Year in review message from the CEO

Dr Michael Green
Chief Executive Officer, United States Studies Centre

Sydney International Strategy Forum

Held in September, the third annual Sydney International Strategy Forum featured high-profile speakers, including Dr Kurt Campbell, Avril Haines, Gen. David Berger (ret'd), Kori Schake and Dr Mira Rapp-Hooper for discussions around the theme of navigating disruption. The conference summary is available to read here.

Economic Security Dialogue Series

Building on the success of the first-of-its-kind economic security conference in 2024, the Centre convened three one-day dialogues. The dialogues explored AI, tools and rules and critical minerals with participation by senior representatives from the government, business, academia, the think tank community and civil society. The outcomes report from the first dialogue is available here.

Women in the Alliance Dinner

Our annual Women in the Alliance (WITA) Dinner featured Adm. Lisa Franchetti (ret'd), former US Chief of Naval Operations. At the dinner, we announced our 2026 WITA Network cohort, which includes women from the Australian Government, corporations, think tanks and NGOs.

Roundtable on the future of gas in the Indo-Pacific

In November, USSC partnered with the Asia Natural Gas & Energy Association to host a one-day roundtable in Canberra looking at the future of gas in the Indo-Pacific. Attendees included senior representatives from the Australian Government as well as corporates, think tank experts and peak body representatives working in the space.

AUKUS innovation track 1.5 dialogue

In September, we held an AUKUS innovation track 1.5 dialogue in Canberra. Chargée d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Canberra Erika Olson as well as Australian First Assistant Secretary for AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Stephen Moore both delivered keynote remarks.

Track 1.5 policy dialogue with IP4 and NATO

The USSC and the Korea Foundation hosted an intensive policy planning dialogue to provide insights and recommendations for advancing cooperation between the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) and NATO, with remarks from the South Korean Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun. The outcomes report from this dialogue is now available here.

Student Prize Night 2025

We held our annual Student Prize Night in September, with current students, Alumni and USSC staff. Academic Director Rodney Taveira handed out awards to high-performing American studies students and it was an enjoyable night celebrating another exceptional cohort of American Studies students.

AI and digital policy for secondary teachers

Our American Studies team ran a workshop with high-school teachers titled "Teaching the future: AI, digital policy and the social sciences" where we welcomed teachers to explore how big questions in technology, politics and society can be brought into the classroom.

Welcome week

USSC hosted one of the liveliest tents at the University of Sydney Welcome Week this year – a county fair themed booth, complete with petting zoo and lawn games. Many students stopped by to learn about how they could incorporate American Studies into their degree.

PUBLIC EVENT

Securing the Indian Ocean: India-Australia maritime partnership

The Indian Ocean is fast becoming one of the world’s most geo-strategically contested maritime arenas. The region’s littoral and island states are grappling with how to respond to this strategic competition but also face multi-dimensional maritime security challenges. These, in turn, are exacerbated by climate change and other economic and social vulnerabilities.

As the two largest maritime democracies in the Indian Ocean Region, Australia and India share a stake — and responsibility — in its stability and resilience. Both countries are well-positioned to assist littoral and island states in building their governance capacities to address common maritime security challenges. They can accomplish more by working together than alone, but this is easier said than done. Key questions to address include:

• What are the most pressing maritime security challenges facing the Indian Ocean region?
• How well are India and Australia currently engaging with littoral and island states and for what purpose?
• What practical steps can they take to help partners build sustainable governance capacity?
• And ultimately, what would a truly well-coordinated India-Australia capacity-building partnership look like?

To unpack these issues, the United States Studies Centre will host a fireside chat with Rushali Saha, USSC Maitri Fellow and Dr Lavina Lee, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre.