DrManjeet Singh Usma

Associate Research Fellow

Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment/School of Information Technology

  • Associate Research Fellow
    Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment/School of Information Technology
  • Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125

BIO

Dr Manjeet Singh is currently a Postdoctoral Associate Research Fellow at Deakin University’s School of Information Technology. He brings over 25 years of experience in the management and delivery of digital technologies as an IT consultant and technology leader. His expertise lies in immersive analytics, human–computer interaction design, and AR/VR immersive systems aimed at measuring and enhancing user engagement in educational and social contexts. His doctoral research involved the development of Augmented Reality Enhanced Analytics (AREA), a framework designed to detect and analyse user interactions and behavioural patterns within immersive environments.

Originally trained as a mechanical engineer, Dr Manjeet holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and both MSc (Research) and PhD degrees in Information Technology from Deakin University. He was a core team member to Singapore’s early national educational technology initiative (IT2000), supporting the deployment of digital learning systems in Singapore schools. Across his technology startup ventures and roles as IT project manager, researcher, and consultant, he has successfully led and delivered multiple government-supported digital transformation projects in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Canada.

Dr Manjeet is the Founder and Creator of Forest Classroom AI, an immersive educational platform developed from his research in AR-enhanced analytics. The platform integrates interactive AR technologies with learning analytics to support help-seeking behaviours, emotional regulation, student engagement, and behavioural measurement among young learners. His research has been widely published and presented in the fields of educational technology, human–computer interaction, and digital health, contributing to both academic scholarship and applied innovation.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT

  • Associate Research Fellow
    Deakin University, School of Information Technology

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Associate Research Fellow
    Deakin University, School of Information Technology, Geelong, AustraliaMay 2025 - present
  • Research Assistant / PhD Scholar
    Deakin University, School of Information Technology, Geelong, AustraliaFeb 2018 - Apr 2025

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Founder Director
    Forest Classroom AI, EduTECH VR AR XR, Australia, Australia2018 - present
  • Director / Consultant
    Active Internet Exchange Pte Ltd, Project Management & Consultancy, Singapore, Singapore2008 - 2024
  • COO
    Cicada Cube Pte Ltd, Operations and Business Development, Singapore, Singapore2001 - 2007
  • Senior Research Engineer
    Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Institute of Infocomm Research I2R, Singapore, Singapore1996 - 2000

DEGREES

  • PhD (Information Technology)
    Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
  • M.Sc. (Research) IT
    Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
  • B.Engineering (Mechanical)
    Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

LANGUAGES

  • English
    Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review
  • Chinese (Mandarin)
    Can read, write, speak and understand
  • Panjabi; Punjabi
    Can read, write, speak and understand
  • Malay
    Can read, speak and understand
  • Indonesian
    Can speak and understand
  • Hindi
    Can speak and understand
  • Urdu
    Can speak and understand

FIELDS OF RESEARCH

  • Information systems user experience design and development
  • Graphics, augmented reality and games
  • Educational technology and computing
  • Human-centred computing

AREA/FACULTY

  • Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment

DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE/DISCIPLINE

  • School of Information Technology

AREAS OF EXPERTISE