Eight (3 from universities and 5 from high schools) will take part in an International Ecopolicyade being organised by Dr Nam Nguyen and Professor Ockie Bosch as part of the 57th World Conference of the International Society for the Systems Sciences to be held from 14 to 19 July this year in one of two of the Evolutionary Learning Laboratories of the SDCM team (Haiphong City and Cat Ba Island). It was certainly a “Grand “affair as reported on the Television news:
www.thp.org.vn/artice/1914/ban-tin-thoi-su-toi-ngay-14052013.html

The Government of Haiphong has been highly excited by the overwhelming response of students and teachers to the cybernetics game in which all those that participated learned more about systems thinking and how all the different parts of any system (countries in despair in the case of Ecopolicy) are interconnected and how the complex problems of our time cannot be solved through traditional linear thinking.

The Government has realised the value of this revolutionary learning tool and is now leading a second phase in which not only more schools and universities will be involved, but has decided that officials and others from all the different Haiphong City offices, district offices and Government departments will also be involved in Ecopolicy competitions to learn more about “a new way of thinking”.

The school appreciates the support of private and public enterprise prize sponsors with many able to attend on the night and present their awards.

Sponsors include Australian Clean Tech; CPA Australia; Deloitte; Hayes Knight; Hays; Hender Consulting; Holden; Leadenhall; McGregor Tan Research; Norman Waterhouse; PricewaterhouseCoopers; South Australian Government Financing Authority; The American Chamber of Commerce; The ATO; The Auditor-General’s Department; The MBA Alumni Association and The Property Council of Australia.

Lecturer Dominic Carbone; prize recipient James Hayward and Richard Collis, Australian Tax Office

Julie Blumson, Auditor Generals’ Department and prize recipient Leon Giannini

David Lilley, Hays and prize recipient Deanna Veale

Van Thao Nguyen and Marcus Lojszczyk, PWC

The B.S. Lab is a non profit association for the promotion of research and teaching in the field of business and social systems. Thier aim is to be a bridge between the business community and the academia.

You can also be included if you completed your degree in 2012 and will graduate in 2013.

Record your achievement by featuring on the University Yearbook website forever.

Please have a “head and shoulders” digital photograph ready to upload.

How do I register?

1. Go to this page: https://yearbook.adelaide.edu.au/
2. Click on the link “Register for the 2013 Yearbook”
3. Log in using your University username and password.
4. If your University account has expired, use the “sign up” option.

Enquiries to Una Spiers una.spiers@adelaide.edu.au

Professor Ockie Bosch, Chair of Systems Design and Complexity Management in the Business School is one of the invited speakers on the day.

Location: Comfort Inn Haven Marina
6-10 Adelphi Terrace, Glenelg North, South Australia

Image courtesy of Comfort Inn Haven Marina. Image by J K Imaging

More information: See http://www.aoq.asn.au/QualSem%202013.html

Download: QualSem2013 Flyer

While in Haiphong City in Vietnam during the week from 16 to 22 March for research on the development of an integrated systemic governance plan for the government, Professor Ockie Bosch and Dr Nam Nguyen were invited as VIP guests (and Ockie as a speaker) to attended the final Ecopolicy competition of one of the 22 schools and universities.

Similar to the launching of Ecopolicy in Adelaide, Haiphong City was chosen to trial the competition first in one location before extending it to the rest of the country. The teachers and lecturers were trained in December 2012, and the schools and universities immediately introduced the students to the simulation cybernetic game that help students to develop a better understanding of systems and interconnected thinking and to realise that quick fixes (treating the symptoms) do not have lasting effects in solving complex problem s facing our societies.

The Premier, Dr Thanh Van Nguyen, opened the competition with a speech about the value of systems thinking. Ockie followed with a talk (translated by Nam) on the importance of this learning tool that can help creating future leaders and decision makers to develop a “New Way of Thinking”. At the end of the speech they were cheered as if they were important celebrities – not to mention the literally 100’s of photos the students  wanted to have taken with them. Ockie even had to take part in a tree planting ceremony. No wonder he is referred to in Vietnam as “His Excellency”!

The Director of the Department of Education mentioned in his talk that more than 40,000 students are now playing Ecopolicy on a regular basis, and the teachers also had to form teams and they also compete against each other. The Department of Education has been so impressed with the enthusiasm of the students and the quality of “new” learnings the students receive, that the Department has decided to make Ecopolicy part of the school curriculum. The students in Haiphong do not only play the game (investing in different sectors of society to create a sustainable country), but also have to indicate how they invested during each round and write a report on why they made the particular decisions during each round (that is, how they used the mathematical relationships between all the components of the model to make their decisions, how they avoid linear thinking, etc.).

Ockie and Nam say they were absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm of all the students and the seriousness in which they discussed their decisions and make their investments to achieve the best outcomes for each country. There were several VIPs invited and also representatives from five other provinces. After they have seen the success and the value to the children, they have all decided to introduce Ecopolicy in their own provinces. Interesting was also the fact that the students enjoy playing the game in English and see it as another opportunity to improve their English language abilities. Not to have the simulation game translated into Vietnamese is also supported by the Department of Education.

“If we can just be half as successful as the Germans and create the enthusiasm that was achieved by the one pilot trials in Vietnam and Adelaide last year, we will make a very big difference in the way the future generation will think about and act on the complex problems facing our society in this turbulent 21st Century knowledge society” says Professor Ockie Bosch.

Prof Ockie Bosch and Dr Nam Nguyen, with their respective roles as Vice-Presidents of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) – Ockie (VP Communication and Systems Education) and Nam (VP Membership and Conference), are playing a pivotal role in the organisation of the 57th World Conference of the ISSS in Haiphong City, Vietnam (14-19 July 2013).

See full details: http://isss.org/world/Hai_Phong_City_2013

“A lack of engagement with customer insight could be costing all-important profits, as companies make decisions and develop new products without a rich understanding of their consumers’ needs, their responses to existing products, and their lifestyles,” says University of Adelaide Senior Lecturer in Marketing Dr Jodie Conduit.

Dr Conduit will present the next Research Tuesdays free public seminar at the University of Adelaide (5.30pm Tuesday 12 March) on how business, government departments and NGOs can harness consumer insight, and how this can benefit their operations.

“Over the past five years there’s been a growing trend of companies around the world appointing ‘Insight Directors’, rather than ‘Research Managers’, highlighting a focus on achieving better use of market research and gaining a deeper understanding of the consumer,” Dr Conduit says.

“Importantly, employees at all levels of the business need to buy-in to, or engage with, these insights. Having a shared understanding of the consumer across the organisation enables cross-functional groups to work together towards the same strategic objective. Therefore, this engagement with consumer insight plays a vital role in the design and delivery of marketing strategies and new products.”

However, Dr Conduit says 90% of companies involved in harnessing customer insights are not reaping the full benefit of their activities.

“Research shows that very few companies are using consumer insights to their strategic advantage. Many of them are not motivating customers to engage with customer insight, and most companies have a long way to go before they understand just how powerful this information can be for their business,” she says.

In her Research Tuesdays presentation, Dr Conduit will use a case study from the company formerly known as Kraft Foods (now Mondelez International). Kraft Foods adopted a “consumer immersion program”, with employees at all levels and from all sections of the business visiting customers’ homes throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This helped to drive marketing strategies for new and existing products, and moved them a step closer to being a truly customer-centric organisation.

WHAT: Research Tuesdays: Harnessing Consumer Insight by Dr Jodie Conduit (Business School, University of Adelaide)
WHERE: Horace Lamb Lecture Theatre, North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide
WHEN: 5:30pm to 6.30pm, Tuesday 12 March
COST: Free – but registration is essential: online at www.adelaide.edu.au/researchtuesdays
phone 8313 6381 or email research.tuesdays@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Guy Debelle, Assistant Governor, Financial Markets, Reserve Bank of Australia

Start 2013 well informed on the latest influences on the dollar.

The Adelaide MBA is pleased to present: Dr Guy Debelle, the Assistant Governor, Financial Markets for the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Hear about the effect of the exchange rate on the economy, what the RBA does each day in the money and fx markets and how this flows through to borrowing rates and mortgage rates. We would be pleased if you could join us at this exclusive event.

A question and answer session will follow Dr Debelle’s presentation.

Breakfast along with tea and coffee will be served with ample time for you to talk with colleagues and friends.  

The “Starting with the Young” program involved teams of Adelaide secondary students governing fictitious countries that are in despair, with the goal of stabilising them within a virtual 12 years. The teams competed firstly against other teams within their school and then in a final between schools, at the Adelaide Town Hall in December 2012.

The teams needed to balance the conflicting demands of production, the environment, education, health, politics, quality of life and population growth using the simulation game Ecopolicy.

According to Professor Ockie Bosch, Systems Design and Complexity Management at the Business School, the competition is an important initial step in changing the mindset of the next generation, from using traditional linear thinking to instead thinking in systems to solve complex issues.

A student team from Saint Ignatius’ College won on the day and will travel to Vietnam in July this year, representing Australia to compete in the International Ecopolicyade against teams from around the world.