The Zurich Center for Computational Financial Economics (ZCCFE) will hold the 2015 Zurich Initiative on Computational Economics (ZICE15) at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, from January 28 to February 5, 2015. ZICE15 will be a program for young scholars interested in applying computational methods to economics.

ZICE15 marks the fourth time that this computational workshop is held at the University of Zurich. ZICE15 has a similar format as ZICE11, ZICE13, ZICE14 and the past ICE (at the University of Chicago) workshops with lectures and tutorials on topics in numerical analysis, their applications in economics, and their implementation in a variety of software tools. Participants will work on assignments to facilitate the learning of numerical methods and will be able to speak with the lecturers about their own work during “office hours”.

The aim of ZICE15 is to create a collaborative community of computational scientists and economists by training young scholars (advanced graduate students) in state-of-the-art numerical methods and computer technology, and their application to economic modeling and analysis.

The activities will begin with formal lectures on a range of topics – numerical optimization, dynamic programming, solution methods for dynamic economic models, and computationally intensive methods in statistics – followed by tutorials that familiarize participants with computer software applied to economic models. These sessions are presented by a mix of computational scientists and economists.

Graduate students from all universities are encouraged to apply to the Zurich Initiative. All applications will be considered equally; neither the citizenship of an applicant nor his or her current place of study will be a consideration in acceptance decisions. However, note that the workshop is for current PhD students only, ideally students in their 3rd year.

There will be no fee for participating in ZICE15. We will provide housing for participants at no charge (double rooms at Zurich Youth Hostel). Participants are responsible for transportation costs and for their meals. ZICE15 is funded by the University of Zurich.

For more information on topics, speakers, life in Zurich, and application procedures, see www.zccfe.uzh.ch. Application forms will be available at this website starting mid-August, 2014.

NOTE THAT THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 28, 2014.

E-mail inquiries should be directed to Ruth Häfliger at ruth.haefliger@bf.uzh.ch.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Judd, Hoover Institution
Felix Kubler, University of Zurich and Swiss Finance Institute
Karl Schmedders, University of Zurich and Swiss Finance Institute
Che-Lin Su, University of Chicago

We thank the University of Zurich and NCCR FINRISK for the sponsoring.