Learn to think complexity | wicked problems | sustainability
Loops provides educators and business school students with a ten-day, hands-on learning activity that helps to understand and act on complex problems of sustainability.
Students use the online news to research a complex problem within the scope of the 17 UN SDGs.
Systems thinking
Teams learn to use systems thinking to model complex systems and reveal the drivers behind a problem.
Interact with experts
Modelling facilitates a dialogue with experts to improve understanding and discuss actions.
Tell the story
Teams use their model to tell the story of the complex problem to their classmates.
A little history
About Loops
2012 : systems thinking at TBS
Systems thinking classes were first proposed as a core class at Toulouse Business School (TBS) in 2012. They later inspired the “Thinking Complexity” MOOC on iversity.org in 2016, run by lead instructor Cameron Guthrie.
2020 : a focus on UN SDGs
Cameron Guthrie (Professor in Decision Sciences) and Elisabeth Bertrand-Dausset (Professor in Marketing) created Loops in 2020 to provide students with the thinking tools to tackle complex problems of sustainability by identifying root causes and systemic effects.
April 2020 : 49 teams, 13 SDGs
In April 2020, 294 students worked in 49 online teams over ten days on topics across thirteen SDGs such as biodiversity loss, domestic violence, homelessness, and zoonotic pandemics. Students and tutors welcomed the program.
Loops step-by-step
How it works
Step 1: Find a news item
Teams begin by looking for a news item that reports on a complex problem within the scope of one of the 17 UN SDGs.
Step 2: Tell the story
Teams research and tell the complete story of the problem to create a richer picture of the issue and the variables, and stakeholders involved.
Step 3: Model the system
Teams use systems thinking tools to draw the system of variables in interaction to explain the behavior under study. They consult domain experts to validate their model.
Step 4: Look for leverage
Teams identify leverage points in the systemic structure where actions will yield the greatest impact and design an action plan to influence the complex behavior.
Loops was certified in June 2021 by the French national foundation for business management education (FNEGE) as a quality “pedagogical project for the digital age”. The jury awarded the FNEGE …
Groups worked on a wide variety of issues ranging from the fall in bee populations to the rapid increase in the number of emerging infectious diseases. Thirteen UN SDGs were …
Students and tutors enthusiastically reacted to the Loops program, particularly appreciating the opportunity to focus on UN SDGs in a business school and learn new systems thinking tools to tackle …
Students participated in the production of a video (in French) celebrating two-weeks of teamwork addressing complex issues of sustainability … on a lighter note 🙂