RMIT Artificial Intelligence Advanced Innovation Experience (RAIsE) is RMIT’s AI Education–Research–Industry nexus.
The Hub works in collaboration with academic leaders, researchers, and partners across RMIT’s colleges and portfolios, reflecting RAIsE’s cross-cutting and connective mandate.
Professor Rahil Garnavi
Director of the RAIsE Hub
Professor Garnavi is an internationally recognised AI leader with experience spanning research, industry, and enterprise transformation. Her expertise includes responsible AI, applied AI and machine learning particularly in healthcare, and industry-engaged innovation, with a strong focus on bridging education, research, and real-world impact.
Professor Lawrence Cavedon
Research Director
Professor Cavedon has extensive experience in artificial intelligence research and application, having commenced his career at the former Australian AI Institute and spent time in a Silicon Valley startup and at Stanford University developing automated spoken dialogue systems. His current work focuses on natural language processing for health and medical information applications.
Professor Xiaodong Li
Research Director
Professor Li is an internationally recognised researcher in machine learning, evolutionary computation, and large-scale optimisation. His work spans deep learning, data analytics, and swarm intelligence, applied to complex real-world problems. He is an IEEE Fellow and an IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Distinguished Lecturer.
Dr. Alessio Bonti
Dr. Alessio Bonti is an Associate Professor at RMIT and former AI Lead at IBM, with experience spanning applied AI, industry transformation, and academic collaboration. He has held advisory and leadership roles across leading organisations including Università Bocconi, the Australian Computer Society (ACS), the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), and CSIRO. His work has contributed to early applications of AI in areas such as healthcare and large-scale digital systems, and he is passionate about preparing students for the future through industry-connected learning.
Catherine Cabacis
Catherine Cabacis is Senior Manager, Partnerships in STEM College at RMIT University. She leads the development of strategic and scalable partnerships that connect industry, education, and innovation across technology disciplines. Her work focuses on building sustainable collaboration models that align enterprise needs with curriculum innovation and applied problem-solving.
Barti Murugesan
Barti Murugesan is Research Partnerships Manager at RMIT University, supporting strategic collaboration between researchers, industry, and government to drive high-impact innovation and research translation. He brings cross-sector experience in engagement, digital transformation, and project management across RMIT, Victoria University, and Deakin University. His expertise includes stakeholder engagement, digital enablement, and managing complex research collaborations.
