860-0022-00L  Complexity and Global Systems Science

Courses

Catalogue data

Abstract	This course discusses complex techno-socio-economic systems, their counter-intuitive behaviors, and how their theoretical understanding empowers us to solve some long-standing problems that are currently bothering the world.
Learning objective	Participants should learn to get an overview of the state of the art in the field, to present it in a well understandable way to an interdisciplinary scientific audience, to develop models for open problems, to analyze them, and to defend their results in response to critical questions. In essence, participants should improve their scientific skills and learn to think scientifically about complex dynamical systems.
Content	This course starts with a discussion of the typical and often counter-intuitive features of complex dynamical systems such as self-organization, emergence, (sudden) phase transitions at "tipping points", multi-stability, systemic instability, deterministic chaos, and turbulence. It then discusses phenomena in networked systems such as feedback, side and cascading effects, and the problem of radical uncertainty. The course progresses by demonstrating the relevance of these properties for understanding societal and, at times, global-scale problems such as traffic jams, crowd disasters, breakdowns of cooperation, crime, conflict, social unrests, political revolutions, bubbles and crashes in financial markets, epidemic spreading, and/or "tragedies of the commons" such as environmental exploitation, overfishing, or climate change. Based on this understanding, the course points to possible ways of mitigating techno-socio-economic-environmental problems, and what data science may contribute to their solution.
Lecture notes	"Social Self-Organization Agent-Based Simulations and Experiments to Study Emergent Social Behavior" Helbing, Dirk ISBN 978-3-642-24004-1
Literature	Philip Ball Why Society Is A Complex Matter https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783642289996 Globally networked risks and how to respond Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12047 Global Systems Science and Policy Link Managing Complexity: Insights, Concepts, Applications https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783540752608 Further links: http://global-systems-science.org Link Link Further literature will be recommended in the lectures.
Prerequisites / Notice	Mathematical skills can be helpful. Students need to present a new subject, for which they have not earned any credit points before. Good scientific practices, in particular citation and quotation rules, must be properly complied with. Chatham House rules apply to this course. Materials may not be shared without previous written permission.
Competencies	Subject-specific Competencies Concepts and Theories assessed Techniques and Technologies assessed Method-specific Competencies Analytical Competencies assessed Decision-making assessed Media and Digital Technologies assessed Problem-solving assessed Project Management fostered Social Competencies Communication assessed Cooperation and Teamwork fostered Customer Orientation fostered Leadership and Responsibility assessed Self-presentation and Social Influence assessed Sensitivity to Diversity assessed Negotiation fostered Personal Competencies Adaptability and Flexibility assessed Creative Thinking assessed Critical Thinking assessed Integrity and Work Ethics assessed Self-awareness and Self-reflection assessed Self-direction and Self-management assessed

Performance assessment

Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course
ECTS credits	3 credits
Examiners	D. Helbing, C. Carissimo, A. Musso
Type	graded semester performance
Language of examination	English
Repetition	Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit.
Additional information on mode of examination	Students are expected to actively contribute to the lectures if there are sufficiently few participants, each one will have to give a 20 minute presentation on a scientific paper selected together with the lecturer. These papers are typically about mathematical derivations and models related to the lecture.

Learning materials

Groups

Restrictions

Offered in

Programme	Section	Type
Doctorate Humanities, Social and Political Sciences	Subject Specialisation	W
Science, Technology, and Policy Master	Electives	W
Public Policy Bachelor	Elective Courses	W
Environmental Sciences Master	Theoretical Foundations for Environmental Policy	W
Science in Perspective	D-ITET	W
Science in Perspective	Sociology	W