Are you interested in developing and applying complex adaptive systems theory to make sense of and to influence the emergence of futures, and assisting to resolve the great challenges of our time?
Welcome to Complex Adaptive Systems Summer Webinar 2026: “The Polycrisis”
What?
Complex Adaptive Systems Summer Webinar to discuss Polycrisis.
To whom?
Researchers, practitioners and educators at universities and universities of applied sciences.
When?
Tuesday 2.6.2026 at 9.00-10.00
Where?
Online (please register in order to get the Zoom link)
Opening words
Mika Aaltonen
Ph.D. (Econ.), Associate Professor (Foresight & Complexity)
Founder, AI Publishing House
Keynote
Alf Rehn
Professor of innovation, design and management and Director of CODES (Center for Organizational Datafication and its Ethics in Society), Syddansk Universitet
Speaker, a strategic advisor, a board professional, an author, and a nap connoisseur
Host
Teemu Ruohonen
Senior Lecturer, Digital Services, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Introduction
Remember when the world was simpler? Remember when there were crises, but in an orderly fashion? One crisis at a time, clearly marked, easily named; you dealt with one before moving to another, and that was what life was. Executives learnt that crisis management was a special case, one with its own consultants and checklists, and the assumption was that crises were sorted sequentially, in an ordered fashion.
That was then, and this is now.
A now that is defined by seemingly endless crises, one leading into the next. Some would blame the pandemic, and the way it triggered economic disruption, social unrest, educational chaos, mental health crises, supply chain failures, and political instability. Others would lay blame at the new instability of geopolitics, where the old order is starting to look like halcyon times and people are looking back to the era of Clinton and Yeltsin with the kind of nostalgia normally afforded seminal rock albums.
Today, our expectations have changed.
Where we used to see crises as something to solve, now we increasingly see them as something that feeds into other crises, creating feedback loops and amplification effects that defy traditional crisis management approaches. Sure, there have been cases of multiple crises occurring simultaneously, but that no longer seems sufficient to describe what we’re experiencing.
This is something qualitatively different. Not a crisis, nor a calamity of crises, but something stranger than all these – a polycrisis.
Thanks for joining!
Past events
Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium 2026: “Self-Organizing”
What?
Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium to discuss self-organizing in complex systems.
To whom?
Researchers and educators at universities and universities of applied sciences.
When?
Wednesday 28.1.2026 at 13.00-16.00
Where?
Laurea University of Applied Sciences,Tikkurila campus, Ratatie 22, 01300 Vantaa. Room B503-504
Online: Participation also possible online.
Program
13.00-13.15 Opening of the Symposium
Dr. Päivi Tossavainen
Laurea University of Applied Sciences
13.15-14.00 Emergent causal powers in the social world
Dave Elder-Vass
Honorary Fellow, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Loughborough University, UK (online)
14.05-14.50 From tools to teammates: How AI reshapes ways of working
Marko Aalto
VP, Data & AI, Reaktor Group Oy
15.00-15.45 Shared Leadership: A way to Unlock Self-Organizing Potential?
Taina Suihkonen
Senior Agile Coach, OP Pohjola Financial Group
Master of Business Administration (2023) & Bachelor of Social Sciences (2002)
15.45-16.00 Closing remarks
Dr. Päivi Tossavainen
The program will be updated.
Complex Adaptive Systems Summer Seminar 2025: “Emergence!”
What?
Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium to discuss uncertainty in complex systems.
To whom?
Researchers and educators at universities and universities of applied sciences.
When?
Tuesday, June 3 at 11.00-15.00
Where?
University of Vaasa, Ankkuri, Aud. Nissi, Yliopistonranta 7, 65200 Vaasa
Program
11.00 Lunch & Get Together
Lunch will be served at Restaurant Alma
12.00 Welcome
Chair Petri Uusikylä
Research Director, Public Policy & Governance RG
Preparedness and Resilience Platform
University of Vaasa
Emergence as a philosophical question.
Emeritus Professor Aarne Mämmelä
University of Oulu
MIND – The Emergence of Man and Machine Ecosystem.
Editor Mika Aaltonen
Ph.D. (Econ.), Associate Professor (Foresight & Complexity)
AI Publishing House
Break
Navigating Complexity: The Role of Emerging Technologies in Shaping Future Sustainability
Rumy Narayan, Postdoctoral Researcher
School of Management, Strategic Management.
University of Vaasa
Discussion
15.00 Closing
Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium 2025: “How to Deal with Uncertainty?
What?
Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium to discuss uncertainty in complex systems.
To whom?
Researchers and educators at universities and universities of applied sciences.
When?
Wednesday 29.1.2025 at 13.00-16.00
Where?
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Ratapihantie 13, Helsinki. Participation also possible online.
Program
Opening of the Symposium
How to Navigate Complexity in Wicked Environments?
Professor Petri Uusikylä, University of Vaasa
Uncertainty from Complexity: When Less is More
Postdoctoral Researcher Kalle Timperi, University of Oulu
Uncertainty as Learning Environment
Principal Lecturer Merja Alanko-Turunen & Senior Lecturer Marika Alhonen, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Discussion
Closing of the Symposium
Complex Adaptive Systems Summer Seminar 2024: “Loosely Coupled”
What?
Complex Adaptive Systems Summer Seminar to discuss loosely coupled systems.
To whom?
Researchers and educators at universities and universities of applied sciences.
When?
Wednesday 12.6.2024 at 13.00-17.00
Where?
University of Oulu, Lo124 (lecture room), Pentti Kaiteran katu 1, 90570 Oulu. Participation also possible online.
Programme
Opening of the Summer Seminar
Research Director Susanna Pirttikangas, University of Oulu
Decision-making in Tightly Coupled & Loosely Coupled Systems
Associate Professor Mika Aaltonen, Sustainable Nation Group
Strenghtening Cybersecurity by Decoupling
Lead Petri Puhakainen, Cybersecurity VTT
Loosely Coupled
Professor Aarne Mämmelä, VTT and University of Oulu
Sustainability transformation as a loosely coupled system
Professor Petri Uusikylä, University of Vaasa
Boosting Nature Positivity in ICT: System Dynamics to Identify Key Drivers
Dr. Navid Yaraghi, University of Oulu
Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium 2024
What?
The first Complex Adaptive Systems Winter Symposium to discuss how to organize Complex Adaptive Systems research & education in Finland, and how to explicitly develop and apply Complex Adaptive Systems theory.
To whom?
Researchers and educators at universities and universities of applied sciences.
When?
January 31, 2024 at 12.00 – 16.00.
Where?
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Ratapihantie 13, Helsinki. Participation also possible online.
Programme
12.00 Coffee
12.15 Welcome & Introductions
Brief History of Complex Adaptive Systems, Especially from the View Points of Santa Fe Institute and London School of Economics, Associate Professor Mika Aaltonen, Sustainable Nation Group
Systems Thinking & Complex Adaptive Systems research at VTT and the University of Oulu, Professor Aarne Mämmelä, VTT and University of Oulu
Complexity Education now and in the future in Finland, Senior Lecturers Maria Haukka & Teemu Ruohonen, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Discussion, Ideas & Possible Next Steps
16.00 End of the Symposium