Complexity GAINs | The first SFI–CSH Summer School has started

38 students, two weeks in Vienna and a lot of complexity science

Yippiiiiiiiie! After (almost) years of intensive preparations, it finally started today: the first Complexity GAINs International Summer School!

The program is a collaboration of the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) with four leading complex systems research institutions in the EU, namely

• GERMANY: Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI-MiS)
• AUSTRIA: the CSH
• ITALY: International Center for Theoretical Physics/Quantitative Live Sciences (QLS-ICTP)
• NETHERLANDS: Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Amsterdam (IAS-UvA)

(The “GAINs” in the program’s title is formed by the initials of the participating countries.)

In a competitive application process, 18 PhD students from the US with backgrounds in the physical, natural and social sciences, and mathematics as well as 18 PhDs from the partnering EU institutions were selected to spend two weeks in Vienna to receive the latest insights into complexity science.

A great opportunity to learn about complex systems

Complex systems, from a cell to the planet, exhibit adaptive responses and thus demand innovative approaches to uncover their emergent properties and dynamics. It requires not less than methods that exceed traditional academic fields.

Although such a broad understanding is highly needed to address all kinds of challenges humanity is facing – from ecological sustainability to disease dynamics, from collective and artificial intelligence to belief propagation or financial risk –, only a few training programs exist to provide that knowledge.

The Complexity GAINs Summer School was created to fill that gap. It will provide PhD students with the theory and methods to model and understand complex systems. They will gain foundational knowledge and practice in modeling complex systems of interest using approaches from physics, computer science, biology, social sciences, and mathematics.

The prestigous program will run over three years. Each year will focus on different systems.

In 2022, we start with social-behavioral systems, in particular: “Disintegration of societies: Quantitative modeling of complex socio-behavioral systems.”

2023 and 2024 will focus on intelligent systems, and ecosystems, respectively.

More to come – stay tuned!