Professor Mollica came to academia from an industry background and almost all of his research has been in collaboration with industry partners. He truly believes that in this field of research, working on real- world problems is essential. Since 2012, he has had 6 HDR completions, all fully engaged and sponsored by industry. Currently, he leads a team of 5 HDR candidates under his direct supervision and oversees a CRC based PhD program comprising over 46 PhD students, all fully funded by industry to the tune of $2.3M per annum.

Professor Mollica says that one of his most fundamental goals is to create opportunities for HDR students to be exposed to and integrated into the research community, and also to expand their employment prospects. He aims to provide his students with the best possible platform to further build their careers beyond their HDR studies to the business community and to the higher education sector. This is evidenced by his development of research programs including (1) Management Consulting Research— A Living Case Study and (2) Master of Research; international collaboration agreements; and broad communication of research findings.

On top of this since 2012,  Professor Mollica has been Director of HDR at MGSM. This role involves significant effort in delivery of HDR commencement programs, supervisor coordination, pastoral care and strategic direction for the faculty.

He is truly an asset to Macquarie University, the industries with which he partners and the candidates that he supports and supervises.