Posted on 20 July 2026
EventsDr Anna Gubinskaya, Project Manager, Learning Design and Development presented a paper at the inaugural Australian Society for Asian Humanities (ASAH) conference at the University of Sydney recently.
Despite not having a research component in her position at Open Polytechnic, Anna finds that having academic and research background hugely helps in her role of three years.
“I do feel more connected to the learners, and academic staff, and by travelling and participating in the academic conferences I feel I stay in touch with the tertiary education sector and can approach my projects from a slightly more immersed perspective,” she says.
Anna’s participation at the two-day conference was self-funded, where she presented on Professor Arthur Sadler (1882-1970), one of the founders of Japanese studies at the University of Sydney, whose tenure spanned 1922 to 1948.
It drew on both Anna’s research undertaken for her doctoral dissertation and archival work conducted in the Fisher Library archives the day before the talk.
“My talk was very well received, generating numerous comments and questions from colleagues across a range of disciplines,” Anna says.
“It felt well to get back to the fold of my native Asian studies. It was very exciting to present research on the history of the University of Sydney while at the University of Sydney too.”
According to Anna, the event was well attended, with up to 13 concurrent sessions running at any one time.
“The programme brought together scholars at every career stage, from first-year PhD candidates to full professors,” Anna says.
“The disciplinary range was equally impressive, encompassing research on virtually every region of Asia.”
Participants travelled to the conference from China, Japan, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.
Panels at the conference focused on the issues of relevance of Asian Humanities in the modern world, particularly the premodern Asian studies.
Panellists discussed questions of funding, the role of higher education in society, and the ways Asian studies can position itself within an evolving academic landscape.
“These discussions highlighted both the challenges facing the field and the continuing importance of Asian humanities scholarships,” Anna says.