Student comments

I like the diversity of students and the ideas they provide. I like collaborating with other students on group projects, learning from and teaching each other about different topics.

Nathan, UiB SD Masters Student, American

The University of Bergen is located in a wonderful city, Bergen, which is absolutely beautiful and charming. I like libraries and study rooms in the university. Uib also gives you free access to a lot of online resources, journals, and books. In the System dynamics program, I got to study with a group of amazing people from all over the world. it was a precious experience for me to study and work with all these amazing people. Besides all the professors, Ph.D. students, and anyone who is related to SD group in Bergen helped me to succeed throughout this program.

Mahshid, researcher at the University of Oslo, Iranian

Studying at UiB, you always feel supported to explore the incredible world of System Dynamics and to find your own position in it. The knowledge and skills I have acquired both from formal teaching and interactions with my peers across disciplinary boundaries, have made these studies one of the most rewarding experiences I ever had!

Christina Gkini, Greece

The System Dynamics courses gave me a methodology and a framework to identify, understand and represent dynamic problems. After having attended the lectures I can say that it is surprising how simple complex problems can be, if analysed with System Dynamics. I would strongly recommend any student, with any kind of background, to attend these courses.

Andreas Bassi, co-author of UN’s “Green Economy Report”

Why take this course? Because you will gain insight on things you always thought were too complicated to understand. Because you will say "Ahaaaa!" after discovering that there is logic behind complex things like "macroeconomy" or "production", and truth behind statements like "it is a vicious circle". Because you will understand, maybe for the first time, what these terms mean. Because you will see that there is a human mind behind every decision that influences these complex systems. Because you will have fun while discovering all this.

Michaela Tabacaru, Bachelor in Psychology, Human resources management Connex (Romania, class of '04)

I found that Systems Dynamics modeling is particularly valuable for me in terms of helping me understand complications inherent in many business situations. In the business world, the consulting industry in particular, system dynamics modeling has been gaining increasing attention and is being adopted as an important tool to help deliver value to clients. I strongly recommend this course to students interested in developing a clear mind as to what are the fundamental but often neglected "laws" that any social organization must face. The gain is definitely worth the time!

Yulin Fang, Accenture Consultant, Doctoral Candidate of Information Systems Univ. of Western Ontario (China, class of '99)

...there is no doubt that most geographers study phenomena with implicit causal structures characterized by multiple, nonlinear interconnections and feedbacks in real systems, often with time delays. System dynamics is a powerful aid in a continued search of more profound knowledge about these phenomena.

Espen Viddal, Master student in Human Geography (Norway, class of '04)

Systemdynamikk har ei overraskande evne til med ein gong å skissere samanhengar som andre fagfelt berre har som avanserte videreutviklingar. Eg har ved fleire høve sett SD skjære igjennom og formidle med eit diagram og ein kommentar det same som utilgjengelege teoriar i humaniora bruker sidevis på. I naturvitenskapen byrjer SD der vi skulle tru formlane og modellane vart for tunge og uoversiktlege til å brukast. SD er og eit framifrå formidlingsverktøy.

Roar Nybø, Master i partikkelfysikk (Norge, class of '04)

Through this course, I was convinced to appreciate "feedback" perspective. I continue to live with and admire the System Dynamics methodology without any regret but with a lot of gratitude. Recommendation -actions speak of themselves: I have introduced two courses based on System Dynamics in our BAS/BBA program at the School of Administrative Studies, York University, Canada.

Hassan Qudrat-Ullah, Assistant Professor Management Sciences, Bachelor in Mathematics (Pakistan, class of '96)

Å ha lært System Dynamikk har gitt meg mye. Det var en aha-opplevelse fordi det er en ny måte å tenke på. På grunnlag av enkle prinsipper kan jeg nå kartlegge komplekse sammenhenger og forstå hvilke faktorer som er viktige. Ikke minst er dette viktig i presentasjoner. System Dynamikk er lett å lære, gir stor innsikt, abstraheringsevne og helhetsforståelse. Anbefales.

Helge Berglann, Ph.D. student økonomi UiB (Norge, class of '02)

To think systematically!! The course helped me to develop the ability and habit to think in a more global, systematic way. This turns out to be extremely valuable in my later consulting work and PhD study. Systematic thinking enabled me to clearly recognize the complexity of the problem, at the same time, provided me the key to disentangle the complexity. I believe this ability is of absolute benefit to everybody.

Xiaolu Wang, Ph.D. student in finance University of Toronto, Deloitte Consulting (China, class of '98)

We have met the enemy and he is us! When Pogo uttered these words, he came to realize the dynamics of decision making .... System Dynamics (SD) helped me understand the basics of systemic thinking through various multi-disciplinary approaches.... Good news is that, it can be applied to many disciplines.

Ilker Soydan, Phd Candidate Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering at the University of Milan (Turkie, class of '03)

The course in System Dynamics provides a common foundation for understanding and influencing how things change over time. It is valuable not only in management, but also in other fields such as politics, economics, and medicine. This course should be the useful tools for every student, with any kind of background, to understand the theory, methods, and dynamics even better.

Qiwei Yu, Bachelor of Medicine (China, class of '04)

Thanks to my study at UIB I have acquired the necessary tools to represent complex system and, later to model and simulate specific managerial problems. The use of System Dynamics has had a very positive impact on my research (both applied and academic) and also on my teaching activity.

Carmine Garzia, Bocconi University, PhD in Business Administration and Management (Italy, class of '02)

The time I spent in learning System Dynamics is absolutely crucial during my study life....Although my current day to day work is not directly related to System Dynamics, yet the systematic way of thinking which I developed is a treasure for me which I can definitely benefit from.

Si Liang, Deutsche Bank AG (China, class of '00)

After attending the System Dynamics course I changed my way of interpreting phenomena, not only in the work environment but also in my daily life. Nowadays, I'm applying System Dynamics both as a consultant and as a researcher in the field of business administration.

Giovan Battista Montemaggiore, Doctoral candidate in Business Administration at the University of Palermo, consultant Business Dynamics (Italy, class of '00)

This course helped me to better understand the dynamic complexity involved in today's business and economics. Its 'model the problem' approach leads one to encompass the system structure that governs the problem, involving the feedback and the delays. Such a holistic approach helps formulate better policies for effective solutions.

Muhammad Azeem Qureshi, Assistant Professor Business Administration, Bahauddin

The course helped me develop systematic thinking, from which I have benefited tremendously. The concepts I learned such as feedback and positive (negative) loops are not merely academic; instead they have fairly wide applications in the real business world. With the aid of systematic thinking, I am able to approach problems in a context of a system and search for effective and efficient solutions that serve the whole system.

Hui Hua, Major in Finance (China, class of '99)

System dynamics promotes system-oriented approach to a problem, beneficial to long-term sustainable strategy development. It could be applied to a wide range of problems, from small business issues to global environment issues. I am so fascinated by this method that I continued my PhD study using system dynamics in information security management study.

Ying Qian, Bachelor in Finance (China, class of '01)

The logic, simplicity, and soundness of the theoretical framework have an intrinsic beauty that I find deeply attractive. System dynamics like a bridge for me to understand the real-world application of both mathematics and scientific thinking. As one of the system dynamics fans, I welcome you to join our extraordinary group of scholars and friends, to participate in active programs of seminars and colloquia, to explore the secret of system dynamics.

Geng Li, Bachelor of science in applied mathematics (China, class of '04)