Game Theory to understand Sustainability

👤 Target groups

  • Students pursuing a Bachelor’s (final year preferably)/Master’s/Ph.D.
  • Young professionals considering a Ph.D.
  • Curious scholars
  • Practitioners/ Professionals / Retired active learners

Sustainability challenges are among the most complex problems of our time, involving multiple stakeholders with diverse goals, incentives, and constraints. Whether in climate action, natural resource management, or sanitation, outcomes depend not only on individual decisions but also on how these decisions interact within a system of interdependent actors. This course introduces game theory as a powerful analytical tool to untangle such complexities. By examining strategic interactions among governments, businesses, communities, and individuals, students will learn how to apply concepts of cooperation, conflict, incentives, and equilibrium to real-world sustainability dilemmas. The course emphasizes stakeholder analysis, equipping participants to better understand the motivations and trade-offs of different actors, and to design strategies that foster collaboration and more sustainable outcomes.

Another originality of this course is that the application of abstract concepts shrouded in complex mathematics is demystified using cartoons, newspaper texts and puzzles. The course presents a unique opportunity for those without a background in mathematics or economics to understand the principles of game theory and learn to apply them to understand and resolve strategic challenges and conflicts.  Logic will be at the center of all analysis.

🎯 Course content:   🌱

  • Foundations of Game Theory
  • Simultaneous Games and the Nash equilibrium
  • Advanced Equilibria in Simultaneous Games
  • Sequential Games
  • Games with Information Problems
  • Extensions and Applications

Assignments comprising applications of each lesson to case studies on the sustainability challenges of today will also showcase solutions tried out by:

    • 🏛️ Authorities (local, regional, national)
    • 🌐 International agencies
    • 🏢 Businesses and intermediary organizations
    • 👥 Civil society

🛠️ Expected Learning outcomes

  • Mastery of core ideas and frameworks of game theory
  • A clear understanding of the complexity of sustainability challenges.
  • Development of essential skills such as:
    • 🧠 Critical thinking
    • 🔍 Problem-solving
    • 🎨 Creativity
    • 🎤 Making effective Presentations
    • 📝 Scientific Writing
    • 🌏 Openness to diverse perspectives
  • Ability to engage respectfully across ages, viewpoints, and disciplines.

📚 Course Format

  • 💻 Online delivery
  • ⏰ One class/week (2 hours, usually weekends) over 3 months, i.e. 24 hours in all.
  • 👩‍🏫 Delivered by Prof. Shyama V. Ramani
  • 🗣️ Highly interactive, requiring full participation
  • 🗣️ Maximum 20 learners per cohort
  • 📝 No exams – continuous assessment via assignments (including independent research)
  • 📝 Certificate will be provided on request
  • ✨ Personalised, confidential feedback on strengths and areas for growth at end of course.
  • ✨ Next session will start on November 1, 2025

Fee Icon Vector Art, Icons, and Graphics for Free Download Fees

  • Students in India: Rs 5000/month
  • 🌍 Students outside India: Fees calculated according to PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) using the World Bank PPP Index

For enrollment: 📝  Registration Link

For queries: 📧 info@Site4Sustainability.com