We are incredibly excited to celebrate our new graduates, the work they’ve done, and the new knowledge they’ve carved out in the field of cybernetics.
Congratulations to Lorenn and Ned, our first two students to graduate with a PhD in Cybernetics!
As a new School, established in 2020, we are incredibly proud of our students and their achievements, as well as the staff and community that supported them on this journey across the years.
Lorenn Ruster graduates with a PhD which investigated responsible AI practices in entrepreneurial organisations, titled Prototyping Proactive Responsible AI Practices.
After graduating from a Bachelor of Science (adv)/Bachelor of Arts, Lorenn worked as a strategy consultant, obtained a Masters in International Management from the University of Sydney, Copenhagen Business School and HEC Paris before starting a Master of Applied Cybernetics in 2020. Following the success of her work in bringing AI-enabled cyber physical systems responsibly and sustainably to scale in the Master of Applied Cybernetics Program, Lorenn began her PhD in 2021 to prototype proactive responsible AI practices.
Lorenn’s passions lie with systems-based approaches and using new strategies to solve age-old questions about responsible business practice whilst integrating emerging technologies such as AI responsibility and sustainability.
Ned Cooper graduates with a PhD titled Re-imagining Participation in Machine Learning Research and Development.
Ned has a background in both technology and law that includes a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) at the University of Technology Sydney and the Master of Applied Cybernetics at ANU. He spent almost a decade working in large-scale technology infrastructure and human rights law. Ned’s research builds on this background, and included time at Google on projects that informed methods and policy for speech and language technology projects.
Ned has since taken up a postdoctoral researcher position at Cornell University’s DesignAI lab and is working on human-AI interaction design and AI governance, with a focus on mental health and well-being.
Congratulations again to Ned and Lorenn!
In more happy news, last week we also celebrated the graduation of our Master of Applied Cybernetics and Master of Applied Cybernetics (Advanced) students!
Many of our students from 2025 have chosen to complete the more research-intensive Master of Applied Cybernetics (Advanced) and we look forward to seeing them back in the classroom this year.
Finally, we wanted to celebrate all of our PhD students, the entire cohort has been a crucial part of the support that helped Ned and Lorenn get to this milestone, with many members of this cohort currently very close to their own milestone achievements.
Watch this space – even more good news is coming!
Our PhD candidates generate knowledge in defining and shaping systems in the 21st century. Interested in being a part of our PhD cohort? Find out more here.