Building Perth’s AI Hub: Susannah Soon is Shaping the AI Future for Generations 💡
Saanvi
Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:03:44 GMT
<h1>Perth City Lead Spotlight: Susannah Soon</h1><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":971,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":4410997,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/jpeg","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":"https://buildclub.substack.com/i/173676414?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZxaS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1b413ce-4874-43e5-935b-c7cf829be2b6_5568x3712.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" style="height:20px;width:20px" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Susannah Soon has grown Build Club Perth by leaps and bounds in just three months — securing multiple sponsorships and hosting events with 100+ attendees. Her energy, expertise, and passion for AI and community-building are transforming Perth into a hub for innovation and connection.</p><h2>From AI Research to GenAI Excitement 🤖</h2><p>Susannah’s journey began with a PhD in multiagent systems at the University of Melbourne’s Agent Lab, followed by years as a software developer and AI researcher. The rise of generative AI reignited her excitement:</p><blockquote><p>“The whole GenAI movement has led to a massive resurgence in agents. I am so<br>excited agents are coming into their own now!”</p></blockquote><p>What started as friendly AI discussions quickly grew into a vision for Perth’s Build Club. Her alignment with Build Club’s mission made becoming City Lead a natural next step.</p><h2>Building Community That Thrives 🌐</h2><p>“It’s been amazing — and also a lot of fun!” Susannah laughs. By connecting her network, she’s created a vibrant ecosystem where students, alumni, academics, developers, and innovators meet monthly to share, learn, and create.</p><blockquote><p>“Seeing my students succeed — winning hackathons, being hired in start-ups or<br>scale-ups or going overseas for deeptech academies — is incredibly rewarding.”</p></blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg" width="728" height="485.5" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":false,"imageSize":"normal","height":971,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":728,"bytes":6898373,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/jpeg","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://buildclub.substack.com/i/173676414?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg","isProcessing":false,"align":"center","offset":false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aR8d!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb86f2030-77c4-46d9-b10d-095c113977d4_5568x3712.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" style="height:20px;width:20px" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>Lessons Learned ⚡</h2><p>Even with stellar GenAI talks, networking sometimes overshadowed hands-on building. Susannah’s solution? A focused agenda that prioritizes creating first and socializing later.</p><h2>Creating Experiences That Connect ✨</h2><p>From industry leaders to passionate students and mentors, Build Club events are all about high-quality content and enthusiasm. The energy is contagious, and the connections are real.</p><h2>Sponsors Who Share the Vision 🤝</h2><p>Susannah leveraged long-term relationships to secure support. Partners like Curtin University, the WA Data Science Innovation Hub, and Bloom have contributed spaces, mentorship, and resources — helping the community thrive.</p><h2>What’s Next 🚀</h2><p>Perth Build Club is gearing up for:</p><ul><li><p>A booth at DDD Perth</p></li><li><p>A West Tech Fest satellite event</p></li><li><p>A delegation to the AI Engineers conference in San Francisco</p></li></ul><h2>Susannah’s Advice 💬</h2><ul><li><p>“Do it if you love AI and have the passion. It’s incredibly rewarding.”</p></li><li><p>“The best part of my career has been the people I’ve met — the camaraderie of tech folks is unbeatable.”</p></li><li><p>“Seeing my students succeed and earn opportunities is why my role is so rewarding.”</p></li></ul><p>With Susannah Soon leading the charge, Perth’s Build Club isn’t just about AI — it’s about people, community, and curiosity. And with her energy, the best is yet to come.</p><p>👉 Connect with Susannah on <a href="http://linkedin.com/in/susannah-soon?originalSubdomain=au">LinkedIn</a> and keep an eye out for more Perth events <a href="https://luma.com/buildercommunityanz">here</a>!</p><p></p>