The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney announced today that it has appointed Olivia Shen as the Director of its Strategic Technologies Program.

Ms Shen joins USSC after heading up Data Science and AI Strategy for the Australian Department of Home Affairs. She has over a decade of experience in national security and foreign policy in government, academia and think tanks.

USSC CEO Dr Michael Green welcomed the appointment, “Olivia does not just understand technological policy, she is a strategist at heart with a particular ability to understand policy impacts and how governments and business can work together to best harness new capabilities and protect against harms.”

Ms Shen was a Fulbright Scholar and Thawley Scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC and was previously a Congressional Research Fellow with the Australian National University. In 2023 she was a Summer Fellow with the Centre for the Governance of AI at the University of Oxford.

“I see technologies as the variable that could make the biggest changes we might see in our lifetime. Whether it is AI or quantum, how countries work together to cultivate innovation while implementing the right guardrails will impact everyone, and it is essential that governments, industries and individuals are in the driver’s seat in charting the course of technological progress.”

Ms Shen begins her role as USSC Director of Strategic Technologies in June.

Request a briefing with Olivia Shen.

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