Admission requirements
The course is open to third-year bachelor’s students at Leiden University and its LDE partners. No specific prerequisites are required.
Description
This course explores the diverse applications of network science across various disciplines, showcasing its relevance in social, cultural, biological, technical, and economic contexts. Through lectures delivered by guest experts from different faculties at Leiden University, including LUMC, FGGA, FWN (LION, STRW, CML), FSW (CWTS, PSY), ARCH, students will encounter real-world examples of network science applied to interdisciplinary problems. These examples may include topics such as epidemic modeling, financial networks, brain connectivity, and ecological systems.
The course emphasizes connecting theoretical concepts with practical applications, fostering an appreciation for the versatility of network science. Students will learn how to interpret, model, and analyze networks in different domains while understanding the impact of network structures on system behavior.
Topics
Applications of network science in interdisciplinary contexts
Network models in social sciences: opinion dynamics and influence
Networks in psychology
Network approaches in neuroscience: brain connectivity
Ecological networks and food webs
Network analysis in archaeology: uncovering connections in historical and cultural data
Economic and Financial networks: systemic risk analysis
Networks in governance and global affairs
Astrophysical networks: mapping and analyzing cosmic structures
Course objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Understand the role of networks in representing and analyzing interdisciplinary systems.
Apply network science concepts and models to real-world applications across various fields.
Analyze case studies to interpret the structural and functional properties of networks.
Evaluate the effectiveness of network-based approaches in solving domain-specific problems.
Develop insights into the potential of network science for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Schedule
The timetables are available through My Timetable (see the button in the upper right corner).
Teaching method
Lectures by guest experts from diverse fields
Group discussions and interactive sessions
Case study analysis
Assesment method
The final grade of this course will be based on students' performance in the weekly practical assignments/reports. The evaluation will be done as follows:
Each week the student will submit the allocated assignments, which will be provided at the end of the lecture. At the end of the block, the lowest scoring assignment will be dropped to account for unforeseen circumstances. The final grade will be average of the remaining grades after dropping the lowest scoring assignment. Since weekly assignments are considered to be praticals, there will be no resit for missed or failed assignments.
Resit, review & feedback
The weekly assignments are considered to be practicals, there will be no resit for missed or failed assignments.
Reading list
Registration
Enrolment for the course is automatic when registered for the minor Network Science for a Connected World.
For all other students:
Enrolment through MyStudyMap (button in upper right corner) is mandatory. General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website ( https://www.student.universiteitleiden.nl/en/administrative-matters/registration--de-registration/course-and-exam-enrolment/course-and-exam-enrolment/humanities/art-history-ba?cf=humanities&cd=art-history-ba#tab-2).
Contact
Diego Garlaschelli (garlaschelli@lorentz.leidenuniv.nl)
Rajat Hazra (r.s.hazra@math.leidenuniv.nl)
Remarks
part of the minor Network Science for a Connected World