Individual-based (or ‘agent-based’) models (IBMs, ABMs) are now a popular technique for understanding how the dynamics of complex systems arise from characteristics and behaviours of their individual components and their environment. Agent-based modelling has broad application to natural and social sciences, and also offers important advantages for real-world management.
 
This five-day course will introduce the principles and practice of agent-based modelling. Participants will learn how to design, implement, and evaluate ABMs that are relevant to their own fields of research and teaching. The workshop includes introductory instruction in NetLogo, a popular and powerful software platform and programming language specifically for ABMs.

Instruction will be led by Professors Volker Grimm and Steve Railsback, leading experts, educators and authors of agent-based modelling theory and practice. This course will be delivered through a mixture of lectures, programming tutorials and exercises, open discussion, and independent project work.

 Instruction on model implementation will use NetLogo, a widely-used, free platform for ABMs. NetLogo provides a programming language with hundreds of ABM-specific commands, graphical user interfaces, and tools for simulation experiments. It works on all major operating systems. Participants will receive a thorough introduction to NetLogo that should allow them to become productive users.

All participants must bring their own computer (Windows, Macintosh, or Linux), with a recent version (6.4.0 or later) of NetLogo installed.

Participants are strongly encouraged to complete the tutorials that are packaged with NetLogo in advance. (From NetLogo’s Help menu, select “User Manual”; tutorials are in the User Manual menu.)