[agents] CFP Two events on "Data Science for Optimisation"

[Andrew Parkes]

Dear Colleagues,

You are invited to two events on “Data Science for Optimisation”

- Stream at EURO 2016 (July 3-6, 2016 in Poznań, Poland)
      http://www.euro2016.poznan.pl/abstract-submission/
      session code: a7cf2cd3

- Workshop in Leuven, Belgium. April 13-15
      http://set.kuleuven.be/codes/dfofoundationalmeeting

There are many real-world tasks that require using some optimisation
technique; ranging from scheduling, timetabling, vehicle routing, to the 
optimisation problems that occur within machine learning, statistics, or 
data science in general. A recurrent challenge is that optimisation 
algorithms are themselves difficult and time-consuming to design, 
implement, configure, and deploy. A wide range of existing methods 
attempt to remedy this, e.g. by using statistical and machine learning 
techniques so that optimiser itself can learn to adapt and so optimise 
better. Many of these can be described as using data science methods to 
improve optimisation methods. For example, in operational research (OR) 
and artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning techniques are used 
to configure, tune and select different optimisation algorithms. 
However, although there there are many approaches in this direction, the 
common interests can be obscured by a wide variety of different names 
and terminologies, due to their origins in different research communities.

We are motivated by the view that increased interaction between ‘data
science’ and ‘optimisation’ is potentially of great benefit to
both. In particular, applying data science techniques to improve
optimisation algorithms also has potential benefits to data science
itself. The optimisation algorithms are themselves a rich source of data 
and the ability to test new ideas for prediction, and the control of the 
decisions that optimisation algorithms make during their execution. The 
control system of the optimisation algorithm may well use a combination 
of agent and data science techniques. Besides classic OR areas such as 
scheduling, timetabling, and routing, the target optimisation algorithms 
may also be ones used in data science. That is, data science techniques, 
working along with OR optimisation techniques, have the potential to 
improve the optimisation techniques used in data science itself as well 
as in more traditional optimisation areas.

We hence invite participation to help promote interaction such methods
within OR, but also enhance interaction with other related disciplines
developing data science, such as AI, evolutionary computing, control
theory,

Stream at EURO 2016 (July 3-6, 2016 in Poznań, Poland)
------------------------------------------------------

Deadline: March 15, 2016

In the European Conference in OR “EURO 2016” 
http://www.euro2016.poznan.pl/
we are running a stream “Data Science in Optimisation”.

You are invited to submit a brief abstract (maximum 1500 characters;
about 1-2 paragraphs), and if accepted then to give an associated
presentation. Note that the process is very lightweight as it does not
require a full paper or even extended abstract. Hence although the
deadline of March 15 is rather close there is still ample time to
submit.

Please use the following web page for submissions:
http://www.euro2016.poznan.pl/abstract-submission/
using invitation/session code a7cf2cd3

Workshop in Leuven, Belgium. April 13-15
----------------------------------------

We are also organising a meeting on ““Data Science for
Optimisation” in Leuven (just outside Brussels) with the intent of
setting up a EURO Working Group

     http://set.kuleuven.be/codes/dfofoundationalmeeting

The motivation is to contribute to increasing the interaction and
exchange of techniques between data scientists and those developing
practical optimisation algorithms. Please consider attending, and we are
also seeking presentations from anyone that is working in optimisation
and or data science and would like to (informally) present relevant
work. Please register, before March 25, and/or feel free to contact us
for further details or to send us an abstract for a contributed talk.

Regards
Patrick De Causmaecker  patrick.decausmaecker at kuleuven.be
Ender Özcan             Ender.Ozcan at nottingham.ac.uk
Andrew J. Parkes        Andrew.Parkes at nottingham.ac.uk

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