reconstruction efficiency.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Senior Lecturer, Construction and Project Management | Adelaide University |
| 2020 - 2025 | Program Director, Project Management | University of South Australia |
| 2020 - 2025 | Senior Lecturer, Construction and Project Management | University of South Australia |
| 2018 - 2018 | Visiting Researcher, and Fellow Recipient of the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship | Association of Commonwealth Universities |
| 2017 - 2019 | Senior Lecturer, Construction Management | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| 2016 - 2019 | Team Leader, BIM Centre of Excellence and Knowledge Exchange | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| 2015 - 2015 | Postgraduate Research Coordinator | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| 2014 - 2017 | Lecturer, Construction Management | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| 2013 - 2014 | Research Assistant | UNSW Sydney |
| 2010 - 2014 | Tutor (Casual) | UNSW Sydney |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | UNSW Sydney | Australia | PhD (Built Environment) |
| 2008 | University of Reading | United Kingdom | MSc in Construction Management |
| 2003 | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia | Malaysia | Bachelor (Honours) of Urban and Regional Planning |
| 2002 | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia | Malaysia | Diploma of Urban and Regional Planning |
| Date | Title | Institution name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Certification Course in BIM Management | Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Singapore | Singapore |
| 2018 | Certification Course for Trainer in Building Information Modelling for Architecture Module | myBIM Centre, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia | Malaysia |
| 2018 | Certification Course for Trainer in Building Information Modelling for Structure Module | myBIM Centre, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia | Malaysia |
| 2016 | Autodesk Certified Professional Revit Architecture | Autodesk and Certiport Inc. | US |
1. Title: The role of practitioners in web-based communication for post-disaster reconstruction projects in Southeast Asia
Type: Global Development Awards Competition and Japanese Award for Outstanding Research on Development
Funding Agency: World Bank - Global Development Network
Lead Investigator: Ruhizal Roosli
Co-investigator: Siti Salwa Mohd Ishak
Amount: USD 5000, Period: 2019 – 2020
2. Title: Exploring social networks and change agents of BIM in construction projects
Type: Short Term Grant
Funding Agency: Universiti Sains Malaysia
Lead Investigator: Siti Salwa Mohd Ishak
Co-investigator: Muneera Esa
Amount: RM 22467 (AUD = 7467), Period: 03/06/2019 - 02/12/2020
3. Title: BIM learning and digital process automation literacy in Higher Education
Type: Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship
Funding Agency: The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), United Kingdom
Lead Investigator: Siti Salwa Mohd Ishak
Amount: RM 22173 (= GBP 4500 = AUD 8661), Period: 05/07/2018 - 04/11/2019
4. Title: Exploring big data management through BIM in Malaysian construction companies
Type: Research University Incentives Grant
Funding Agency: Universiti Sains Malaysia
Lead Investigator: Ernawati Binti Mustafa Kamal
Co-investigator: Siti Salwa Mohd Ishak, Nor’Aini Binti Yusof, Muneera Binti Esa
Amount: RM 45000, Period: 2018 - 2020
5. Title: Formulating BIM for project management process in Malaysian construction megaprojects
Type: Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS)
Funding Agency: Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia
Lead Investigator: Siti Salwa Mohd Ishak
Co-investigator: Nooriati Binti Taib, Nor’Aini Binti Yusof, Shardy Bin Abdullah
Amount: RM 111180 (= AUD 36954), Period: 02/11/2015 - 01/08/2018
Courses I teach
- BUSS 5102 Project Leadership and Teams (2025)
- BUSS 5142 Principles of Project Management (2025)
- BUSS 5143 Procurement and Contract Management (2025)
- BUSS 5328 Sustainability in Project Management (2025)
- BUSS 5452 Project Management Research Thesis (2025)
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Engineering Elegant and Resilient Mission Concepts: Advancing Digital Engineering Framework for Complex Operational Environments | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mrs Cindy Kennedy |
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | A framework to break barriers to gender equality in construction organisations by adapting to human-centric digital transformation | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Wlisarage Fernando |
| 2024 | Principal Supervisor | Development of a Maturity Model for Assessing/ Benchmarkingthe Organisational Readiness for AI-Integrated BIM Processes inConstruction Projects | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mr Wagdy Elgeezawy |
| 2022 | Principal Supervisor | A decision-making framework for initiation and planning phase of post-disaster temporary housing projects in Australia | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mr Sasan Aryaee |
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