(Photo: Pascal Bernardon/Unsplash)

The Santa Fe Institute is accepting applications for Complexity Interactive (SFI-CI) — an advanced, guided online course in complex systems. Graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and research professionals are encouraged to apply by March 31.

This marks the second year of SFI-CI, which launched in Fall 2020. SFI-CI expands the Institute's educational mission in the online space — helping early-career scientists build a foundation for thinking broadly about complex systems and to meet and collaborate with other complexity-minded researchers from around the world.

While SFI-CI was motivated, in part, by the cancelation of SFI’s iconic Complex Systems Summer School due to the pandemic, SFI-CI serves a broad audience that SFI is eager to reach, according to Carrie Cowan, SFI's Director for Education. “SFI-CI seems to appeal to people who want a more flexible introduction to the concepts covered in Summer School and those who do not have the time to invest in a full-time, month-long, residential program,” she says. “We also met a number of participants who were looking to reduce their carbon footprint by limiting air travel or for whom travel to Santa Fe would create various challenges. There are many reasons why SFI-CI might be the right fit for someone interested in complex systems — not only during the pandemic."

SFI-CI participants will be invited to seek syntheses across diverse systems, in dialogue with SFI’s world-class faculty. It is is directed by SFI External Professor Miguel Fuentes, who guides participants throughout the three-week program. Unlike SFI's online courses on complexityexplorer.org, which introduce thousands of learners to fundamental concepts in complexity science, SFI-CI will limit its enrollment to about 50 participants.

The course runs from June 14 – July 2, 2021. Learn more and apply online by March 31.