Dagmar Möbius

In the future, the Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Sciences (CIDS) will be home to more than 500 employees in eight departments working on interdisciplinary scientific issues in the fields of digitalization, high-performance computing, data, modeling and simulation, artificial intelligence, knowledge extraction and transfer, the use of digital media in teaching, social interactions and more.

Under the umbrella of the CIDS, three departments have been established, and five more are in the process of being founded:

• SCADS.AI Dresden/Leipzig – interdisciplinary AI and big data research in Dresden
• Center for Open Digital Innovation and Participation (CODIP)
• Department Speculative Transformation (DST)
• Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH)
• Computational Modeling and Simulation (CoMoS)
• Living Labs Computer Science Saxony (LICOSS)
• Synergy of Systems (SynoSys)

All departments share the common goal of conducting excellent research and collaborate closely. Networking allows them to work efficiently, quickly, and productively. Central services include the Support Center Digitalization, a transfer center, and the Interactive Science Labs. Contact is being handled by SynoSys in the interim.

Pushing boundaries for science

'The Prisoner's Kaleidoscope' is an example of complex phenomena and one of the most-read items on the SynoSys website. In the Prisoner’s Dilemma game, two players can choose whether to cooperate or betray each other. Pre-determined payoffs make it difficult to select the optimal strategy. Even a simple game-theoretic model can generate impressive dynamic patterns.

SynoSys focuses on complexity research – an approach that examines seemingly independent phenomena for their underlying commonalities. Founding director Prof. Dr. Dirk Brockmann explains: 'We study phenomena that, at first glance, appear unrelated. Despite this, we search for underlying rules that connect them.'

A somewhat unconventional approach to this is also found in his book 'The Survival of the Nettest’, where he explores evolutionary principles beyond classical competition models, addressing why cooperation, in particular, can lead to long-term success.

Compass instead of maps

Research at SynoSys is anti-disciplinary, which means that traditional boundaries between disciplines are deliberately crossed. Instead of following pre-drawn paths (a map), a compass serves as a guide. Wrong turns are explicitly considered part of the learning process.

A current example of this approach is the study of Long COVID: Together with researchers from the University of Jena, SynoSys is analyzing large datasets containing vital parameters from over half a million people. The goal is to identify indicators that point to long-lasting symptoms. The project has received EUR 2.3 million in funding from the Federal Ministry of Health and is intended to evolve into an open competence center that accelerates the integration of digital technologies into health research and care.

Contact:
Prof. Dirk Brockmann
Professor Biology of Complex Systems
Director Center Synergy of Systems

Email: