Dr Elena Sitnikova 

I am a professional researcher and academic in the school of Computer and Information Science (CIS), University of South Australia (UniSA). My career includes over fifteen years of engineering experience in the space and IT industry. I have a wide knowledge of communication control systems, software and systems engineering. My current research interests are in the areas of critical infrastructure protection and security, quality assurance and enterprise process capability improvement. Prior to joining UniSA I worked for five years at the Motorola Australia Global Software Group where I successfully aligned a broad range of expertise in project management, process and quality management, and all phases of the complete software development life cycle. I am also interested in research in the area of engineering education. My aim is to bring industry experience and knowledge to students using real life examples in my teaching.

My career background in both industry and academic environments has provided me with a solid respect and understanding of industry and government needs in areas of risk management, compliance to standards and polices. I am holding a unique combination of management and technology expertise that I have demonstrated through educational development, research and knowledge application.

Before migrating to Australia in 1998, I worked in Tbilisi, Georgia. The results of my research in the area of mathematical modelling and optimal control were applied to the BURAN (Snow Storm) shuttle program which was implemented at the Research and Production Association ENERGIA, Moscow, Russia (known as the Russian Space Research Centre).

Awards and Prizes:

2008 - UniSA Enhancing Learning Award (Category: Services Supporting Student Learning) within the Mawson International Transitions Team for applying a new approach in teaching Postgraduate masters courses that supports international students, in particular, in their transitions to new academic ways.

2005 - for my achievements in developing and coordinating professional courses I was awarded the Employee of the year 2005 from the Systems Engineering and Evaluation Centre (SEEC) at UniSA.

2002 - for my contribution as a training instructor to the success of the Motorola Technical Training Program I was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation.

I am among the first group of 11 women that have graduated from the Australian Women in IT and Science Entity’s South Australian Board Readiness Program. An article was published in The Advertiser on July 15 2008.

Defence and Systems Institute

AOQ (SA) Software Special Interest Group

Asia Pacific Business Council for Women

Women on Boards

Australian Women in IT and Science Entity

Systems Engineering Society of Australia

• Software and systems engineering, test & evaluation.
• Critical infrustucture protection and SCADA systems security.
• Engineering education.

Committee member, Australian Organisation of Quality AOQ (SA) Software Special Interst Group (SIG)

Member, International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)

Member, Systems Engineering Society of Australia (SESA)

UniSA corporate member, Women on Boards (WOB)

CSSLP - Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional issued by (ISC)2 International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, US, 2009

Ph.D., Computer Technology, Specialization in “Communication Control System”, USSR Academy of Science, 1992

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with Honours, Majoring in “Information Control Systems”,(USSR) Academy of Science, 1983

• My major research interests are in Critical Infrastructure Protection: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) and process control systems security, systems and software engineering processes capability improvement, test and evaluation proceses and methodologies; and enginering education.
• With over three years experience at the UniSA, I have demonstrated my academic contribution including an ability to successfully win externally and internally funded grants as a part of the Defence and Systems Institute (DASI) team; running research projects; and communicating research outcomes and publishing credible research papers in national and international professional forums. Externally funded research projects and my roles are :
• 2008: I am a chief investigator the project carrying out research with Associate Professor Jill Slay for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, National Security Science and Technology Unit, Research Support for Counter Terrorism Grant. This is a pilot study into Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and process control system security and forensics supported by Australian Law enforcement, Attorney General and Defence Systems Directorate.
• 2008 - 2010: for the Australian Industry Productivity Centres (AIPC). My role is to provide a tailored advisory service in areas of quality improvement and process re-engineering for SMEs to enhance their international competitiveness and improve their performance.
• 2007 - 2008: I am a senior consultant for the Defence Unit, Government of South Australia in an area of systems and software engineering process improvement for small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
• 2006: A senior consultant for the Defence Unit, Government of South Australia in an area of systems and software engineering process improvement: baseline survey. One of the key benefits that this work has provided to the Government of South Australia is a better allocation of target resources by providing recommendations for future research and development work.

Book Chapters

Sitnikova E., Duff A.,2011, Scaffolding the curriculum to enhance learning, motivation and academic performance of mature aged students in engineering,in Engineering Education: an Australian Perspective, ISBN 978-1-907132-29-2, Multi-Science Publishing, 532 pp

Slay, J. & Sitnikova, E, 2009. ‘The Development of a Generic Framework for the Forensic Analysis of SCADA and Process Control Systems.’ In Forensics in Telecommunications, Information and Multimedia. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, Springer , Vol. 8, pp.76-81.

Journal articles:

Ferris T.L.J., Sitnikova E., Duff A., 2010, Building Graduate Capabilities to Communicate Research and Plans Successfully,International Journal in Engineering Education. Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 891–899, 2010

Sitnikova E., Kroeger T., Cook S., 2007, Software and Systems Engineering Process Capability in the South Australian Defence Industry, Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering, 2007, Springer-Verlag London Limited, pp.129-139.

Sitnikova, E.E., 1992, ‘Application of the Construct Sequence of Plans Method for investigation and optimisation of the space object’s service process’ (in Russian), Bulletin of the Academy of Science of the Georgian SSR, Tbilisi, Georgia, vol.145, no.3, pp.508-510.

Sitnikova, E.E., Puturidze, Z.S. 1987, ‘On solving a problem of the space service control of some objects’ (in Russian), Review of Computer Mathematics Institute, Georgian Academy of Science, Tbilisi, Georgia, vol.XXVII, no.2, pp.96-98.

Sitnikova, E.E. 1987, ‘A mathematical model of the specific space communication System’ (in Russian), Bulletin of the Academy of Science of the Georgian SSR, Tbilisi, Georgia, vol.127, no.2, pp.273-275.

Refereed conference papers:

Sitnikova E., Kelly P., Collett D., (2011), Building Successful Teams: a pilot intervention embedding inclusive team skills in an undergraduate system analysis, design and project management course (SADPM), Proceedings of the 2011 AAEE Conference, Perth.

Slay, J., Sitnikova, E., Campbell, P. and Daniels, B., 2009, :Process Control System Security and Forensics: A Risk Management Simulation”, Proceedings of SIMTECT 2009, Adelaide, June 15-19.

Slay J., Sitnikova E., The Development of a Generic Framework for the Forensic Analysis of SCADA and Process Control Systems, e-Forensics09 conference proceedings, Adelaide, 2009.

Sitnikova, E. and Slay, J., 2009, ‘Enhancing Industrial Control Systems Cyber- Security Capabilities: Strategic Plans, Prevention and Response’, Proceedings of the Automation & Communications Technologies in Power Conference, 1-3 September 2009, Sydney Australia.

Sitnikova E., Duff A.,2009 Scaffolding the curriculum to enhance learning, motivation and academic performance of mature aged students in engineering,Proceedings of the 2009 AaeE Conference, Adelaide.

Mubarak S., Sitnikova E.,A 2009 Case Study on an Investigation of Information Security Management among Law Firms, 7th Australian Information Security Management Conference, Perth

Slay J., Sitnikova E., Developing SCADA Systems Security Course within a Systems Engineering Program, proceedings 12th Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education, Dallas, US 2008

Ferris T.L.J, Cook S.C., Sitnikova E., Design as a Research Methodology for Systems Engineering CSER 2008, University of Southern California, ISBN - 978-0-9814980-0-3 proceedings CSER08, April 4-5, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2008

Ferris T.L.J., Sitnikova E., Duff A., 2008, Engaging engineering students in learning how to successfully communicate research plans, ATN conference proceedings, Nov 2008, Adelaide

Davidson, N., Sitnikova, E. and Kroeger, T., 2008, “Case Studies in Enterprise Capability Improvements for Small to Medium Enterprises” Proceedings of the SEPG Conference, Melbourne, 18 to 20 August, 2008

Kauye M., Sitnikova E., Achieving Effective Technical Control in the Acquisition of Logistics Information Systems, QUACON 08 conference proceedings, Adelaide 2008 http://www.aoq.asn.au/papers/Kauye%20and%20Sitnikova%20-%20Paper.pdf

Sitnikova E., Davidson N., Kroeger T.,2007, Starting Small – Experiences of Process Improvement in Small to Medium Enterprises in the Australian Defence Industry, SETE07 Conference proceedings, Sydney

Cook S., Sitnikova E., Kroeger T., Davidson N., 2007, Tailoring Systems Engineering to Meet Australian Industry Needs, INCOSE - ASPEC, Singapore.

Ferris T.L., Cook S.C., Sitnikova E., Research Methods for Systems Engineering, Australia New Zealand Systems Conference 07, Auckland, New Zealand 2007

Sitnikova E., Kroeger T., Cook S., 2006, Software and Systems Engineering Process Capability in the South Australian Defence Industry: Baseline Survey Findings, SETE06 Conference proceedings, Melbourne.

Kasser J.E., Sitnikova E., Tran X-L., Yates G., 2005, Optimising the Content and Delivery of P-graduate Education in Engineering Management for Government and Industry, IEEE International Engineering Management Conference, Sept 2005, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, pp.90-94.

Cropley D., Sitnikova E., 2005, Teaching and Learning in Engineering Education: Constructive Alignment, 4th Global Colloquium on Engineering Education, Sydney, Australia.

Sitnikova E., Hanlon P.,2005, A Cooperative Approach to Improvement of the Testing Process in Industries.