Research Center Networks and Complexity

Individuals, teams, organisations, markets, technologies, and infrastructures are all part of increasingly interconnected systems, within which collective phenomena take shape through a multitude of relationships and interdependencies. The Networks and Complexity Research Center studies the mechanisms that govern these systems, exploring the relationship between the structure of interactions, the dynamics, and the behaviour of the system as a whole.

The Centre's research spans a broad spectrum, from investigating the fundamental principles that govern the structure and dynamics of complex networks and the emergence of collective phenomena, to analysing large-scale data and studying the processes that permeate society and the economy. These include the spread of information, behaviours, and social norms; the dynamics of groups and teams; cooperation and conflict; collective intelligence and adaptation; innovation processes; the functioning of economic and financial systems; cities and urban systems; and collective dynamics and performance in sport. 

The Centre brings together, in a naturally interdisciplinary environment, expertise from statistical physics and complexity science, mathematical modelling, computer science, and statistics, alongside perspectives from behavioural economics and the quantitative social sciences. The aim is to identify common principles in seemingly disparate fields and to develop new ways of understanding the phenomena that characterise the contemporary world.