12 July 2007
Public Lecture to Highlight Tejari/British University in Dubai Research Collaboration

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Exponential increases in research mixing game theory, microeconomics and computer science have improved the design of electronic markets, according to leading experts.

Dr Kate Larson, an international specialist in the application of game theory to electronic market design and electronic commerce, will be speaking in Dubai as a guest of Tejari, the world-class Business to Business (B2B) Marketplace.

Dr Larson is visiting the UAE to work on advanced technological applications of game theory, the branch of applied mathematics and economics that provides a formal modelling approach to social situations, including market behaviour. Her research partner is Dr. Iyad Rahwan of the British University in Dubai (BUiD).

BUiD and Tejari are cooperating to advance research and development (R&D) in Dubai and the UAE, by using applied game-theory to chart to assess the behaviour of actual markets. This talk will explain how some of the ways that computational settings are changing the way we look at game theory.

The lecture was held at 10am on Wednesday 11 July at the Tejari venue.

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About Tejari
Tejari is the Middle East's premier online business-to-business marketplace.  Tejari enables buyers and sellers to transact and share information about a variety of goods and services via a secured Internet environment.  Tejari provides a single point of contact for an open and growing community of buyers and suppliers, permitting spot-purchasing and on-line auctions that enable participants' real-time access to new markets and greater cost savings.  Visit Tejari at http://www.tejari.com 

About the British University in Dubai
The British University in Dubai (BUiD) is the Middle East's first research-based, postgraduate university. The University was established to facilitate access to world-class education, training and research in the Middle East. BUiD aspires to the highest, internationally recognized British standards as reflected in its partnership with the University of Edinburgh, the University of Birmingham, the University of Manchester, Cardiff University and the Cass Business School at City University, London. Each has a five or five-star rating in the UK national Research Assessment Exercise that signifies research of international standard.

The not-for-profit university offers full and part-time Masters Degree programmes and Continuing Professional Development courses in Information Technology, Project Management, the Built Environment, Finance and Banking, Education and IT Management.

All BUiD's current Masters Programmes have received Accreditation Eligibility Status from the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research's Commission for Academic Accreditation.

The founders of the University are the Al Maktoum Foundation, the Dubai Development and Investment Authority, Rolls-Royce, the British Business Group and the National Bank of Dubai. The University is governed by a Council under the chairmanship of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

The Emirates Group, DUCAB, Atkins, Dubai Duty Free, Hyder Consulting, the Emirates Foundation and DUGAS are supporters of the university through financial contributions or the provision of scholarships.

For further enquiries call BUiD on +971.4.391.3633.

Dr. Kate Larson
Kate Larson is an Assistant Professor in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada.  Her research interests are in artificial intelligence, with a focus on understanding the issues that arise in settings where self-interested agents interact.  Her current research studies how computational limitations influence strategic behavior in multiagent systems, as well as developing approaches to overcome computational issues which arise in practical applications of game theory and mechanism design. Applications of her work range from electronic market design to incentive-based computing. She has a degree in Mathematics from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and received her PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

© Press Release 2007