UC EVENTS

Speaker: Ernest KohDate\Time: Thursday 26 March 2026, 12:30-13:30Location: Building 1 Level A Room 1A21, University of Canberra (NB Room 1a21 is accessed from the foyer joining Building 1 and Mizzuna café); or Zoom: http://zoom.us/j/95029077504 AbstractDuring the Second World War, the Australian military relied on a sizeable contingent of Asian workers who were already present in Australia to fill labour shortfalls and key gaps in combat expertise. At the end of the conflict, the Commonwealth government sought to deport these workers under the framework of the White Australia Policy, to uneven levels of success. This paper maps the experiences of Australia’s Asian troops during and after the Second World War, and how their plight intersected with a gradual but noticeable erosion of public support for White Australia in the postwar period.All are welcome! BioErnest is an historian with the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Canberra. Originally from Singapore, he has previously held research fellowships at the University of Washington and Beijing University, and is the author and editor of several books, including Diaspora at War, Oral History and Memory in Southeast Asia, and The Pacific War. He has also helped write and produce several documentaries, including the Emmy-nominated programme The Exiles(with Tom St John Gray).The Culture and Creativity Seminar Series is hosted by the Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR), Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra. To discover upcoming seminars, please follow us on Facebook @uccccr, or Instagram and Twitter @uc_cccr. Alternatively, join our mailing list by emailing cccr@canberra.edu.au. Any questions and accessibility requests please contact: cccr@canberra.edu.au.

Speaker: Richard SaveryDate\Time: Thursday 2 April 2026, 12:30-13:30Location: Building 1 Level A Room 1A21, University of Canberra (NB Room 1a21 is accessed from the foyer joining Building 1 and Mizzuna café); or Zoom: http://zoom.us/j/95029077504 AbstractThis presentation reintroduces robotic musicianship as a way of understanding human–AI interaction through musical practice and performance. It begins with Savery’s recent work with Jen Music, a generative music start-up exploring ethical dataset construction, attribution, and transparency in AI training. It then turns to a DECRA project on robotic musicianship, which investigates long-term interaction, group dynamics, and trust in human–AI collaboration. From this broader agenda, three recent projects are presented: failure and ambiguity in creative AI, AI understanding of expert saxophone practice, and agency in AI-assisted lyric writing. Together, these projects position music as a testbed for more human-centered AI.All are welcome!BioRichard Savery develops AI and robotics, using music and creativity to design richer interactions between humans and machines. He is currently an ARC DECRA Fellow (2026–2028) at the University of Canberra, researching robots and AI for long-term use and group interaction. Previously, he was a Research Fellow at Macquarie University, where he built robotic musicians that could rap and drum with human performers, and later worked at Jen Music on high-fidelity, ethically trained AI music systems. His work has attracted $3.8 million in funding and been featured by Scientific American, BBC Radio, and Disney+.Dr Savery is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Australian Discovery Early Career Award ( DE250100275) funded by the Australian Government.Interested audience can see examples at www.richardsavery.comThe Culture and Creativity Seminar Series is hosted by the Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR), Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra. To discover upcoming seminars, please follow us on Facebook @uccccr, or Instagram and Twitter @uc_cccr. Alternatively, join our mailing list by emailing cccr@canberra.edu.au. Any questions and accessibility requests please contact: cccr@canberra.edu.au.