Infodemics Pandemics Summer School

The goal of the IPSS is to bring together the brightest minds from interdisciplinary fields, including epidemiology, media psychology, social sciences, physics, and complex systems research. Our aim is to address the challenges of studying the impact of information, news, and fake news on human behavior and its interaction with pandemic dynamics. Throughout the entire course of the IPSS, inspirational talks by leading scientists are accompanied by interactive tutorials and hands-on research projects for international early career scientists, the students of the summer school.

Prior to the IPSS, we will provide the participants with tools to create powerful agent-based simulations for individual research projects (i.e., Julia and Agents.jl). Lectures will be in the form of a self-study online course with an interactive forum for Q&As. Once it starts, the IPSS will be held entirely on-site in Lübeck to provide inspiring talks that broaden and deepen perspectives on opinion and disease dynamics. Furthermore, we reserve plenty of time for discussions and project work under the guidance of our tutors. On the final day, we wrap up with presentations of the projects and discussions on how to proceed in future projects.

World-class research aside, the city of Lübeck is worth the trip alone. Home to 5 gothic churches and their 7 spires, 90 winding alleys and beautiful courtyards, more than 20 lovingly preserved traditional ships, and the famous Holstentor, Lübeck’s old town was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Culture lovers will be delighted by the city’s numerous museums. The Buddenbrookhaus, for example, houses permanent exhibitions about the life of the Mann family of writers and the Nobel Prize-winning novel Die Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. The European Hansemuseum is dedicated to the history of the Hanseatic League and Lübeck as its capital. There is so much more to discover, and for those interested in exploring the city, we also have some social evening events planned.