In one generation, Vietnam has moved from one of the poorest countries to a middle income manufacturing and innovation economy of more than 100 million people.

The Business School’s three Research Hubs combined to host a forum exploring collaborations, ongoing and potential, between Vietnam and Australia.

Professor Thu-Anh Nguyen, Executive Director of the Sydney Vietnam Institute, told the event the Institute has collaborations with more than 300 institutions in Vietnam including high level collaborations with government ministries meaning “we can translate your research into policy, innovations and operational solutions.” Professor Nguyen told the forum.

Professor Minh Ngoc Tran told the forum that Vietnam is becoming a regional hub for data science and AI. Since 2023 Professor Ngoc has helped organise an annual Summer School on mathematical statistics which has become the largest annual conference in Vietnam. 

Dr Nate Zettna spoke about the development of a Southeast Asian AI Barometer, a collaboration across five faculties at the University including the Business School. The project’s key question ‘Is AI good for public infrastructure?’ is exploring the public’s trust in AI across SE Asia including in Vietnam.

“Our goal is to develop an evidence-based tool that helps governments and organisations better understand public attitudes towards AI, to help them make more responsible and informed decisions about adoption,’ Dr Zettna said.

The nexus between climate change and modern slavery is a specific research concern for Dr Martijn Boersma who told the conference that 7% of farmland in Vietnam will be submerged by one meter of sea level rise in the near future, whilst almost 400,000 Vietnamese people are compelled into either forced labour or forced marriage.

“We need to make sure that the benefits of economic growth are shared fairly with the people that manufacture so many of the things that we use every day.”

Dr Rosea Taghikhah is part of an international collaboration that is developing a formula that will help determine if land should be allocated to food or energy production depending on the quality of the land and the need for food security.

Associate Professor Sandra Alday (Sydney Southeast Asia Centre) has been researching Vietnam for more than 12 years. She credits the country’s economic vitality to the dynamism of female-led social enterprises. She is currently exploring what builds resilience in female entrepreneurs in the Philippines and is keen to expand the project into Vietnam.

Kevin Hobgood Brown (SVI chair) said culture “is everything” when it comes to ensuring a successful project in Vietnam. “I've never worked on a project anywhere in Asia that has failed because they got the service wrong or the project wrong, or put it in the wrong place, or priced everything wrong. You've got so many experts working on all of those areas, they’re almost always right. But when projects have failed, it’s due to cultural reasons.”

The creative sector has succumbed to AI in many ways: As a recommendation agent (‘based on your past choices you might also like’), myth maker (special effects) thief (ignoring copyright), co-designer (prompts) and efficiency tool (rendering).

These interactions impact employment categories, copyright, originality and the process of creativity.

A forum jointly hosted by the Centre for AI, Trust and Governance and the Innovative Organisation and Technology Hub canvassed how Australia’s creative sector can better engage with this emerging technology.

On the highchairs were: Mike Seymour (Motus Lab), Terry Flew (Centre for AI, Trust and Governance) Victoria Gimigliano (PanEUrama Initiative) and Jackie-Lee Joe (Netflix, BBC, National Film and Sound Archive).

The panel observed that greater availability of affordable technology does not guarantee creative depth. Tools such as smartphones or generative models do not replace storytelling skill or a distinct artistic perspective, as evidenced by time-lapse videos, which may showcase technical skill but frequently lack the narrative substance needed to resonate with viewers.

The conversation covered the abuse of copyright and the need for new regulation, growing critical AI literacy amongst audiences and the risk of independent creators being priced out of premium AI tools available to mega corporations.

Live-sketching the proceedings was Dr Javier Fernandez, University of Waseda, Instituto Cervantes Tokyo.

This tight four-year timeline was the vision of the University of Sydney Business School’s Quantum Readiness Workshop, co-hosted by the Schools three Research Hubs. Identifying specific Business School expertise capable of driving Australia’s dynamic quantum ecosystem was the workshop’s focus.

Deputy Dean (Research) at the University of Sydney Business School, Professor Steven Maguire, and Director of Sydney Nano Institute, Professor Stephen Bartlett, outlined Australia’s national quantum strategy and the University’s quantum program. More than 30 University researchers participated along with representatives from Quantum Australia, Rigetti, Archerx, Diraq and Quantum Motion.

Two complementary research pathways were identified:

1. The direct study of quantum technologies.
2. Using the emerging quantum ecosystem as an empirical setting for research on issues such as regulation, workforce development, commercialisation, finance, ethics, sustainability and ecosystem formation. 

The next phase is underway consolidating workshop outputs by participants, and importantly, identifying researchers interested in leading emerging funding opportunities and develop selected ideas into multidisciplinary research and partner propositions. 

The future is quantum, but what will it look like? Our experience with AI tells us quantum’s future will be shaped not only by who participates in its design— but also what voices are excluded.

Getting diverse voices together was the thinking behind the University of Sydney Business School’s recent Quantum Futures workshop led by the Innovative Organisation and Technology Hub: How can we ensure quantum technologies are developed not only for technical success, but for meaningful social impact?

Australia’s former Chief Scientist, Cathy Foley AO PSM, highlighted the scale and urgency of this moment, noting $56 billion is being invested in quantum technologies globally. “I am proud the Australian perspective is we are trying to develop a new technology that does not become a horrible beast we have to fix. Our national quantum strategy emphasises equity, fairness and ethics in the way we introduce it.”

Hosted by Associate Professor Olga Kokshagina, the workshop asked participants to explore three scenarios:

• Quantum Simulations in drug discovery
• Quantum Machine learning in clinical trials
• Quantum Sensing for health

Several key insights emerged: 

• The importance of early-stage collaboration between scientists, industry, policymakers, and societal stakeholders 
• The need to embed ethical reflection and inclusion into technology design
• The recognition that different pathways lead to different futures, depending on how decisions around data, infrastructure, and incentives are made

Professor Steven Maguire, Deputy Dean (Research) at the University of Sydney Business School, told the forum: “We have expertise that is relevant to tackling the kinds of questions you are wrestling with today. Issues of how organisations can responsibly develop, adopt, and fully harness emerging technologies in ways aligned with people, ethics, justice and social inclusion – these are where the Business School has great bench strength. We are open for business to work with you.”

The seminar was informed by the report Quantum futures: Co-designing societal readiness and scenario building for quantum.