Probability in South America
Probability in South America

The aim of this summer school is to offer advanced courses in probability theory and to attract students to the field, by offering three advanced minicourses (on a master level) by well-known researchers in the area, complemented by research talks.

The event is open to all interested audiences, but in particular advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young researchers, are encouraged to participate.

Registration

Registration for the school is free but mandatory. There is a small amount of financial support for foreign students. If you want to apply for financial support, please register before October 31, 2025 (using this link), so that we can shortly afterwards let you know about the outcome. If you are not applying for financial support, registration is open until January 8 (using the same link).

When registering, state clearly in the form if you want to apply for this support, in this case, send an email to dieter.mitsche@uc.cl with a short CV together with names of people that could be contacted as references (no reference letters are needed, just their names).

The summer school will be held in the “Auditorio Ninoslav Bralic” on the first floor of the Rolando Chuaquí building of Facultad de Matemáticas de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Campus San Joaquín.

Confirmed lecturers of Minicourses

Bas Lodewijks

Univ. Sheffield

Competition of connectivity in evolving random trees

Abstract: In this mini-course we will study a family of random trees that are constructed recursively by adding vertices one by one and connecting new vertices to existing vertices with a probability that depends on their current degree. In particular, this family contains the well-known uniform attachment and linear preferential attachment models as examples. We will investigate several properties of these tree models, such as the number of connections of a typical vertex, as well as whether or not a `monopoly' can arise, where one vertex attains the largest degree for all but finitely many steps.

Timo Vilkas

Univ. Lund

Phase transitions in percolation and interacting particle sytems

Abstract: Many stochastic models exhibit the phenomenon of a phase transition. Local properties or interactions, that are governed by parameters of the model give rise to global properties of the macroscopic system. At critical points, changing the parameters slightly leads to drastic changes in the global behavior of the model. In this mini-course, we are going to highlight prominent examples and discuss connections to real-life phenomena such as magnetism or opinion formation in groups.

TBA

TBA

Organizers

Tentative program

Monday, January 12
09:00 - 09:30 Registration/Opening
09:30 - 10:45 Minicourse 1
10:45 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:30 Minicourse 2
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 15:15 Minicourse 3
15:15 - 15:45 Coffee break
15:45 - 16:45 Contributed Talk
   
Tuesday, January 13
   
09:30 - 10:45 Minicourse 1
10:45 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:30 Minicourse 2
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 15:15 Minicourse 3
15:15 - 15:45 Coffee break
15:45 - 16:45 Contributed Talk
   
Wednesday, January 14
   
09:30 - 10:45 Minicourse 3
10:45 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:30 Minicourse 1
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 15:00 Contributed talk
15:00 - 15:30 Coffee break
15:30 - 16:00 Short contributed talk
16:00 - 16:30 Short contributed talk
Thursday, January 15
   
09:30 - 10:45 Minicourse 2
10:45 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:30 Minicourse 3
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 15:00 Long contributed talk 
15:00 - 15:30 Coffee break
15:30 - 16:00 Short contributed talk
16:00 - 16:30 Short contributed talk
19:30 Conference dinner
Friday, January 16
   
09:30 - 10:45 Minicourse 1
10:45 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:30 Minicourse 2
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch and end of the summer school

Local Information

Campus San Joaquín

  • The largest campus of UC that has become a true university town, housing 13 colleges. It has belonged to the university since 1891, though the first colleges only began to be built there in the 1960s.


  • Today it has more than 70 buildings and 13 colleges, along with the UC College Preparatory Program and over 22,000 students. It also has ample gardens with native species, large trees, sports fields, a gym and a swimming pool, as well as libraries and cafeterias.
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Practical Information for Visitors

Arriving at the airport

Reciprocity Tax

Incoming passengers who hold an Australian or Mexican passport should pay a Reciprocity Tax before going through the International Police security checkpoint, and then continue to Immigration Control.

To find out more about this tax, contact the airport at +56 2 2960 1063.

International Police

Passengers must submit their travel documents, i.e. passport or identity card, and the duly stamped visa as necessary, at International Police every time they fly into the country.

International tourists are required to fill out a Tourist Card and hand in a copy of this document when leaving the country. Foreign residents in Chile must hand in a copy of this document upon their return.

Please note that Chilean nationals are not required to fill out a Tourist Card when traveling.

For more information visit INFORMATION FOR PASSENGERS.

From the Airport to Santiago

Santiago International Airport is located approximately 20 kilometres West of the city. There are 3 official transport options:

  • Official Taxi:

    The airport has introduced Vía Controlada system. A ground transportation desk is located inside the luggage claim area, where you can request a taxi without pre-booking. There are regular taxis (painted black & yellow) which run on a meter, or tourist taxis (painted blue) which charge a fixed rate according to the area of the city you are traveling to.

  • Transfer Service:

    These are minibuses that offer a shared taxi service. They drive you from the airport and drop you off at your hotel. This should be arranged within the airport. Two companies offer this service: Transvip y Delfos.

  • By Bus:

    These are shuttle buses that go from the airport to the city. Two companies offer this service: Turbus and Centropuerto. You can catch these buses immediately upon exiting the main airport terminal. During the day they run frequently. You pay the driver directly. Once you arrive in Santiago, you can get off the bus at a subway (Metro) station and take the subway to your final destination.

Public Transport

To use public transport, It is recommended to buy a prepaid card Bip. This card is used in subway and buses.

  • Subway (Metro de Santiago):

    Santiago's subway has five lines. The main line (1) runs modern trains along the central East-West axis Alameda - Providencia - Apoquindo serving the center as well as the newer business districts of Providencia and Las Condes. At Los Héroes, Baquedano and Tobalaba stops, you can change to one of the three lines connecting the southern parts of the city to the center. The fiths line is in the South. You can check the map on the website subway . Tickets cost between 610 and 720 pesos (about USD 0.95 - 1.10), depending on time of day, and include transfers. There is no timetable. But usually the metro runs every 2-3 minutes.

  • Buses:

    The urban buses are called “micros” and the city buses system is called “Transantiago”. There are mainline buses that are white and green that circulate across the big thoroughfares like Alameda, Av. Providencia, etc. and feeder buses (with different colors) that connect with the city's outskirts. The most important stops of the route are listed in the windowshield. In transantiago.cl or the app Transantiagomaster, iTransantiago or Micros, you can look for the bus lines that you need for a specific route. Tickets cost between 640 and 720 pesos (about USD 0.95 - 1.15) and allow the transfer to other buses or the subway. The only way to pay is with the prepaid card Bip. It can be recharged in the metro station or specific selling points

  • Taxis:

    The regular taxis are black cars with their yellow roofs can be hailed anywhere. In Santiago, there is a base price of 300 pesos (USD 0.50) plus around 130 pesos for each 200 m driven (or per minute when waiting). The rates are posted on the windscreen; the meter has to be where you can see it. You can request a radiotaxi by phone. It is more safe and comfortable. Or you can use a mobile application as Safer Taxi or Easy Taxi. Also, you can use Uber and Cabify applications - the legality or illegality of these applications is not regulated even-.

Getting to San Joaquin Campus

The Facultad de Matematicas is located on San Joaquin Campus, one of the four campuses of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica. The address of the campus is Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, San Joaquin, Santiago. The campus is just in front of the Metro station San Joaquin on Line 5. During the morning from 6 to 9 am and the evening from 6 to 9 pm, Line 5 of the Metro operates 2 services and the trains don’t stop at each station. Only the red train stops at San Joaquin station - look out for the red lights on the train carriage before you get on the train.

It is safer to cross the footbridge to get to the campus rather than crossing the road. You will find a global map of San Joaquin Campus here. On this map the way to the Facultad de Matematicas from the Metro is printed in red.

The Weather in Santiago

The weather in Santiago during the summer months (December to March) is usually dry and warm in the day and cool at night. During the winter (June to August) the temperature ranges from 2°C to 16°C.

Weather in Macul

Chile has a high level of UV radiation so we recommend that you use sunscreen, especially in the summer.

Currency Exchange

There are ATM machines (Redbanc) all over the city, including the airport. You can exchange money at the airport, in banks or at Casas de Cambio (Currency exchange offices). Note that Casas de Cambio generally have better rates than banks. Banks are usually open from 9:00 to 14:00. The Casas de Cambio are usually open from 9:30 to 18:00.

For currency conversions, please visit XE Currency Converter.There are cash machines and two banks (Corpbanca and Santander) on San Joaquin Campus. Note that if you want to cash a cheque you will be asked to sXE how your passport. In order to cash a Chilean cheque you need to sign vertically across the front side of the cheque and write your passport number on the reverse side.