EURO 2024: Conference, OR Award & Denmark

Last July, the EURO (European Operational Research Societies) Conference 2023 was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was an opportunity to learn more about operations research (OR) in Europe and meet several great OR researchers.

“The subject of optimization is a fascinating blend of heuristics and rigour, of theory and experiment.” — Roger Fletcher

In this article, I want to share a little bit about this beautiful experience as well as some lessons learned.

EURO

The Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO) is a major organization in OR and management science (MS) fields. It is an umbrella organization bringing together different European OR societies. It aims to promote the development and application of OR techniques and methodologies across various industries and sectors. EURO supports the dissemination of research through various journals and publications. One of the prominent journals is the European Journal of Operational Research, which covers a broad range of topics within the field. The association recognizes outstanding contributions to the field through awards and honors, such as the EURO Gold Medal and the EURO Excellence in Practice Award. EURO facilitates networking and collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and institutions across Europe, helping to advance the field and foster international partnerships.

EURO Conference

EURO organizes several conferences and events, including the EURO-K conference series, which provides a platform for researchers, practitioners, and academics to present and discuss their work. The EURO Conference is a major annual event, which features a wide range of presentations, workshops, and discussions on the latest research, methodologies, and applications in OR. Each year, the conference delves into various topics and provides a platform for academics, practitioners, and students to exchange ideas and collaborate.

This year, there were several great presentations, including the plenary talk by Prof. Pascal Van Hentenryck on Fusing learning and optimization for engineering. Overall, the presentations at EURO were of high quality. This is the best conference (in terms of research quality) I have attended so far.

EURO Excellence in Practice Award

The EURO Excellence in Practice Award recognizes outstanding practical applications of operational research that demonstrate significant impact and innovation. Winners are selected based on the following criteria: the real impact on practice, the scientific quality of the application, the relevance to Operational Research, the appreciation by the organization involved with the application, and the originality in methodology, implementations, and/or field of application.

This year, representing Morocco, we were finalists in this prestigious prize. The selection process started in early 2024 based on a thorough review of several documents: (1) a manuscript describing the context, the problem, the solution, and the impact; (2) a summary highlighting how the application satisfies the selection criteria; and (3) a verification letter from the organization where the solution has been implemented. At the conference, three finalists presented their work and the results were announced on the last day of the conference. Our team presented the project: “OCP Optimizes its Supply Chain for Africa and The World”. It was a huge honor to win this competition, bringing the first prestigious prize in OR to Morocco and another major one to Africa.

Lessons from the EURO Excellence in Practice Award

The main lesson generated from the IFORS Prize is the relevance of OR applications that nurture the OR theory, or what our team calls the “Theory inspired by Practice”. In developing contexts like Africa, in particular Morocco, there is a huge potential for OR applications and the generation of new insights that could feed the OR theory and disrupt the current trends. This represents an incentive to popularize OR in developing economies. To boost the usage of OR to tackle real-life problems in developing countries, societies such as EURO play a huge role. For instance, the OCP Group has become a special case in the Moroccan context after being distinguished with various OR prizes, including winning the EURO Excellence in Practice Award and being a finalist in both the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award and the IFORS Prize for OR in Development. More success stories with solid theoretical work are needed in Africa.

Denmark

In Denmark, OR is applied in various sectors including industry, logistics, finance, and public administration. In particular, at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where the EURO conference took place, there is a robust research profile in engineering and technology, with OR applications in areas like energy systems, transport, and supply chain management. In Copenhagen, while attending the conference, we enjoyed the splendid views, food, culture, and music.

To sum up, these academic-oriented trips are unique experiences that last in memory forever, especially after winning a prestigious prize. Writing a blog is a way to keep them alive while we progress through life…:-)

What do you think about the presented insights? I am looking forward to hearing your ideas :-)