Nam Nguyen

Dr Nam Nguyen

Res Fellow-Systems Design & Complexity Mgmt

Adelaide Business School

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Dr Nam Nguyen is a Director (Australia and Southeast Asia) of Malik, Switzerland (the world’s leading organization for holistic, system-cybernetic management, governance, and leadership). He is also a Director of Think2Impact Pty Ltd and SysPrac Pty Ltd in Australia.

Dr Nguyen was a co-founder of the internationally linked Systems Design and Complexity Management (SDCM) Alliance at The University of Adelaide Business School; and currently an Honorary Fellow in the Business School. He has been awarded a number of nationally and internationally competitive academic fellowships and research grants (worth more than $1m). Dr Nguyen is also a recipient of the prestigious 2011 Australian Leadership Award; a member of the Scientific Board of the Business Systems Laboratory, Italy; a Vice President (2012-13; 2015-17) of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) and a Vice President (2014-16) of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR).

  • Awards and Achievements

    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2015 Recognition Elected as a Vice-President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (VP for Systems Education) - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited as a co-author to give a Plenary Presentation on “Capacity Building” at the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) 2015 Conference, 2-7 August, Berlin, Germany. - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited to give a Keynote Address on “Think2Impact – A platform for knowledge creation and dissemination to systemically deal with complex issues in a rapidly changing world” at the 5th Annual International Conference on Business Strategy and Asian Economic Transformation (BizStrategy), 27-28 July, Singapore. - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited to give a Keynote Address on “Think2impact™: A systems based approach for complexity management” at the Graduate Management Association of Australia National Conference 2015, 3 July, Adelaide, Australia. - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited to co-chair a parallel session on “Systems Practice for Managing Complexity” at the 3rd BSLab International Symposium, 21-23 January, Perugia, Italy. - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited to co-conduct a Workshop and Practical Session at the 3rd BSLab International Symposium, 21-23 January, Perugia, Italy. - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited as a co-author to give a Plenary Presentation on “Think2Impact: Taking Systems Thinking to Global Organisations and Communities” at the 3rd Business Systems Laboratory (BSLab) International Symposium "Advances in Business Management: Towards Systemic Approach", 21-23 January, Perugia, Italy. - - -
    2015 Invitation Invited to give a Seminar at the Sapienza University of Rome, 19 January, Rome, Italy. - - -
    2014 Research Award Executive Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research Faculty of the Professions, University of Adelaide Australia -
    2014 Research Award South Australian Department of Health Research Grant - - -
    2014 Research Award South Australian Department of State Development Research Grant - - -
    2014 Teaching Award Executive Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (Systems Thinking courses) Faculty of the Professions, UoA Australia -
    2014 Invitation Invited to the 17th by-invitation-only Conversations of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR), 27 April - 2 May 2014, Linz, Austria - - -
    2014 Recognition Elected as a Vice-President of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) - - -
    2014 Invitation Invited to Co-Chair a Symposium on Evolutionary Learning Laboratory (ELLab) at the European Meetings on Cybernetics and Systems Research (EMCSR), 22-25 April 2014, Vienna, Austria - - -
    2014 Invitation Invited to Co-Chair a Panel Discussion on ‘Shaping Systems Thinkers for Sustainability’, Ngee Ann-Adelaide Education Centre, 22 April, Singapore - - -
    2014 Recognition Appointed as a Member of the Scientific Board of the Business Systems Laboratory, Italy - - -
    2013 Research Award Faculty of the Professions Category 1 (ARC) Grant Support (Chief Investigator – CI) - - -
    2013 Invitation Invited to give a Keynote Speech at the International Conference on Social Environmental Education, 21-22 July 2013, Taipei, Taiwan - - -
    2013 Research Award Haiphong People’s Committee, Vietnam Int’l Research Grant - - -
    2013 Research Award Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations Grant - - -
    2013 Award Co-author of the Best Paper Awarded at the Business Systems Lab International Symposium, 24-25 January 2013, Madrid, Spain - - -
    2012 Recognition Elected as a Vice-President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (VP Memberships and Conference) - - -
    2012 Invitation Invited to the 16th by-invitation-only Conversations of the IFSR, 14-19 April 2012, Linz, Austria - - -
    2011 Fellowship Uiversitas21 Early Career Researcher Fellowship - - -
    2011 Award Australian Leadership Award - - -
    2011 Fellowship The University of Queensland ResTeach Fellowships - - -
    2010 Fellowship The University of Queensland ResTeach Fellowship - - -
    2009 Research Award AusAID Grant – Australian Leadership Award Fellowship (ALAF) for Cambodia (Co-I with Prof Bosch) - - -
    2009 Fellowship The University of Queensland ResTeach Fellowship - - -
    2008 Research Award AusAID Grant – ALAF for Vietnam (Co-I with Prof Bosch) - - -
    2008 Fellowship The University of Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - - -
    2006 Fellowship Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) Queensland Branch Bursary - - -
    2006 Fellowship AARES Fellowship - - -
    2006 Honour International Association of Agricultural Economists Grant - - -
    2006 Scholarship Top-up Scholarship from Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science, UQ - - -
    2005 Fellowship Environmental and Resource Economics Early Career Research Fellowship - - -
    2003 Scholarship International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for PhD study at UQ - - -
  • Language Competencies

    Language Competency
    English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
    Vietnamese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    The University of Queensland Australia PhD
    The University of Adelaide Australia Master of AgriBusiness
    National Economics University Vietnam Bachelor of AgriEconomics
  • Research Interests

  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2021 - 2024 Co-Supervisor Complex Systems of Disaster Response Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Yuan Chai
    2020 - 2024 Co-Supervisor Avoiding Inadvertent Risk Transfers in Complex Socio-Technical Systems Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Benjamin Samuel Luther
    2017 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Systemic indicators for agricultural and rural communities in developing countries Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Phuong Thi Nguyen
    2013 - 2016 Co-Supervisor Establishing an Evolutionary Learning Laboratory for Labour Saving Innovations for Women SmallHolder Farmers in Vietnam Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Tuan Minh Ha
    2013 - 2016 Principal Supervisor A Systems Thinking Approach to Address the Complexity of Agribusiness for Sustainable Development in Africa: A Case Study in Ghana Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Kwamina Ewur Banson
    2013 - 2017 Principal Supervisor The Role of Supply Chain Management in Increasing the Competitive Advantages of Vietnamese Coffee Products: A Systems Thinking Approach Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Thich Nguyen Van
  • Board Memberships

    Date Role Board name Institution name Country
    2015 - ongoing - Executive Board, International Society for Systems Sciences - -
    2014 - ongoing - Executive Committee, International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) - -
    2014 - ongoing - Scientific Board of the Business Systems Laboratory, Italy - -
  • Editorial Boards

    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2013 - ongoing Board Member Bertalanffy Center for Systems Science journal: ‘Systema: Connecting Matter, Life, Culture and Technology’ - -
    2003 - ongoing Member American Journal of Management Studies - -
  • Offices Held

    Date Office Name Institution Country
    2015 - ongoing Vice President (Systems Education) International Society for Systems Sciences -
    2014 - ongoing Vice President International Federation for Systems Research -
  • Position: Res Fellow-Systems Design & Complexity Mgmt
  • Email: nam.nguyen@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 82234782
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Nexus 10, floor 9
  • Org Unit: Adelaide Business School

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