Meet Mio, WADSIH’s new Administration Lead
We’re pleased to welcome Mio Angela Gadon to the WADSIH team as our new Administration Lead. Mio is a Perth-based multidisciplinary artist, designer and arts worker originally from the Philippines.
WADSIH’s partnership with The Indo-Pacific Robotics, Autonomy, AI and Cyber Conference (IPRAAC) 2025 was both a great step forward and the culmination of the work we’ve done since we were formed in 2019.
In 2022 and 2023 we convened and presented our own AI conferences to spread the word about the impact AI would soon have in WA business and how best to adopt it. In the time since, our work driving awareness about what AI can (and can’t) do has become central to the technology conversation among industry, government, education and community partners.
A few years later and everyone’s far more aware of the promises and pitfalls the technology offers, which gave us the opportunity to partner with other organisations and conferences to keep the conversation going.
And after a very successful collaboration in 2024 on the Indo-Pacific Space & Earth Conference, we were very excited to be invited back to be the AI Power Partner for IPRAAC 2025, where we curated and presented the AI stream of the conference.
Across October 7-9, we heard, organised and took part in on-stage workshops and talks, Engagement Lead Shannon Hansen and Operations Coordinator Tanya Kimber manned the WADSIH booth and we both met and hosted some very smart and forward-thinking inventors, programmers and start-ups and saw the fruits of their labour.
We’re pleased to welcome Mio Angela Gadon to the WADSIH team as our new Administration Lead. Mio is a Perth-based multidisciplinary artist, designer and arts worker originally from the Philippines.
Our AI Program Coordinator, Beth Cusack has been recognised for her work delivering inclusive Gen-AI Bootcamps that help autistic young people build practical technology skills, confidence and a sense of belonging. The program recently expanded to Geraldton, where students explored generative AI, robotics, coding and virtual reality through hands-on projects.
WADSIH brings AI learning to life at GoSHackathon Midwest Young innovators in Geraldton had the chance to explore artificial intelligence, robotics and future-focused problem solving when the WA Data Science
Power Partner
WADSIH was the AI Power Partner for The Indo-Pacific Robotics, Autonomy, AI and Cyber Conference (IPRAAC) 2025.
It was a role that let us not just see some of the most exciting new advances in the field but help direct the conversation around AI and the impacts it’s already making for resiliency, inclusion, efficiency and the role it will play in the companies and industries of tomorrow.
The Hon Stephen Dawson, Minister for Regional Development; Ports; Science and Innovation, officially opened the conference on October 7. The welcome address was provided by Australia’s home-grown astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, whose talk about the leading role Australia can play in space and AI innovation inspired everyone.
We also contributed to or took inspiration away from several on -stage events, panel discussions and presentations. WADSIH Director Alex Jenkins was part of the Sovereign AI and Australia’s Future discussion, talking about the opportunities and potential pitfalls involved in creating an AI resiliency policy to assure Australia’s technological capability.
Few technologies since the dawn of the internet era have caused as much discussion around ethics as AI, and the panel and discussion led by Maxwell Scott of the US, Power With Purpose – Responsible AI for a Resilient, Inclusive Future, investigated and collected viewpoints on the latest thinking around ethical use of the technology.
But Maxwell also wasn’t the only international speaker, with Mark McDonald of Google’s DeepMind leading a discussion on the road to artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Another popular focal point for the conference was the WADSIH Booth, which was buzzing throughout the conference. As well as Minister Dawson, we hosted WADSIH board members Paul Vivian and Tina Ambrose, and a particular highlight was the robotic arm project by Curtin University student Timothy Lance Tan.
Timothy led booth visitors through demonstrations of his device, powered completely by the Raspberry Pi 5 operating system and generative AI, where asking the robot to manipulate and interact with objects using plain English in text and speech resulted in precise robotic movements.
We were also joined by start-up founders Ryan Liebregst and Dre Siwela of AI-powered camera tracking system provider Indrus, which transforms existing security cameras into a precise tracking system, monitoring assets without additional hardware.
Ryan and Dre’s system is currently being trialled by logistics partners as a way of transforming the way ports and yards manage assets, improving efficiency, visibility, and cost-effectiveness.
The conference provided a forum for the latest and best ideas, opinions and viewpoints on Robotics, Autonomy, AI, and Cyber, and WADSIH was thrilled to take part. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!
Meanwhile, scroll down to see more photos from IPRAAC 2025 or read more on our social media posts here and here or read our blog post here.
