Conference by Day, Fish & Chips by Night

Ay mate, it's Qisthi. Last week, I joined Kawasaki Sensei and three other members to the UK for a conference in London and a visit to Cambridge University. Here are some of the highlights ✨

First things first, I want to thank Kawasaki Sensei for giving me this valuable opportunity and guiding me to improve on my skill in the research.

T he 12th Annual Conference of the Society for Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU)

Held in Loughborough University, London Campus from 17-20 November, we participated in several sessions, including lectures and seminars, and presented our research as well. Actually, there were so many insightful knowledge but I will just mention a selection that was frequently referenced during the event.

 

Opened by Robert Lempert with the DMDU overview and Robust Decision Making (RDM) as one common approach. Basically, we need to transform traditional policy analysis in a world of complex, wicked problem. RDM begins with decision framing  called “XLRM”.

X (Uncertain Factors): what uncertain factors outside decision makers' control affect their ability to pursue their goals? 

L (Policy Levers): what actions might they take to pursue their goals? 

R (Relationships): how might policy levers (L) and uncertainties (X) be related to decision makers' goals (M)? 

M (Performance Metrics): what are decision makers trying to achieve?

RDM can be combined with a wide range of other methods and techniques such as Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP) that provides insight into what actions to take now and which options to keep open for the medium and long term when the current policy reach a tipping point (talked by Jan Kwakkel).

I joined an engaging demo and tutorial session of Multi-Objective Robust Optimization. The basic ideas are to pick some future scenarios, run optimization, aggregate pareto sets to test candidate policies, and visualize tradeoffs.  

 

 

 

I also had an opportunity to present in a panel session about DMDU for Sustainable Development: Experiences from LMICs (Low-Middle Income Countries) about Framework Development of Selecting a Suitable Nature-Based Solution for Erosion Reduction (bottom-right). Here I also attached my other lab mates' sessions. I really admire their works!

Thames Barrier, London

 

After the last day of conference, we managed to visit Thames Barrier, recognized as one of the largest movable flood defenses globally. It safeguards 125 square kilometers of downtown London from inundation resulting from tidal surges. It features 10 steel gates that may be elevated into position over the River Thames. Basically, the Thames Barrier will stay closed at high water until the downstream water level equals that of the upstream. Interestingly, there was a riverside park called the 'Green Dock', a sunken garden with unique shapes that offers a wind-sheltered microclimate protecting diverse flora and fauna.

Cambridge, Home of the University of Cambridge (Obviously)

 
 

 

 

The following day, we got the chance to go to the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University. Initially, we intended to visit Prof. Edoardo Borgomeo, but our schedules did not align. Fortunately, we already had the opportunity to meet him and engage in pleasant discussions during the DMDU conference days. Nevertheless, we received a warm welcome from his lab members. We talked and shared our each research interest and work. Afterwards, they even showed us around their college, Darwin and Peterhouse College.

 

 

Subsequently, we strolled through the city, as we had been told that a sunny day during this season was deemed lucky. Cambridge was absolutely charming with its historical and cultural heritage. I cannot conceive of being here for multiple years as a student, sure would be undoubtedly memorable.

 

Captured by Kawasaki Sensei. Guess what were we taking photos of. Haha, no, we did not meet any celebrities.

Trivia (Just from my observation about the difference of London and Tokyo)

• The citizen is way more heterogenous. As the Paddington Bear said, "In London, everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in."
• They line up on the right side of the escalator.
• In central London, I hardly found zebra cross on the street, but somehow we didn't have any problem by following the crowds, haha.
• No yellow blocks/lines in the pedestrian (for disable people).
• Minimum signage in the train station (such as the platform number, where to stand to match the train doors, and basically the direction to transfer to other line). Some stations don't have announcement when the train is coming, no warning to stand behind the yellow blocks, an of course, no jingle before the door closed like in Japan, hehe.
• We can pay public transportations by tapping our debit/credit cards directly.
• Nearly all the buses in this area are red and feature two levels.
• Cashless payment everywhere. I could barely use my pound cash, lol. Meanwhile in Japan, still so many shops/stores accept cash only (this is not a judgement which one is better, hehe).
• Call French fries as chips and chips as crisps.
• Rice is definitely not the staple food, hehe. However, I could easily find halal restaurants and meat shops!
• People were easy-going, would greet you (good morning), and didn't hesitate to speak their mind (at least the ones I met haha). Also, I encountered three strangers in separate times who were checking on us if we were okay/get lost/needed help.

Bonus some foods I had in London, of course I had to try the fish and chips. Always came in a big portion!

 

 

 

Okayyy, thank you for reading! 

Cheers!

A Week in The UK

Hi mates, Budz here! 
Let me take you through my one-week UK experience (and perspective):

Last week, we flew to London to attend the DMDU Conference . It was a jam-packed event full of crisp(y) insights. Personally, the one that caught my interest is the application of XLRM framework. I wasn't very familiar with the tool before, but it kept appearing in the sessions. From what I picked up, it is used in Robust Decision Making (RDM) to build consensus in terms of unXertainties, policy Levers  or alternative actions, Relationships/models, and performance Metrics.  With our future full of uncertainty, this framework somehow aligns goals, assumptions, and interpretations across modelers and decision makers. It's part of the iterative RDM process that mainly builds trust, encourages open communication, and enhances flexibility when working under deep uncertainty. My presentation on quantifying flood resilience, for example, is just one piece of the entire RDM cycle, the part that provides empirical evidence and potential metrics.  Now, with curiosity with the field, I am hoping that I can apply it further in my research…but let's seeee. Afterall, DMDU and its community offer a great space for young researchers like me, and I find it to be a promising field that acknowledges interdisciplinarity and explicitly values ​​​​​​the importance of VALUES in decision making. 

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Now, let's talk about some of the “spillover effects” or SOE of attending a conference (SOE is Mori-san's topic, but in flood control investment haha ​​​​​​​​​​just want to borrow the term LOL). Of course, we also took the chance to explore the city, meet people in and outside the conference, and enjoy English breakfasts and more:

• Strolling the City.  London's landscape seamlessly mixes its rich history with a modern skyline. Walking through the city felt like stepping between centuries with every turn. They warned me that visiting the UK in November would be cold, but I still wasn't ready for this. It's still autumn, so I can't imagine what winter feels like. Transportation here is also efficient, but Japan for me is better in spoiling commuters with its clear signages (I got lost so many times in the underground trains LOL). We also had a day trip to Cambridge to visit one of the Civil Engineering labs and had a chance to share casually our research. Cambridge is genuinely magical, a place that instantly makes you feel more reflective, as if the air itself encourages deeper thinking, or maybe the environment is just naturally conducive for contemplating hahaha.

Last half-day hustle: King's Cross → Buckingham Palace → Big Ben → Tower Bridge. We made it… but not recommended LOL.

Along the way, I gave up converting Pounds to Yen for transport fares LOL. Apparently, London has the priciest public transport in the world!

• Knowing other People.  Another perk of attending an international conference is meeting people from all walks of life. DMDU is unique because it attracts a balanced mix of participants from academia, government, NGOs, and the private sector. But outside the conference, you can also feel how diverse the UK is, in general. London reminded me a bit of Tokyo with its number of tourists, but here you can't really tell who's local and who's not. In my short stay, at least those I encountered weren't afraid to make small talk, and many were quick to help if you look lost (even in the street). 

Just some harmless college gossip… jk hahaha I don't know, totally forgot the topic. 

• Enjoying Fish and Chips, and more. Of course, we tried the classic fish and chips and checked out a pub. The UK's diversity also shows in its food that you can find almost anything. In fact, near our accommodation, I even found Filipino dishes like sisig and kare-kare. 

Overall, I truly enjoyed my week in The UK. More than participating in the conference and exploring a new city, I think this trip becomes memorable because of the stories and laughs that we shared, with my labmates and Kawasaki-sensei. About my experiences, honestly, I could go on, but I don't want to bore you LOL. Hope you enjoyed reading, 'til next time!