SCiO monthly events newsletter – September & October 2025

Hello and welcome to the end August 2025 monthly mailing from SCiO. 

CONFERENCE

We are eagerly anticipating the SysPrac25 conference next week at the Open University in Milton Keynes.

We’ve confirmed 47 international speakers including the 4 keynote speakers –

Dr Mike Jackson, Alison Guthrie-Wrenn, Dr Ray Ison, and Patrick Hoverstadt.

                                                             – 10 hands-on workshops and 2 interactive jam/panel sessions.

Highlights include sessions on Patterns of Strategy, the Viable System Model, System Dynamics, and more.

Expect 32 practitioner talks, informal fireside chats with leading systems thinkers, and a cash prize for the best student/apprentice case study.

The schedule is now finalised.

See the full schedule here.                           Book now to secure your spot!

Pagesare fully updated and include hotels, parking and directions.

Click the image for the latest details

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2025

We are holding the AGM live this year as part of the SysPrac25 conference

at            the OU in Milton Keynes

on           Sept 3rd 2025  

17:30 – 18:30 GMT+1 
                Hub Theatre, Walton Hall, The Open University, Walton Drive, Milton Keynes  MK7 6AA

We urge all members who cannot attend to advise Steve Hales to act as a proxy to ensure that the meeting is quorate. A notice went out to members on 14th August with more details.

COURSES

All courses on the SCiO Ezycourse LMS are now discounted 10% to members, forever!

– use the discount code MEMBER10 when booking.

We are now offering 23 in-depth courses through the Ezycourse LMS plus 2 others.
These are also available to organisations at special rates. Please contact us.

Click here for more details   –     more are being added regularly.

EVENTS – by country   (click on the name)

  SCiO Belgium   SCiO DACH
  SCiO Finland  SCiO Ireland
  SCiO Nederland  SCiO UK

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO UK

SCiO UK Virtual Development Event – October 2025

Tue, Oct 21st, 2025  13:00 – 15:00  GMT+1

SCiO’s Development Event offer an opportunity to draw upon the collective expertise of SCiO members in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. By taking Development Events online, using the Zoom meeting platform, we aim to make them accessible to more SCiO members. Development Events are both for members who are just starting out on a journey to explore Systems Thinking approaches, and for those who have many years of exploration and practice.

Members only; FREE; Online event; English  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Nederland

SCIO-NL monthly meeting September 2025 (live in Woerden and in Dutch)

Fri, Sep 5th, 2025   12:30 – 16:30  CET+1

SCIO-NL komt elke 1e of 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen, afwisselend in Vianen (Hagenweg 3c) of in Woerden (Pelmolenlaan 2). Er staan (meestal) geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp. Toegankelijk voor iedereen die de jaarlijkse fee voor de live-bijeenkomsten (€50,-) hiervoor betaald. En voor KNVI-leden. En voor gasten. Neem contact op via ed@doitogether.nl als je interesse hebt, maar nog geen lid van de club bent.

NL Members + guests; FREE; Pelmolenlaan 2, Woerden (At the Office) 5, Woerden, Netherlands;  Dutch   BOOK NOW

SCIO-NL monthly meeting October 2025 (live in Vianen and in Dutch)

Fri, Oct 3rd, 2025  12:30 – 16:30  CET+1

SCIO-NL komt elke 1e of 2e vrijdag van de maand live bijeen, afwisselend in Vianen (Hagenweg 3c) of in Woerden (Pelmolenlaan 2). Er staan (meestal) geen vaste onderwerpen op de agenda (daarvoor organiseren we specifieke andere meetings), maar de ervaring leert dat er altijd wel een interessant gesprek op gang komt over een systemisch onderwerp. Toegankelijk voor iedereen die de jaarlijkse fee voor de live-bijeenkomsten (€50,-) hiervoor betaald. En voor KNVI-leden. En voor gasten. Neem contact op via ed@doitogether.nl als je interesse hebt, maar nog geen lid van de club bent.

NL Members + guests; FREE; Hagenweg 3c, Vianen, Netherlands; Dutch  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Belgium

Peter Maes (Transformation Manager) – Ecosystemische aanpak bij de transformatie van de tuin bouwsector

Tue, Sep 9th, 2025   19:00 – 21:00  CET+1

De Nederlandse tuinbouwsector bevindt zich op een kantelpunt. Klimaatverandering, stikstofproblematiek, druk op watergebruik, energieverduurzaming en veranderende marktdynamieken dwingen de sector tot fundamentele transities. Oplossingen vragen om meer dan technologische innovaties of beleidsaanpassingen — ze vragen om een nieuw denkkader en vernieuwende samenwerkingsvormen.

Tijdens deze avond neemt Peter Maes ons mee in een verkenning van de ecosystemische aanpak die aan het ontstaan is binnen en buiten de sector. Hij schetst hoe “coalities van de willing” — tijdelijke samenwerkingen tussen telers, financiële instellingen (zoals Rabobank), onderzoekscentra (o.a. Wageningen UR) en andere betrokkenen — projectmatig en over sectorgrenzen heen werken aan systeemverandering.

Een inspirerende sessie voor iedereen die betrokken is bij of geïnteresseerd is in een ecosystemische aanpak van transformaties — van beleidsmakers en ondernemers tot onderzoekers en financiers.

All welcome; Free; Online event; Dutch; BOOK NOW

Intervisiesessie 1: Systemisch denken voor taaie vraagstukken

Tue, Oct 14th, 2025 (- Sun, Dec 14th, 2025)   19:00 – 21:00  CET+1

In een tijd waarin maatschappelijke, ecologische en organisatorische uitdagingen steeds complexer en meer verweven raken, volstaat lineair probleemdenken niet langer. Wat vandaag als oplossing geldt, kan morgen deel worden van het probleem. Het vraagt van ons een meta-systemische blik — een denkwijze waarin we niet alleen naar het systeem kijken, maar ook naar onze manier van kijken zélf.

In deze eerste van een reeks van drie intervisiesessie gaan we samen aan de slag met het gedachtegoed uit het essay “Opening the Box. Systems Thinking for Transformative Conversations.” We gebruiken dit meta-denkkader om per sessie taaie vraagstukken met elkaar te verkennen. Je reikt deze vraagstukken als deelnemer aan uit je eigen praktijk….

Members only + guests; 30 euro; Kon. Astridlaan 144, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium; Dutch  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

   SCiO DACH (Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz)

Management-Kybernetik als allgemeiner Rahmen für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Lean Management in verschiedenen Branchen

Thu, Sep 25th, 2025  19:00 – 20:30  CET+1

Zahlreiche Lean-Transformationsprojekte scheitern oder erreichen nicht die gewünschte Performance und/oder Tragfähigkeit, die für eine nachhaltige Umsetzung des Lean Managements erforderlich ist. Es gibt jedoch einige Faktoren, die die erfolgreiche Umsetzung des Lean Managements im Tagesgeschäft unterstützen. Dazu zählen nach Ansicht der Autoren die Managementkybernetik und insbesondere das Viable System Model (VSM) von Stafford Beer als strukturierendes Element. Aufgrund seiner Eigenschaften als evolutionsbasiertes Organisationssystem scheint das VSM gut geeignet, eine nachhaltige Grundlage für eine effizienzorientierte Methode wie Lean Management zu bilden. Insbesondere die evolutionäre Fähigkeit des Modells, sich ständig an die Anforderungen seiner Umgebung anzupassen, bietet eine geeignete Grundstruktur für eine nachhaltige Verbindung mit den Methoden des Lean Managements….

All welcome; Free; Online event; German  BOOK NOW

______________________________________________________________

  SCiO Finland

No events are planned by SCiO Finland in September and October.

______________________________________________________________

   SCiO Ireland 

No events are planned by SCiO Ireland in September and October.

‘We do not yet know what a network can do’: steps to a collective internet – Mullally (2024)

Liam Mullally

20th May 2024

Link & Think – Containers All the Way Down – Velitchkov (2025)

[paywalled]

Ivo Velitchkov

Aug 26, 2025

https://substack.com/home/post/p-171867202

QSEM – Qualitative Systems Exploration Model – online software and modelling approach

https://www.systemssciencelab.com/

Launch post on LinkedIn from Adam Hulme

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7365704487166025728?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACuq-oBecVFDW6PCf3lkoG-peMeuLBeoho

Delivering change: There is no thing to be delivered – Mowles (2025)

Chris Mowles

Aug 14, 2025

https://chrismowles.substack.com/p/delivering-change

Measuring Systems Change – examples from the movement against modern slavery – Shipman and Lo (2025)

LinkedIn post by Marc Harris:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marcharrisphd_measuring-systems-change-activity-7366356357723086848-S2gf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACuq-oBecVFDW6PCf3lkoG-peMeuLBeoho

(To download the document, click the rectangular ‘full screen’ icon, then click the ‘download’ button top right)

Complex Systems podcast (and articles): How banks actually work (and don’t work) – Patrick McKenzie

[I share this podcast quite often – it’s really excellent for talking about no theory but the practice of actual complex ‘systems’ in the world. Here, how technology and bureaucracy, under legislation and commercial pressures, try to deal with the messy reality – of banking, a relatively ‘tractable’ subject!]

Patrick reads his classic essay explaining why banks seem to have no memory of previous customer interactions despite being excellent at tracking money itself.

Patrick McKenzie Aug 14th, 2025

https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/how-banks-actually-work/

Article:

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/seeing-like-a-bank/

Bacteria to AI – Human Futures with our Nonhuman Symbionts – Public Lecture with N. Katherine Hayles, Wed, 10 Sep, 5pm – 7pm AEST, Innovation Space, Level 2 Acton ACT, Australia –  School of Cybernetics, Australian National University

https://events.humanitix.com/public-lecture-with-dist-prof-katherine-hayles

Gameful experiences for hopeful futures – School of Cybernetics, Australian National University

Gaming (the) Systems

https://cybernetics.anu.edu.au/projects/gameful-experiences-for-hopeful-futures/

Systems and Complexity in Organisation – case studies of successful applications of systems methodologies

The following is a list of case studies of successful applications of systems methodologies. 

https://www.systemspractice.org/casestudies

Harish’s Notebook – The Two Dogmas of Complexity Science: How Our Best Tools Can Mislead Us – Jose, 2025

Job – Research Associate in Systems Thinking / System Dynamics (SPROCKET) – UCL, London £43-52k, closes 14 September 2025

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOJ984/research-associate-in-systems-thinking-system-dynamics-sprocket

UCL – Department of Mathematics

Location:London, Hybrid
Salary:£43,374 to £51,860
Hours:Full Time
Contract Type:Fixed-Term/Contract
Placed On:20th August 2025
Closes:14th September 2025
Job Ref:B04-06380

About us

The Department of Mathematics at UCL is an internationally renowned department within one of the world’s most prestigious universities. This appointment is part of the SPROCKET Hub (Systems and Process Redesign and Optimisation at Childhood Key Events and Transitions), funded by NIHR/EPSRC. SPROCKET is a multidisciplinary Hub which brings together experts in operational research; systems thinking; health services research; clinical paediatric practice; innovation implementation and evaluation; design of interventions for people with disabilities; community facilitators; parents of children with complex health needs; special educational needs experts; and experts in co-production. Our aim is to transform the delivery of services for children and young people with complex health needs.

About the role

This appointment is one of several research associate positions that are or will be advertised through SPROCKET, with this appointment focused on the systems thinking / system dynamics workstream. This role presents an exciting opportunity for career development in systems thinking / system dynamics that also will have a real impact on services for children with complex health needs.

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOJ984/research-associate-in-systems-thinking-system-dynamics-sprocket

The Permaculture Podcast – Dr. Elaine Ingham – The Soil Food Web

The Permaculture Podcast

Artificial Imitation: Did John McCarthy get the term AI from Norbert Wiener?

Serendipitously exploring history to inform the future

Sean Manion

Aug 04, 2025

https://seanmanion.substack.com/p/artificial-imitation-did-john-mccarthy

21st On-Line HSSS  International Conference on Systemic HR Management and New Technologies – No Fees – Hellenic Society for Systemic Studies, 8-11 October 2025, Tripoli, Greece

Hellenic Society for Systemic Studies (HSSS)

21th On-Line HSSS National & International Conference

in collaboration with

University of Peloponnese, Department of Management Science and Technology
ASA-HAC (Association of administrative scientists-Hellenic Administrative Chamber)
 
08 – 11, October 2025. Tripoli, Greece
https://confe.hsss.eu
 
Systemic Human Resources Management
and New TechnologiesCall for AbstractsExtension of Abstract Submission: 31st of August, 2025
 We would like to invite you to submit your Abstract though the https://confe.hsss.eu/abstract-submission-2/  with no fees.

This Conference is a great opportunity for system specialists from Europe and the rest of the world to meet and emulate each other in order to decompartmentalise the specialist approaches of the different disciplines.
Combining theoretical, methodological and practical approaches, systems thinking contributes to the construction of synergies between different disciplines, thus encouraging the development of theoretical models, modelling and decision-making methods, and practical tools at the service of society.

As our Annual Conference is highly googled, we offer the opportunity to present your work and through the Digital Poster Session give the possibility to people see your word, after the Conference, for a long period of time. Also, we give you the chance to submit your full paper to the IJASS (International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies).
We shall accept your abstract until 31st of August, 2025 .Yours sincerely,
Professor Nikitas Assimakopoulos,
HSSS President.