Message from the Deputy Head of College: June 2026

By Andrew Ramsay

I’m pleased to provide this College update on behalf of Professor Rory Medcalf AM while he takes a well-earned break. June has been another busy month for NSC, with our work continuing across executive education, parliamentary engagement, policy dialogues, regional partnerships and academic teaching.

The complexity of Australia's security environment was reflected across much of our work this month. Our national security program for Commonwealth parliamentarians, NS26 explored the timely topics of: terrorism, extremism and social cohesion, followed by AI and cyber security. Together, these sessions reinforced many of the themes highlighted by ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess in his recent Annual Threat Assessment, including the increasingly interconnected nature of the challenges facing Australia and the importance of building national resilience.

The College's focus on capability development continued through our work with more than 60 graduates from the Australian Submarine Agency. As part of the program, participants undertook their first whole-of-government simulation exercise, strengthening their understanding of the policy, security and institutional networks supporting Australia's nuclear-powered submarine enterprise.

Our wider engagement continued at pace. The College delivered a DFAT-supported program on Papua New Guinea and progressed work with partners in Indonesia, Japan and India, while the Futures Hub contributed to the Pacific Peace and Security Dialogue in Suva. Beyond the Indo-Pacific, our academic colleague Dr Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva presented at an international conference in Scotland on China's growing presence in Central Eurasia.

As we cheer the Socceroos through the World Cup, the College broadened its playing field by hosting DFAT’s Annual Sports Diplomacy Roundtable at ANU, bringing together government, academia and the sporting sector to explore how sport can advance Australia's national interests.

Our academic program has also continued to go from strength to strength. Semester one concluded with record enrolments in our Master's program and we expect another strong set of student evaluations for learning and teaching. We also have more PhD candidates enrolled than ever before, pursuing an increasingly diverse range of research topics and we look forward to announcing another round of scholarships later this year for students commencing in 2027.

Looking ahead, July will feature a major College-supported event examining critical minerals and Australia's economic security – more on that in our next edition. Across all of this work, the College remains focused on developing the people, ideas and partnerships Australia needs to navigate an increasingly complex strategic environment.

In that spirit, I encourage you to explore our upcoming executive education offerings, including in critical infrastructure and artificial intelligence.