(c) London Interdisciplinary School
Guest MBA lecture: The economy as an open system
20 March 2026, London Interdisciplinary School, UK
An online lecture on open system economics in relation to sustainability challenges was held by Șerban Scrieciu, the founder and director of ICENS lab. It covered the philosophical foundations of pluralist economics, with examples from the role of complexity economics in providing richer insights and better fit-for-purpose responses to resilience and sustainability challenges. This was for the benefit of a responsive and engaged cohort of postgraduate students, as part of a new, exciting MBA programme developed under the guidance of Dr. Amelia Peterson and launched at the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) . The LIS MBA offers a reimagined curricula that is designed to confront contemporary global shifts and challenges, make sense of them, and craft meaningful, forward-thinking solutions to the biggest questions of our time.
Interactions with students provoked reflection and a compact essay was generated calling for an open system economic thinking better fit for the 21st century. This is available here.
Residency, workshops and exhibition event: Reflections on Alternative Economies and Sustainable Futures
27-31 October 2025, German Cultural Centre Sibiu, Romania
A series of interactions, pedagogical workshops, and art-based activities on the topic of alternative models of sustainable economies took place at the German Cultural Institute in Sibiu, Romania / Deutsches Kulturzentrum Hermannstadt,. This was part of the BiblioGreen Residencies for Sustainable Libraries project launched by ten European Goethe Institutes, including the Goethe Institute in Bucharest (Romania). The series of events ended with a participative photography exhibition, where the viewers were invited to intervene on the images displayed, through texts and drawings, and change the given narratives. More information available here and here.
Workshop event: Experiments in Uncertainty and Un/knowing: Economics - Visual Arts Perspectives on Climate Change Mitigation
23 June 2025, University of Cambridge, UK
ICENS lab and LEAP lab (Living Experiments in Arts-Science Practice to Re-imagine Sustainability), a trans-dicisplinary initiative between University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University organised a workshop that aimed to foster dialogue between the realm of economics research and that of the arts, two worlds that often operate separately. It proposed to do so by unpacking, questioning, reimagining, and befriending the thorny concept of uncertainty, with a focus on our collective efforts to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
The event was supported by CRASSH (Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities) at University of Cambridge. For more about the event and ideas behind it, see our summary on the Perspectives section of our website. .
Salon event: Longevity and the power of long-term thinking
1 October 2024, London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), London, UK
The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) recently hosted an interdisciplinary gathering for discussion, under the format of a contemporary version of a Parisian salon, where, Șerban Scrieciu, the founder and director of ICENS lab was fortunate to be invited. The event brought together a civil servant, an economist, a biologist, a political ecologist, an artist, a venture capitalist, a linguist, and a CEO to discuss issues related to longevity and the power of long-term thinking.
A short essay inspired from the discussions at the LIS Salon event can be found on ICENS lab’s “Perspectives” page, whereas opinions circulated on the theme of longevity have been well reflected in a LIS blog written by one of the participants, Mark Griffiths.
(c) Govert van der Heijden
Symposium event: Frontiers in pluralist economics: Exploring the potential of alternative economic views for inclusive prosperity
10 June 2024, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
The event was organised by The Erasmus Initiative “Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity” at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. ICENS lab helped organise the event and two of its team members, Professor Michael Roos and Dr Şerban Scrieciu presented alongside other guest speakers and participated in a panel debate.
The aim was to help raise awareness about the rich diversity in economic thought, particularly when applied to sustainability issues, such as climate change and inclusive prosperity. Guest speakers shared their perspectives, expertise, and research on how alternative schools of economic thought, such as complexity economics, feminist economics, and ecological economics can help address the complex polycrisis of the Anthropocene. A summary of the event can be found on ICENS lab’s “Perspectives” page and the initial call is available here.