On 7 and 8 November we held an Alumni Professional Development event, welcoming back our students from cohort’s past, and connecting them with each other and our 2024 Master of Applied Cybernetics students, the newest members of our alumni network.
This incredible community came together to share stories, network and sharpen skills. The event was filled with engaging talks, interactive sessions, and dynamic networking, fostering a sense of camaraderie and sparking fresh ideas for the future of cybernetic practice.
Our alumni joined us from overseas, interstate, and within Canberra. Coming from a variety of professional backgrounds including government, technology development, consulting, research, and executive strategy, alumni exchanged insights on applying cybernetic principles across industries.
“It’s just like it always was” a sentiment shared by many attendees who found that they immediately picked up the dynamics, language, and ways of thinking as soon as they were surrounded by their peers and teachers.
Here is a brief rundown of some of the key moments from the event.
The event kicked off with a welcome and talk from the school’s director Professor Katherine Daniell, who shared updates from the school, and spoke about the school’s future direction, making space for different futures, and the cybernetics practitioner toolbox, which all shaped the coming activities.
Our own Dr Ben Swift then ran a session on making LLM Parlour Games for the Bourgeoise which involved a key element of cybernetics - learning through creation, collaboration and a good dose of fun and laughter.
A particular highlight of Day 1 involved Jake Blight (2021 MACYB graduate and current SOCY PhD Candidate) sharing how cybernetics and knowledge gained from the Masters comes to the fore in his role as Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. Jake spoke of taking a systems level approach, identifying feedback loops and ‘who or what’ is missing from conversations. Much of the conversation and questions focussed on Jake’s work current work reviewing data disruption provisions in Australian surveillance legislation resulting in fresh insights and diverse perspectives from the engaged cohort.
On Day 2 our alumni were treated to an abridged version of our Cybernetic Futures LX as well as a demonstration of Wombtunes, a data sonification project from one of the school’s Cybernetic Imagination Residents, Caroline Pegram.
Networking over lunch with the current Masters cohort and School staff saw conversations continue and new connections made.
The applying cybernetics showcase session that followed involved our alumni sharing with each other stories of how a cybernetic systems approach has been perceived, used, and continues to be helpful across all their different personal and professional experiences.
To finish the event alumni, led by Professor Andrew Meares, explored what it means to build an alumni community of practice and the elements (explored through pace layers) required to make the alumni community an adaptable and robust system that endures. This activity highlighted enthusiasm for the continued growth of the alumni community as well as a number of ideas for future events and engagement opportunities.
We look forward to continuing to witness and support our alumni as they apply their cybernetic skills and approaches in working towards safe, sustainable, and responsible futures.