Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) are pleased to announce the appointment of Associate Professor Alexander Dreiling as the Airport Chair of Innovation, who will focus on the use of emerging technologies for improved airport operations.
Professor Alexander Dreiling has been driving IT and business innovation for the past 15 years in both industry as well as academia.
Prior to joining QUT he worked for the global IT company SAP in various local and global leadership roles, where he motivated, evangelized and executed the development of new offerings in areas such as process management, sustainability and End User Web Portals.
He did this drawing from a range of experiences at prior employers including Continental AG, Fiege Logistics and Ingersoll-Rand.
Professor Dreiling received a Bachelor, Master and PhD degree from the University of Muenster in Germany. He taught and conducted research both at the University of Muenster as well as at QUT. His academic work has so far led to more than 40 refereed publications.
Based at QUT's Information Systems School - the highest ranked research group of its kind in Australia - Professor Dreiling will explore improving airport passenger and visitor experiences using emerging communication channels and social media networks.
BAC and QUT have engaged in innovation research and development activities since 2000 with prior success including the 75 per cent reduction in portable water usage during the height of Queensland's drought.
The new innovation research will link with existing projects, such as the large and world-leading Airports of the Future work, to ensure airports remain sustainable into the future through continuous improvements to planning, design and operations.
The Head of the Information Systems School at QUT, Professor Michael Rosemann, said while use of social media by businesses was common now, satisfying the diverse expectations of multiple stakeholder groups remained a challenge.
"Managing large-scale, multi-stakeholder, multi-jurisdictional, socio-technical systems requires significant advancement in understanding related complexities and how to address them," Professor Rosemann said.
"On any given day, Brisbane Airport interacts with passengers, visitors, business partners, contractors, employees, communities and neighbourhoods, media and government.
"The innovation in utilising emerging technologies such as social media and mobile devices for communication lies in capitalising on the networked communication structures.
"Designing a holistic digital strategy for a system as complex as an airport and finding new ways to meet all stakeholder requirements and preferences will be a step forward.
"It will be the job of the Chair to explore the political, business and technological requirements of emerging technologies to delight these groups of stakeholders while ensuring compliance and economic effectiveness."
Professor Dreiling will commence work in April and be a key liaison between BAC and the research portfolio at QUT.
BAC CEO and Managing Director, Julieanne Alroe, said BAC was committed to improving airport passenger experiences.
"Ultimately, the goal is to improve airport effectiveness and cultivate flexibility for the sustained growth of our operations, including security, economy and passenger-driven needs," she said.
"Having a Chair of Innovation conducting world-leading research will help to ensure Brisbane Airport provides best practice when it comes to passenger facilitation."
Media contacts:
Leonie Vandeven Media Manager Brisbane Airport Corporation Ph: 0401 696 638 leonie.vandeven@bne.com.au
Rose Trapnell, QUT media officer, 07 3138 2361 or 0407 585 901 rose.trapnell@qut.edu.au
