Decision Making in a Complex and Uncertain World - University of Groningen
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Key Information
Campus location
Languages
English
Study format
Distance Learning
Duration
7 weeks
Pace
Part time
Tuition fees
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Application deadline
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Introduction
This course will teach you the first principles of complexity, uncertainty, and how to make decisions in a complex world.
To learn how complexity and uncertainty influence and constrain our decisions.
Our world seems to ever become more complex and uncertain. Future leaders must be able to act under these conditions.
This course provides you with the broad scientific background necessary to develop yourself into one of the future’s key decision-makers.
First, this course will address the core concepts of complexity and uncertainty. Next, guest lecturers will explore related sub-fields. Finally, the course will conclude by relating this all back together in case studies about financial stability and city development.
When would you like to start?
- Date to be announced
What software or tools do you need?
In this course, we use the free Netlogo software to interact with agent-based simulation models.
Who will you learn with?
Lex Hoogduin
I am a professor at the University of Groningen (Complexity and Uncertainty). I have also a number of supervisory functions and have been an advisor to the first president of the European Central Bank.
Who developed the course?
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.
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Ideal Students
Who is the course for
Anyone who needs to make decisions in a complex and uncertain context (e.g. managers and project coordinators). The course will be taught at the undergraduate level. Basic knowledge of economic, financial institutions, mathematics and logic will be helpful.
Curriculum
Syllabus
- Week 1: Complexity & uncertainty
- Week 2: Emergence & networks
- Week 3: Agent-based modelling
- Week 4: Evolutionary dynamics
- Week 5: Self-organisation & history
- Week 6: Individual decision making & entrepreneurship
- Week 7: Case study: Financial crisis & city development
Program Outcome
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to:
- Explain the difference between complex and complicated.
- Explain the difference between risk and uncertainty.
- Explain the following concepts: emergence, networks, evolutionary dynamics, social self-organisation and path dependence.
- Experiment with complex systems in simple agent-based models.
- Apply the course concepts and tools to the social sciences of history, entrepreneurship, economics and spatial planning.
- Debate how complexity and uncertainty influence human decision making and how you can counter these effects.