Wanted
Brave thinkers willing to explore new ideas about economics, policy, and governance. Early-career scholars and change-makers from civil society and private industry are equally encouraged to apply.
Who
The July 2025 Complexity Global School (CGS) is a collaboration between la Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) in the USA. The 2025 Complexity Global program is supported by grants from the Omidyar Network and the Ford Foundation. This year's school will take place on the campus of La Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.
Why
The world is changing. The political and economic paradigms that dominated global affairs in the 20th Century were largely based on linear thinking, and often originated from within disciplinary and cultural silos. The challenges now facing humanity require new ideas. A global perspective is needed; la Universidad de los Andes and Santa Fe Insitute (SFI) are among the top academic institutions in Latin America and North America respectively. A non-linear, or complex, perspective is also needed; for almost 40 years, the Santa Fe Institute has coordinated a network of complexity scholars from top universities around the world.
What
The 2025 Complexity Global School for Emerging Political Economies is an intensive, 12-day program that provides deep exposure to the latest complex methods, models, and frameworks for thinking about economics and governance. CGS will also provide an opportunity to collaborate on an international group project developing an idea of your interest. The program will run from Monday, July 28th through Friday, August 8th, 2025. This program will consist of about 60 students from across the globe. Students residing or working in Latin America are strongly encouraged to apply.
Selected students will be early-career, deep thinkers who are either academics from a wide array of disciplines, or, practitioners from the private sector, government, or other civil society organizations. All admitted students will be thinkers who care about the application of creative, intellectual solutions to emergent global challenges. The CGS curriculum is largely based on SFI’s Complex Systems Summer School, which has been running for over 30 years and whose alumni have gone on to obtain top positions in academia, government, and industry. Although this program will be of great use to individuals pursuing a tenure track academic appointment, it is also highly relevant for practitioners seeking to increase their impact! Please note, this is a full-time, residential program. Attendees are expected to participate in all lectures and activities and submit a group project after the conclusion of the school.
Cost
This program is completely free for all admitted students. All students will receive a fellowship covering the full costs of room, board, instruction, and materials. Participating students will also receive a stipend to cover the costs of incidentals while they attend the school. Students who are not based in Bogota, Colombia will be awarded an additional separate travel stipend.