The course Decision-Making in a Complex and Uncertain World starts on Monday, September 15. It is offered on the Futurelearn platform, taught by Professor Lex Hoogduin of the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. Professor Hoogduin took a moment to share these thoughts before the start of his MOOC next week (they are lightly edited)

The world has become more complex because the number of interconnections has grown and is growing. Interconnections in societies/economies have grown through the internet and social media, but also because of liberalisation in many countries, also of capital movements. I believe many companies/governments can improve the way they deal with complexity and uncertainty. Dealing with complexity is not easy. You have to take a more overall (holistic) view and analytically, this is more difficult. Also it is difficult to accept that full control is impossible and that you have to adapt to surprises all the time.

This MOOC is for 
people who have heard about complexity and uncertainty but know little about it: business people, leaders, supervisors and policy makers who have not studied these topics before.

This is the first MOOC from the University of Groningen, and it has been a great experience to produce it. I have formed a team of teachers from different areas in economics, as well as biology, history and sociology. We have learned much from each other and the process has been smooth. We have received a lot of support from the faculty of economics and business, and from the university at large.

It is exciting and I am really looking forward to the start of the course. I would not have expected to have over 10,000 learners. It is very motivating that so many people feel attracted to this topic. We have built in a number of moments that we will have live interaction with learners, and I hope that they will benefit from and enjoy the course.

About Professor Hoogduin

Professor Hoogduin spent several periods at the Dutch Central Bank where he has held several positions leading research or departments. Since 1995 he has been professor of monetary economics in Groningen and Amsterdam, and last year was also appointed professor of complexity and uncertainty in financial markets and financial institutions. From 1997-2001 Prof. Hoogduin was personal advisor to Wim Duisenberg, the first president of the European Central Bank.