Ali is a research fellow at the Future Building Initiative at Monash University. He was a former lecturer in Construction Engineering and Management at the Monash University Malaysia and the former senior lecturer in the Faculty of Design & Architecture at the University of Putra Malaysia (UPM). His doctoral dissertation was on “Developing Capability of Low-skilled Laborers through Serious Game at Industrialised Timber Construction Projects in Developing Countries”. His doctoral dissertation merged engagement factors with effective educational design criteria to produce a Serious Game training prototype for an engaging low-skilled workforce in learning complex industrialised construction technologies. He is the inventor of 6 Intellectual Properties (Utility Innovation, Copyrights, and Trademark) in developing the design and development workflow process for gamifying an instructional training manual. In developing his gamification education skills, he has completed several multi-disciplinary certificate courses. He’s also been recognised as an Autodesk^® Certified Professional in Revit Architecture since 2016.

Ali has worked for over six years in healthcare and on hospital construction projects as well as a factory project in Tehran, Iran. On these projects, he reviewed the designs for cost estimation and was instrumental in coordinating job-site tasks, on-site construction supervision besides preparing as-built documents. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer (MIEAust CPEng) of Engineers Australia and a registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng., Construction-Supervision) in the Tehran Construction Engineering Organization, and graduate member (GradEng) from the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM).

Ali graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Master of Civil Engineering and PhD in the field of Integrated Design Studies. He is interested in a mixed-reality serious game in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) education, and looks forward to research opportunities involving the facilitation of learning for the construction workforce with a different level of competency. He has also designed and coordinated an intensive capability training program on Light-Gauge Steel Framing, which is classified under Industrialised Building System with his international industry partner, BlueScope, to equip undergraduates with modern technologies in building construction.