Biography
I am a passionate educator and researcher with excellent managerial skills. I have developed, taught, trained, tutored, and supervised a range of Software Engineering (SE) and Information Systems (IS) related courses at the tertiary level for more than 25 years. I am highly skilled in academic quality processes, and I have taught courses in Programming, Algorithms and Data Structures, Requirements Engineering, Databases, Systems Analysis and Design, Research Methods and Information Systems Management. I have experience managing an Academic Faculty, Academic Quality and have sharpened my research skills by actively engaging in research.
My significant achievements include: being interviewed on National TV on digital technology courses in Malaysia, securing grants amounting to MYR50,000, received the Kit Dampney Best Education Paper prize, finalist in Google Anita Borg scholarship and successfully developed and and managed more than 15 Undergraduate and Postgraduate Computing programmes.
Research Interest
Programming behaviour, Educational technologies, Agile development, and Applications of AR/VR Technology in education
Educational Background
PhD (Information Systems), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2016)
MSc (Information Technology with Business), University of Lincoln, United Kingdom (2000)
BSc (Information Technology and Business Information Systems), Middlesex University, United Kingdom (1997)
Working Experience
Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Data Science, Xiamen University Malaysia (April 2019 - to present).
Deputy Dean, School of Computing and Data Science, Xiamen University Malaysia (December 2022 – December 2023)
Assistant Dean, School of Computing and Data Science, Xiamen University Malaysia (December 2020 – November 2022)
Head of Department/Associate Professor, School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (2017 - 2019).Associate Professor, School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (2015 - 2017).
Teaching Fellow/Teaching Assistant, School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2011 - 2014).
Head of Department/Academic Standards Manager/Senior Lecturer, School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (2002 - 2011).
Lecturer/Trainer, KDU College, Malaysia (1997 – 2002).
Research Experience
Chair, Local Organising Committee for International Conference on Computing Innovation, Intelligence, Technologies and Education (CIITE’24)
Co-editor for proceedings from the 18th International Conference on Computing Science and Education (ICCSE23)
General Chair for, and co-organised the 18th International Conference on Computing Science and Education (ICCSE23) – December 2023
Led and co-organised 3rd & 4th International Conference on Future Smart Cities (online) – 2020 & 2021
Received Xiamen University Internal Grant amounting to MYR15,000 – January 2020
Co-organised 2nd International Conference on Future Smart Cities - 5 – 7 September 2019
Reviewer for several conferences – ACIS, HICSS etc.
Internal reviewer for grant application submitted for Xiamen University Malaysia’s Internal Grant application.
Internal reviewer for proposals submitted for Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), Malaysia
Co-chair for Agile Development and Project Management track for Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS 2018)
Reviewed research papers for Information Systems related conferences eg. ICIS, PACIS and ACIS.
Chaired PhD viva and proposal defence
Representative Publications
Kanaparan, G., & Strode, D. (2025). Investigating the relationship between coordination strategy and coordination effectiveness in agile software development projects. Information and Software Technology, 182. 107708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107708.
Kanaparan, G. & Strode, D. (2024). Structural Elements that Improve Coordination in Agile Software Development. Paper presented at the 1st International Conference on Computing Innovation, Intelligence, Technologies and Education (CIITE24) held at Xiamen University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
Chen, X.Y., and Kanaparan, G. (2023). ARID—An Augmented Reality Mobile Application for Interior Design. In E.L. Krüger, H.P. Karunathilake & A. Tanweer (Eds.), Resilient and Responsible Smart Cities: The Path to Future Resiliency (3rd ed.). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20182-0
Kanaparan, G., and Strode, D. (2021). A Theory of Coordination: From Propositions to Hypotheses in Agile Software Development. Proceedings of the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/71436. ISBN: 978-0-9981331-4-0
Kanaparan, G., Cullen, R., and Mason, D. (2019). Effect of Self-efficacy and Emotional Engagement on Introductory Programming Students. Australasian Journal of Information Systems. 23 (Selected papers from the Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS)). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v23i0.1825
Ibrahim, R., Kanaparan, G., and Seddon, A. (2019). M-learning Adoption in Higher Education. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 11(01-Special Issue), pp. 1408-1415. Available at: http://jardcs.org/abstract.php?id=249
Honors / Awards
Interviewed on National TV on digital technology Undergraduate programmes in Malaysia – (April 2018)
Kit Dampney Best Education Paper prize (2016)
Google Anita Borg scholarship finalist (2011)