3rd May, 2012
Two Fully-Funded PhD Studentships on the ERIE project
We are pleased to announce two fully funded positions with the ERIE team to start in October 2012.
1. One position will be based in the Centre for Environmental Strategy focussing on our second case study, Global Food Supply Chains:
Food security has become one of the main priorities for UK and international policy makers. Issues on the agenda to reduce the environmental impact of food production include ensuring fewer inputs are used and reducing harmful emissions such as methane and nitrogen run-off.
The PhD student will work as part of the ERIE team on the food case study. There is considerable scope for the candidate to define the precise topic. Possible examples include the competition between production of food and the increasing demands of the bio-based economy, the security of phosphorous supply, or the resilience of food supply chains to shocks in food prices. Identifying pressure points in the food system where supply chains might be at risk, investigating food consumption and food supply chain related datasets, and determining points of intervention at economic, physical, political and cultural levels are essential for exploring possible policy options to increase the resilience of food systems.
2. The other position will be based within the Department of Sociology and will address Models in Policy Making:
Models are increasingly being used to inform public sector decision-making, but we know little about their role: who uses models, what kinds of models are used, for what ends, how the outputs of models are interpreted and by whom, the relative importance of model-based conclusions and other inputs into the policy-making process, and so on.
This project aims to increase our understanding of the role of computational models in particular, but also other types of models, in UK policy-making. It will also help to recommend the types of models that are most useful or influential to policy makers. The project will track a few representative models from conception through to use (or non-use) to identify their impact. The work will involve interviewing policy-makers, analysis of policy documents, and reviewing the characteristics of policy models.
Further information about the positions and instructions on how to apply can be accessed via the following link: Apply Now
16th April, 2012
21st-Century Policy-Making: Past, Present and Future Developments
Adrressing new thinking in network thory and complexity science, to hear more about the recent event we attended, CLICK HERE.
16th April, 2012
Digging up the past to simulate the future - A seminar by Mark Altaweel
An insight into the complexity of addressing and modeling the ancient world, to learn more, CLICK HERE
11th January, 2012
Three Fully Funded ERIE Studentships
The Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, invites applications for three PhD studentships associated with the interdisciplinary research project ERIE.
The three projects are:
1. Emergence and immergence in industrial ecosystems
2. Participatory modelling
3. Models in policy making
Please access the following document for further information and instructions on how to apply for the above positions: ERIE PhD Vacancies
Informal enquires can be made to Professor Nigel Gilbert ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
Closing date for applications: 9am Monday, 5 March 2012
23rd November, 2011
Energy Minister to impart knowledge on 2050 Energy targets
Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, Charles Hendry MP, is due to visit the University of Surrey on Monday 28 November.
Addressing the University about the 2050 Energy targets, Energy Minister Hendry will discuss the challenges faced in order to develop an energy policy that delivers safe, secure, low-carbon and affordable energy to 2050 and beyond.
This required transition and an 80% cut in the UKs greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, will mean major changes in the way we generate and use energy. Described by the Government as one of the most challenging and important periods of industrial change this country has ever seen, an opportunity to engage and discuss these proposed reforms is an event not to miss!
22nd November, 2011
ERIE Co-Investigator: UK Scopus Young Researcher of the Year Winner
We are pleased to announce, Dr Angela Druckman, ERIE Co-Investigator and Senior Lecturer in the Centre of Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey has been honoured with the UK Scopus Young Researcher of the Year award.
Professor Michael Arthur, Chair of the Russell Group led a panel of 50 discipline-specific experts in scrutinising research quality and will present the award to Dr Druckman at the Royal Society on 22 November, 2011.
Dr Druckman has been a member of the Centre of Environmental Strategy (CES) at the University since January 2005 and joined the ERIE project as a Co-Investigator in June 2010.
She commented: “I have been very fortunate to work with excellent colleagues in RESOLVE and the Centre for Environmental Strategy. I am particularly grateful to Professor Tim Jackson who has given me the opportunity, guidance and inspiration that led to this award”.
Investment for accelerated growth for the Humber region -'Humber Estuary Renewable Energy Super Cluster' chosen as New Enterprise Zone
ERIE case study 1, the Humber region, was yesterday identified as one of governments 11 New Enterprise Zones in their second wave, in a bid to develop a more balanced economy.
As part of the governments ‘Plan for Growth’, announced at Budget 2011, the New Enterprise Zones are designed to encourage investment and exports, boosting local growth and creating over 30,000 new jobs by 2015. But how precisely will they implement this?
The Chancellor, George Osborne, highlighted a few of the benefits the Humber region will benefit from under this title: “The zones will benefit from over £150 million in tax breaks over 4 years, new superfast broadband, lower levels of planning control and the potential to use enhanced capital allowances.”
The Humber Estuary Renewable Energy Super Cluster, based in Kingston upon Hull, and led by Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, proposes:
• Site size: 375 hectare site;
• Sector Focus: offshore wind Original Equipment Manufacturers and supply chain;
• Tax breaks: Save businesses £7.9 million in forgone business rates;
• Job creation: Local Enterprise Partnership estimates that 4,850 jobs could be created by 2015;
• Planning: Simplified regime with a presumption - removing the need for specific planning permission with a single Local Development Order.
The ERIE team look forward to hearing more about the scheme as it develops and developing our dialogue with the regions key stakeholders further.
To read the original Government press notice, please follow: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_96_11.htm
Simulating Knowledge Dynamics in Innovation Networks
1st Workshop of the SKIN Community
31st March – 1st April 2011
University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany
ERIE Research Fellow, Dr Ozge Dilaver Kalkan recently presented at the first workshop of the SKIN community.
SKIN is a multi-agent model of innovation networks in knowledge-intensive industries that is grounded in empirical research and theoretical frameworks from innovation economics and economic sociology. Developed using case studies from different technological and institutional contexts, SKIN is one of the leading platforms for applying agent-based modelling (ABM) to the innovation networks found in a variety of real world contexts.
The workshop brought together the growing community of researchers using the SKIN model and those wanting to learn more about the model and opportunities for development. Spread over two days in the city of Koblenz, participants at the workshop presented their works ranging from new modeling ideas to implementation of SKIN to different regional and sectoral innovation systems and tools and measures that can be used for calibrating and validating the model.
Addressing the distinguished audience with her modeling ideas, developed in collaboration with Mercedes Bleda and Elvira Uyarra from the University of Manchester, Dr Dilaver Kalkan showed the preliminary version of her NetLogo model called ‘SKIN by Actors’.
For further information regarding this event and the SKIN community, please access the following link: http://cress.soc.surrey.ac.uk/skin/home
Fully funded PhD opportunity: Path Dependency Analysis
The Digital Ecosystems Research group invites applications for a PhD studentship on the EPSRC-funded interdisciplinary ERIE project.
The goal of this project is the development of models and automated verification techniques for capturing alternative scenarios and checking the properties that characterise the different possible outcomes. The project covers a broad range of topics including the following: models for complex systems, goal-oriented requirements methods, software verification, abstraction, concurrency, refinement, and verification algorithms for agent-based models and applications.
The work will involve the use of both computational and mathematical techniques. The focus will be on developing theoretical foundations, algorithms, implementation techniques and prototype software tools, to incorporate research findings from sociology and environmental science.
This 4-year studentship is funded by the University of Surrey, as part of its contribution to ERIE. It will cover tuition fees and a maintenance grant of at least £13,890 per annum, adjusted annually in line with the maintenance allowances of the UK research councils.
The studentship is available for start 1 October 2011 or 1 January 2012.
We seek a student with at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or Mathematics, or a related engineering discipline. In addition, candidates should be skilled in theoretical computer science and/or some of the above-mentioned areas, and must have good writing, communication, presentation, and organisation skills.
Informal enquires can be made to Dr Sotiris Moschoyiannis ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
To apply, please send a CV with copies of academic qualifications and transcripts (BSc, MSc) to Maggie Burton ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or by post to Department of Computing, attn. Maggie Burton, University of Surrey, GU2
ERIE successful in networking bid!!
We are delighted to announce the success of our bid to EPSRC to establish a Complexity Science for the Real World (CSRW) Network.
In collaboration with the three other projects funded under EPSRC’s ‘Complexity Science in the Real World’ initiative: The Care Life Cycle, ENFOLD-ing and SCID, the network will provide the opportunity to synthesise knowledge between projects, provide channels for knowledge exchange and develop a creative environment to nurture expertise within the field.
The network will host a number of national conferences during the initial 3 year period. The opportunity to engage the wider academic community, with the multidisciplinary nature and diversity of application of Complexity Science, will not only give rise to conceptual advances and effective applications but will support the development of further interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary projects.
A key element of this networking project is to highlight the applicability of complexity science to understand, plan and act on issues of current importance in the world we all live in. The four core projects are currently addressing issues surrounding catastrophe, risk, robustness and recovery; Self-sustaining communities; and industrial development; and global demographics. The network will provide a focus for encouraging a better understanding of the value of complexity science for ‘Real World’ social and economic policy issues.
For further information, please visit the CSRW website: http://www.csrw.ac.uk/