In this course, students gain practical experience in modeling with and for a client. The course works with organizations outside the University of Bergen (the clients) who furnish students with an applied context and specific problems they are currently dealing with. Students will develop simulation models that help solve these problems.
Client organizations vary from year to year. The specific challenge for students consists in the fact that participating organizations have no in-house capacity for implementing system dynamic modeling projects. From the problems that the client organizations present, students therefore first need to distill those aspects that lend themselves to the system dynamics method and agree with the clients on relevant deliverables. Students then need to interact with the organizations to develop, calibrate and validate a simulation model and eventually present model findings in a way that is appealing to these organizations.
The course provides practical guidance, theory, methods and techniques for following the system dynamics modeling process in a variety of complex, dynamic natural and socio-economic domains.
Express knowledge and understanding
Students have an overview of the most frequently used knowledge elicitation and analysis methods used in the system dynamics modeling process.
Apply knowledge and understanding
Students should be able to apply different methods for knowledge elicitation and translate this knowledge into robust and valid simulation models.
Make judgments
Students should be able to adopt a client¿s perspective to distill problems that lend themselves to the system dynamics method from broad and/or more general problem descriptions by a client.
Communicate
Students should be able to adopt a client¿s perspective to effectively summarize the problem, the method for solving that problem and the implications of the analysis. They should be able to translate technical information into language that clients understand.
Learning skills
This course has a strong focus on communication and collaboration skills. In particular, students should be able to (1) organize efficient and effective communication with the client; (2) engage in the modeling project with a high degree of independence, responsibility, and
Lectures, seminars and computer lab activities.
Pre-scheduled interactions with the client organizations.
Major project requiring a simulation model, written report and presentation.