The 4th Conference of the EURO Practitioners' Forum took place at the Zuse Institute Berlin on April 20-21, 2023. The EURO Practitioners' Forum, launched in 2016 as the EURO Working Group on the Practice of OR, helps professionals in the field of Operations Research (OR) to explore new tools and techniques, expand their networks, and learn from others' experiences, with the goal of having a greater impact outside their field. This year’s focus topic was “OR as a resilient technology – How OR reacts and adapts to disruptive changes and future challenges”.
The conference featured five keynote speakers from different European countries, covering various industry sectors. Topics included coping with challenges in gas transport, OR challenges related to the electricity system transition, using airline planning software to schedule nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, managing uncertainty and disruptive changes in the financial services industry, and optimal pricing in e-commerce. Additionally, a panel discussion on quantum computing in OR generated considerable interest among attendees.
The conference received a large number of contributed submissions, and the program committee selected a diverse range of applications, including earthquake response operations, dynamic pricing, sustainable investment planning in the energy sector, airline ground operations planning, and travel time estimates in evolving networks.
Parallel discussion groups were held to facilitate sharing experiences on topics such as the future of transportation and logistics, challenges in planning and operating resilient energy systems, finding the right people or software in the OR/Analytics supply chain, and delivering value with OR products in practical contexts.
Over 130 participants from more than 20 countries attended the conference, which provided ample opportunities for networking.
The conference was made free to attend through the contributions of the event hosts, Zuse Institute Berlin and FICO, as well as other sponsors.
