Teng Li, Dianhan Chen
On April 6, 2024, the first ASSA-Young Scientist Talk, organized by the Asian Social Simulation Association (ASSA), just concluded. Thirteen ABM enthusiasts from domestic and international universities were invited to participate in this session. Adhering to the principles of respecting differences and sincere communication, everyone actively shared their personal research experiences, insights into ABM learning, and current challenges. The enthusiasm of everyone inspired us to continue building platforms and creating opportunities for communication and collaboration among young scientists in the field of ABM.
The sharing session was hosted by Teng Li and Dianhan Chen. The guest speaker for the first session was Dr. Shaoni Wang, a postdoctoral fellow from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She mainly shared her experiences in ABM-related topics from her undergraduate to doctoral studies, covering various themes such as team performance management, opinion dynamics, and the construction of democratic mechanisms. Dr. Wang’s engaging presentation captivated the audience. Bayi, a student from Delft University of Technology, was the first to ask about how ABM can attract the attention of stakeholders in the real world and what its advantages are. Dr. Wang explained the advantages of ABM in mechanism research and dynamic process analysis, and how she promoted her models to local municipal governments and various industries. The ABM model promotion video she shared was also vivid and interesting, worthy of study by ABM modelers.
The second segment was a free discussion. We encouraged each participant to introduce themselves and share any thoughts or questions they had about ABM. The presentation by Kang Yang, a student from Wuhan University of Science and Technology, was pleasantly surprising. He replicated models from several ABM papers, spanning from communication studies to opinion evolution and technological diffusion. Not only did he have his unique understanding of ABM, but he was also passionate about it. His enthusiasm infected all the participants, making everyone want to stand up and applaud. This is exactly the kind of person the ASSA-Young Scientist aims to find, someone passionate about ABM.
The originally scheduled half-hour free discussion was extended to over fifty minutes due to everyone’s enthusiasm. Even after the session ended, the group chat remained lively. Questions such as “What are the foundations for setting mechanisms in ABM models?” and “How do you select or extract reasonable parameters/variables for a complex event? How do you persuade others?”—common questions often asked by ABM modelers—will be discussed further in our future ABM Talks.
Everyone is both an audience member and a speaker. Participants are each other’s students and teachers, engaging in mutual exchange and sharing for mutual benefit. Everyone is a cornerstone of the ABM Enthusiasts Alliance!
As organizers, our greatest satisfaction comes from everyone feeling that they gained something from this hour, and that we did not waste anyone’s time. We look forward to continued exchanges in various settings in the future and welcome everyone to continue following our ABM-Talk!