📅 Apply by: 16 April 2026
📅 Course runs: 20 – 30 April 2026

About the course

Agent-Based Models (ABMs) are computer simulations in which autonomous, interacting agents (e.g. individuals, firms, or organsiations) follow behavioural rules, giving rise to rich, often unexpected system-level regularities. Unlike traditional equilibrium or reduced form frameworks, ABMs embrace heterogeneity, non-linearity, and the complexity of real-world systems generated by interacting agents.

This short online course offers an accessible entry point to the theory and practice of ABM for students in economics, social sciences, and public policy. Over 11 introductory 30-minute sessions, participants will see a range of notions from first principles to cutting-edge applications, such as poverty and inequality modelling, pandemic simulation, innovation dynamics, and the emerging integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) into ABM frameworks.

The course has been designed and is delivered by an international team of leading researchers, from UNU-MERIT and UNU-Macau.

Participants that successfully complete the course will receive a certificate validated by UNU-MERIT, including the estimated workload.

Course Aim

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Explain the core principles of agent-based modelling and distinguish ABMs from other modelling approaches.
Describe how macro-level economic and social phenomena can emerge from micro-level agent interactions.
Refer to key ABM application domains in macroeconomics, innovation, networks, public health, and policy analysis.
Critically evaluate ABM studies, identifying modelling choices and their implications.
Sketch the design of a simple ABM for a given research or policy question.
Collaborate in a team to prepare and present a short analysis grounded in the ABM literature.

Who should attend

This course is has an introductory level and is suitable for:

Undergraduate and postgraduate students in economics, political science, sociology, public policy, data science, or related fields.
Early-career researchers and PhD students who want a rapid, applied introduction to ABM before engaging with the primary literature.
No prior programming experience is required.

Schedule

Date	Time (UTC)	Sessions
20 Apr	11:00-11:30	01 An Introduction to Agent-Based Models
20 Apr	12:00-12:30	02 ABM as Research Tool
21 Apr	11:00-11:30	03 From Micro Behaviours to Macro Economic Dynamics
21 Apr	12:00-12:30	04 Modelling the Role of Innovation in Shaping Economies and Societies
22 Apr	11:00-11:30	05 Network Coalitions for Sustainable Consumption
22 Apr	12:00-12:30	06 Modelling Growth and Structural Change as an Evolutionary Complex Dynamic
23 Apr	11:00-11:30	07 Agent-based Modelling for Pandemics Preparedness and Response
23 Apr	12:00-12:30	08 Extending Agent Based Modelling with Large Language Models for Public Policy
24 Apr	11:00-11:30	09 Multi-Agent Approaches to Support Inclusive Economic Development
27 Apr	11:00-11:30	10 ABM in NetLogo
27 Apr	12:00-12:30	11 ABM in Laboratory for Simulation Development (LSD)
30 Apr	TBC	Student Group Presentations