De masterclasses zijn bedoeld om middelbare scholieren met belangstelling voor wiskunde kennis te laten maken met het onderwijs aan een universiteit en hen een verdere verdieping van hun wiskundige kennis te bieden. Deelname is gratis, ook voor de lunch wordt gezorgd. Wellicht wordt er ook een leuke rondleiding over de campus aangeboden. De masterclasses zijn in het Engels en vinden plaats op 14 & 19 november.

Het programma bestaat uit lezingen, discussies, oefensessies, simulaties en evt. computerprogrammering. Al het materiaal zal in een boekje aan de deelnemers worden verstrekt. De sprekers voor 'NETWORKS goes to school 2024' zijn Jiesen Wang (UvA) en Artem Tsikiridis (UvA).

AMSTERDAM: 14 & 19 november

Jiesen Wang– Game theory and the mathematics behind queues!

Decision-making challenges revolve around selecting the best option from a range of alternatives, based on our understanding of the environment.

Although we cannot control the environment, it interacts with us, and the best decision is influenced not only by the current situation but also by the choices of others. This dynamic can be framed as a non-cooperative game between individuals.

Game theory offers a structured approach to describe these interactions, allowing us to establish the "rules of the game". During this masterclass, I will demonstrate how this works using a basic queueing model, a tool commonly employed to predict queue lengths and waiting times with techniques from probability theory and mathematical modelling.

Artem Tsikiridis: Game theory and the mathematics behind traffic congestion

Imagine you’re preparing for a road trip to visit an old friend in another city—someone you haven’t seen in ages. Naturally, you want to get there as quickly as possible, so taking the shortest route seems like the best option. But have you thought about morning rush hour? What if everyone else has the same idea, leaving you stuck in traffic?

Your trip doesn’t just affect you—it influences every driver on the road. But how much does "selfish" decision-making contribute to traffic jams?

In this masterclass, we’ll explore how mathematicians use Game Theory to model these interactions. By analysing traffic through network flows and the Price of Anarchy, we’ll see how individual decisions affect congestion. We’ll also discuss whether central coordination or better infrastructure can help reduce delays.