The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi hosted the Applied Behavioural Sciences and Decision Making Conference (ABSDM 2025), a two-day event that brought together researchers, academicians, and practitioners from India and other countries to discuss research in behavioural science, cognitive modelling, and decision-making.
The conference was organised by Prof. Varun Dutt of IIT Mandi and Prof. Sumitava Mukherjee of IIT Delhi. It focused on cognitive, social, and technological aspects of decision processes and examined the application of behavioural insights to areas such as climate change, public policy, and emerging technologies. The event was supported by the TATA Trust Project, with Prof. K. V. Uday as principal investigator.
ABSDM 2025 was inaugurated by Prof. Laxmidhar Behera, Director of IIT Mandi. The opening session included remarks by Prof. Joachim Meyer of Tel Aviv University, who delivered the keynote address, along with Prof. Arnav Bhavsar, Prof. Shubhajit Roy Chowdhury, and Prof. K. V. Uday, all of IIT Mandi. According to the organisers, the conference aimed to promote interdisciplinary engagement across psychology, engineering, economics, and data science.
In his address, Prof. Meyer discussed interactions between humans and decision-support algorithms in sectors such as healthcare, defence, and transportation, highlighting research on trust and effectiveness in algorithm-assisted decision-making. The programme included discussions on behavioural interventions for environmental sustainability, applications of drift diffusion models, and human–AI interaction. More than 30 research papers and posters were presented during the event.
The conference concluded with a general body meeting, where participants discussed the formation of a Society for Applied Behavioural Science and Decision Making and plans for future conferences.
In a related initiative, IIT Mandi also organised the 7th Winter School on Cognitive Modelling (WSCM 2025) under the Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health Applications Centre, supported by grants from the TATA Trusts and the Ministry of Education’s IKS division. The winter school brought together experts and students from multiple disciplines to examine developments in cognitive modelling and brain sciences.
