Complexity Science Hub

22/12/2025

Happy 75th Birthday, János Kertész! 🎉
A pioneer of complex systems and network science, Central European University professor, and part of the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) since its very beginning. A great occasion to highlight his research, mentorship, and lasting impact.

👉 Read the story: https://bit.ly/4al4OuI
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🖼️ CEU/Sotiris Bekas

17/12/2025

🏛️ Why do we live today – and, from an evolutionary perspective, only recently – almost exclusively organized in large states? Last week, Peter Turchin and Jenny Reddish shared their insights at a special event at the Complexity Science Hub.

Peter Turchin discussed The Great Holocene Transformation, exploring how humans grew from scattered bands of foragers into vast empires in just ten millennia. He shared a paradoxical insight: war made us cooperative ⚔️🤝. From cavalry 🐎 to metalworking ⚒️, conflict forged our ultrasociality.

Jenny Reddish focused on moralizing religions – gods who reward good behavior and punish wrongdoing 🙏⚖️ – which are also a relatively recent phenomenon in human history. She offered insights into a chicken-and-egg question 🐔🥚: Did moralizing gods enable humans to live together in large states by fostering trust and cooperation in vast, anonymous societies? Or did large, complex states come first, creating the social structures in which such religions could effectively operate?

For those interested in exploring these topics further, here are the researchers’ books 📚:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 by Peter Turchin: https://peterturchin.com/book/the-great-holocene-transformation/

𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭: 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧, edited by Jenny Reddish, Peter Turchin, and Jennifer Larson: https://www.berestabooks.com/books/seshat-history-of-moralizing-religion

16/12/2025

– If you are eager to advance complex systems research and its applications in network medicine and health data science – and if you share a commitment to improving society and our planet through science – this is your chance.

👉 Find more information and apply here: https://csh.jobs.personio.com/job/2463342

Learn more about research at the Complexity Science Hub in the field of 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 & 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 and meet the researchers behind it:
🔗 https://csh.ac.at/research/research-topic/healthcare-medicine/

15/12/2025

Few topics polarize public debate as much as migration. Fact is, it shapes Europe’s present and future. But what often gets lost in the discussion is what the data actually tell us. 📊

At the 2025 Conference of the European Migration Network in Lithuania, Ljubica Nedelkoska, researcher at the Complexity Science Hub, delivered a keynote on migration in Europe and how to make it work.

𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:

📈 Why the EU needs immigration – and how it contributes to economic growth and long-term prosperity

🌍 How the scale and diversity of migration have evolved, and why some countries are more successful at integrating immigrants economically

🧩 How integration can be improved by leveraging immigrant entrepreneurship and aligning companies’ incentives to train and hire immigrants

“The conference was extremely relevant for Europe’s migration policy,” says Nedelkoska.

It was organized by the European Commission, the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior, and the .

🔗 https://www.emn.lt/emn-conference-2025/
🖼️ Irmantas Gelūnas

12/12/2025

Excited to welcome Juri Haumer to the Complexity Science Hub!

Juri is a PhD candidate specializing in , with a strong focus on modelling socio-metabolic systems using approaches from complexity science and network theory. His work is primarily embedded in the REMASS project, where he explores how material flows and social processes interact across large-scale systems.

Great to have you here, Juri!

https://csh.ac.at/juri-konstantin-haumer/

11/12/2025

🇪🇺 𝐀 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐬 –– Supply chains are the metabolism of an economy. But how do we keep this metabolism healthy and resilient, especially in a world where geopolitical actors increasingly leverage dependencies in our production networks? 🌍⚙️

🔎 𝐀 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
Supply chains are not linear chains at all. They are highly interconnected, dynamic networks. Efficiency, innovation, competitiveness and resilience do not emerge at the level of individual firms — they arise from the structure of the network as a whole.

🧩 𝐀 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞?
Technically, we can map these networks today — for example through VAT transaction data. While major global powers (USA, China, UK) and private players (Bloomberg, J.P. Morgan) are already building full-scale supply-chain intelligence systems, Europe still lacks a comparable real-time view of its own economic networks.

The result? Europe risks relying on foreign insights about its own economy — a strategic vulnerability we can no longer afford.

🌐 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥
➡️ Strategic dependencies – who depends on whom, even across multiple tiers
➡️ Systemic risk – which firms represent critical nodes for the whole economy
➡️ Resilience patterns – how shocks propagate and which sectors are most exposed
➡️ Ex-ante simulations – policy options tested in silico before being implemented

🇪🇺 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐬:

1️⃣ At a panel hosted by the Complexity Science Hub and the Supply Chain Intelligence Institute Austria (ASCII) together with the Wirtschaftskammer (WKO), with insights from Georg Konetzky (Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism), Outi Slotboom (DG GROW, European Commission), and Stefan Thurner (CSH & ASCII), followed by a panel discussion with Lukas Mandl (European Parliament), Peter Klimek (ASCII & CSH), Thomas Eibl (WKO), and William Connell Garcia (DG GROW, European Commission).

2️⃣ At a presentation in the European Parliament, discussing the strategy paper by Stefan Thurner and Peter Klimek for the EP: Strategic dependencies, resilience and competitiveness in EU supply chains at the firm level — https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/de/document/ECTI_IDA(2025)779855

3️⃣ On a with Lukas Mandl, which we are already looking forward to listening to here: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fyg2Xh3rFrgjBsCe8Q4TT

🔬 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭?
At CSH, we look forward to continuing this crucial conversation. Few topics are as central to Europe’s future competitiveness, sustainability and strategic autonomy as the ability to truly understand and enhance the resilience of our supply networks.

10/12/2025

🧠✨ Not too long ago, we had no solutions for many medical problems simply because we knew so little about the human body and how its systems work together. This has changed profoundly.

Today, when we ask why we see so much , why groups or countries make certain (sometimes seemingly wrong) , we face a similar challenge: we need to understand how human function.

For a long time, this was out of reach – experiments at scale were impossible, the enormous amounts of data needed weren’t available, and the methods to analyze them didn’t exist.

That, too, has changed.

We are only at the beginning of studying the "beast" of human collectives, but we now have unprecedented data and powerful methods to analyze it. With a bit more patience, we may one day understand collective decision-making as deeply as we understand the workings of the human body.

-- 🎥 this is just a small glimpse into a fascinating conversation with our wonderful Mirta Galesic for a TV documentary on swarm intelligence that will air on .

A warm thank-you to Franziska Mayr-Keber and her team for the interesting day of filming! 🙌

09/12/2025

There are many uncertainties about what work will look like in the future: 🤔
What will fundamentally change through AI? 🤖 Which jobs will disappear, which new ones will emerge? Who will be able to adapt? And which cities are best positioned to embrace the coming changes? 🌆

These questions – and many more – are at the core of our upcoming at the Complexity Science Hub, led by Frank Neffke, Ljubica Nedelkoska, Xiangnan Feng, and Hillary Vipond. ❄️📚

We look forward to many highlights – including a keynote by James Evans and lectures from Maria del Rio-Chanona and Johannes Wachs. 🎤✨
More information: https://csh.ac.at/education/winterschool/

Apply now – applications are open until January 11! 📅✨
Feel free to !

04/12/2025

Only a handful of seats are still available. If you’d like to join us for this special event, please register here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://csh.ac.at/events/what-can-distoric-data-teach-us-about-the-world-we-live-in/

04/12/2025

🚰💧 Urban populations – especially in Africa and Asia – are projected to grow substantially by 2050. Estimates suggest that Africa’s urban population will triple to 1.5 billion, while Asia’s will increase by half.

So what must urban planning consider today to ensure that these growing populations have access to water and sanitation?

A compact urban design is essential, as shown in a recent study by the Complexity Science Hub and The World Bank, published in . If cities expand outward rather than building more densely, access to clean water and basic sanitation could be severely affected. “With horizontal growth, 220 million fewer people would have access to piped water and 190 million fewer would have access to sewage systems by 2050,” points out Rafael Prieto-Curiel, lead author from CSH.

Learn more:

A study by CSH and the World Bank shows compact urban planning is crucial for delivering water and sanitation to growing populations.

02/12/2025

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮: We’re contributing to two events to explore how Europe can strengthen its resilience, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy in . Recent disruptions have shown that supply networks are core infrastructure — and understanding their structure is essential for informed decision-making. ⚙️🌍

Together with representatives from EU institutions, the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), Wirtschaftskammer (WKO) and Supply Chain Intelligence Institute Austria (ASCII) will discuss how data-driven Supply Network Intelligence and AI can uncover hidden dependencies, assess risks, and support strategic choices for Europe’s future. 🤝

📅 Mon, Dec 8 | 6:30–8:00 pm
𝐃𝐞-𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞: 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
Keynote by Maive Rute, Deputy Director-General, DG GROW, European Commission, followed by a panel discussion and a networking dinner — hosted by CSH, ASCII, and WKO.
🔗 More info & registration: https://csh.ac.at/events/ai-driven-supply-network-intelligence-for-a-resilient-europe/

📅 Tue, Dec 9 | 12:30–2:00 pm
𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲
With Georg Konetzky, Stefan Thurner, and Peter Klimek
🔗 More info & registration: https://csh.ac.at/events/strategic-autonomy-how-new-technologies-in-supply-network-intelligence-contribute-to-europes-security/

Please feel welcome to join and share – registration is still open!

30/11/2025

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