About Prof. Rory Medcalf AM

Professor Rory Medcalf has been Head of the National Security College (NSC) at the Australian National University since January 2015. He has led the expansion of the College into policy engagement and futures analysis, as well as education, executive development and research, repositioning the College as ‘more than a think tank’.

His professional background involves three decades of experience across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, academia and journalism, including as founding Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute from 2007 to 2015.

In government, Professor Medcalf worked as a senior strategic analyst with the then Office of National Assessments (now the Office of National Intelligence), Canberra’s peak intelligence analysis agency. He was also an Australian diplomat, with wide experience including a posting to New Delhi, a secondment to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, truce monitoring after the civil conflict in Bougainville and policy development on Asian security institutions. He has contributed to three landmark reports on nuclear arms control: the 1996 Canberra Commission, 1999 Tokyo Forum and 2009 International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. His earlier work in journalism was commended in Australia’s leading media awards, the Walkleys, in 1991.

WHAT DOES THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC ADVISOR ENTAIL?

Professor Rory Medcalf provides trusted advice directly to our crisis writing teams to enhance the realism and accuracy of our complex multidisciplinary crisis scenarios.

The direct advice and indirect assistance (through the NSC) that Professor Rory Medcalf provides, gives him the privileged position of strategically matching the right people with the right careers. The ACSS is a medium through which students are inspired and enabled to pursue their passions and interests.

Professor Rory Medcalf, through direct one-on-one and broader team meetings, strategically learns about and assesses our crisis writers and broader ACSS team to ultimately assist them with choosing the career that is best for them. The ultra-realistic academic, government, and industry-informed crisis simulations developed under Professor Rory Medcalf’s tutelage not only assist the crisis writing teams, but creates a rare and invaluable experience for a selection of high-calibre students from across the nation.