ANU School of Cybernetics

22/10/2026

Innovation in education is not just about what we teach, but also how we teach it.

The ANU School of Cybernetics has been named a finalist in the AFR Most Innovative Companies 2026 awards, in the Government, Education and Not-For-Profit category.

The awards celebrate businesses who are at the forefront of innovation, being gamechangers in their industry, or being transformative.

The School was recognised by Australian Financial Review and awards sponsor KPMG for its 'innovative education model for responsible AI, systems leadership and transformation'. School Director Professor Katherine Daniell and Engagement and Impact Lead Sherice Kazzi received the recognition at the award ceremony held in Sydney last night.

20/10/2026

Join us at the upcoming CSS showcase, where you will see prototypes, interactive displays and posters that highlight the capabilities, creativity and innovation of our researchers and students, and others across the College.

Cybernetics researchers and PhD students will be present to showcase their ongoing projects.

Register here: https://systems.anu.edu.au/events/anu-college-systems-society-css-showcase-semester-2-2026

ANU Sport Hall
Thursday October 29, 12 – 2pm

15/10/2026

EVENT: What would happen if scientists use data extracted from DNA and sacred sites to create a robot to repair our mistakes?

View Mia Khin Boe’s sci-fi exploration of resistance, responsibility and urgency in her work The Aboriginal Robot.

Wednesday, 28 October 5.30—7pm
Level 1 Birch Building, 35 Science Road ACT 2601 Australia

Register on Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/exhibition-viewing-the-aboriginal-robot-with-mia-khin-boe

This event is in partnership with Canberra Art Biennial and Drill Hall Gallery.

13/10/2026

It's a continuing discussion between researchers and communicators – how do we tell the best story about their research?

With jargon-heavy explanations we risk alienating the people who often directly benefit from the research being conducted. To keep up exploration and discovery, we need to convince people to stay on the journey with us.

Understanding how best to do that is an underrated skill.

These are skills that Dr. Lorenn Ruster honed when she attended the ABC Top 5 Media Residency in July this year. Reflecting on her time with some of the best in media, Lorenn shares her key takeaways about how researchers can be effective storytellers about their own work.

Read more: https://cybernetics.anu.edu.au/news/2026/10/12/footholdsandhandgrips/

12/10/2026

In times where women were predominantly bound to the home, aristocrat Ada Lovelace emerged as a great mind in mathematics and computing – though the term 'computing' would develop into something grander than she comprehended at the time. Her translation of 'Sketch of the Analytical Engine, with notes from the translator', contained the first published computer algorithm. This would go on to lay the theoretical groundwork for Alan Turing’s Enigma Machine.

Tragically, Ada would pass away from cancer, aged only 36.

Though her life was short, her achievements in STEM would immortalise her as an icon for women in the field. Today, the women at Cybernetics reflect on how they use their expertise to inspire and advance research in STEM.

Systems & Society at ANU The Australian National University

12/10/2026

How does your leadership today impact people and nature tomorrow?

CyberNations - an educational game made by Thomas Biedermann, senior lecturer at the ANU School of Cybernetics - explores this theme as players take on the role of community leaders, navigate change and disruptions to achieve the community’s and their own goals over multiple generations.

Listen to Thomas talk about how he got into games and how cybernetics steered him towards the beginnings of creating CyberNations on the Experience Points podcast by University XP with host Dave Eng.

Watch and listen to the full podcast episode here:

Thomas Biedermann on CyberNationsThis episode of Experience Point...

08/10/2026

What really happens under the hood of a large language model?

The ‘Lifting The Veil’ event, held at the Brimbank Tech School in Victoria earlier this year, brought 4 different workshops centred around the key theme of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.

From our school, Dr Ben Swift, Eddie Aloise-King and Cole Cooney delivered a 90-minute LLM’s Unplugged session to a room full of interested educators.

Read through to see how it went!

07/10/2026

In August, Cybernetics PhD candidate Liz Skelton contributed to Dr Jean Renouf's newsletter about crisis-ready leadership.

In her article, titled 'Speaking the Unspeakable', Liz discusses systemic leadership, which identifies and acknowledges the interconnectivity and relationality of systemic challenges - the core focus of her PhD research.

“It challenges the tacit leadership agreement that we can maintain status quo and its illusion of stability and certainty.”

Read more: https://www.jeanrenouf.com/insights/leading-together-polycrisis

06/10/2026

Jake Blight joined Senior Policy Advisor at the National Security College (NSC) Sharryn Parker for the NSC's podcast episode: Espionage, foreign interference and Australia's national security laws.

Jake is Australia's Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, and in this role he independently reviews Australia's national security and counter-terrorism laws, and makes recommendations for law reform.

At Cybernetics, he is undertaking a PhD to explore how to identify and manage the risks of security and intelligence agencies using AI.

In this episode, Jake and Sharryn discuss whether Australia's national security laws are keeping pace with the changing nature of espionage, foreign interference and terrorism.

Listen here: https://shows.acast.com/the-national-security-podcast/episodes/espionage-foreign-interference-and-natsec-laws

30/09/2026

The September edition of The Australian National University’s (ANU) School of Cybernetics newsletter is out now.

This edition, you can:

📌watch Dex Hunter-Torricke’s talk on AI governance in Australia
📌read about Dr Jessica Herrington, PhD’s collaboration with Westmead Children’s hospital, using art to reduce stress in children receiving medical care
📌watch Dr Ben Swift deliver LLMs Unplugged at The Visionaries Among Us talk, which was part of the ANU Community Day celebrations.

Read: https://mailchi.mp/lists.anu.edu.au/cybernetics-2026-july-newsletter-12852769