Decision Making in a Complex and Uncertain World (FutureLearn)

Next, guest lecturers will related sub-fields. Finally, relating this all back together in case studies about financial stability and city development will conclude the course.

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

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

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 undergraduate level. Basic knowledge of economic, financial institutions, mathematics and logic will be helpful.