From March 23 to 25, 2024, the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM) collaborated with the University of Science - Vietnam National University, Hanoi (HUS), the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), and the Research Campus MODAL (MODAL) to organize the Spring School on Operations Research and Applications. This event is part of the national key program for the development of mathematics for the period 2021 - 2030.
The program featured lectures by experts in the field of Operations Research and was attended by 70 participants, including students, postgraduate students, lecturers, and scientists. The organizing committee sponsored 11 participants from provinces outside Hanoi to attend the Spring School.
The Spring School included six lectures and two practical sessions by scientists from Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin), the National University of Singapore (NUS), Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB). The lecture series introduced some foundational knowledge of Operations Research and its practical applications. Participants were able to apply the theoretical knowledge they gained during the lectures in practical exercises at the end of each day.
On the first day, the Spring School began with two lectures by Prof. Ralf Borndörfer (FU Berlin and ZIB) on Integer Optimization and Optimization in Transportation. The opening lecture started with basic problems in combinatorial optimization, allowing participants to become familiar with fundamental concepts in graph theory, computational complexity, linear programming, and integer programming, as well as modeling real-world problems using mathematical models. Participants were introduced to applications in public transportation, such as vehicle scheduling, trip scheduling, duty scheduling, and line planning, along with several successful project applications of these problems in various cities and regions in Germany.
Prof. Ralf Borndörfer Lecturing at the Spring School
On the second day, a series of two lectures by Prof. Thorsten Koch (TU Berlin and ZIB) focused on Operations Research and methods for solving integer programming problems and related issues. The first lecture provided a comprehensive journey into the integration of various components within the problem-solving cycle when applying Operations Research in practice. It highlighted the harmonious combination of stages such as business analysis, data collection, model building, theoretical and algorithmic development, programming, and practical implementation.
Prof. Koch introduced several applications implemented at ZIB, including optimization of warehouse operations, telecommunication network design, mining optimization, chip testing, and port optimization. Participants began to understand the challenges of applying Operations Research to real-world scenarios. The second lecture concentrated on methods for solving integer programming problems and related issues. It covered various solution methods, factors affecting the efficiency of algorithms, and the historical development and performance improvements of integer optimization software over time.
Prof. Thorsten Koch presented a lecture on Operations Research and Methods for Solving Integer Programming Problems
The final day of the Spring School featured two lectures by Prof. Ying Chen (NUS) and Dr. Lê Thị Thái (ZIB). Prof. Chen's lecture was titled "AI Forecasting for Digital Finance and Energy." In this lecture, participants were introduced to topics in quantitative finance such as derivative instruments on investment portfolios, financial derivative contracts, option pricing, credit portfolio valuation adjustments, and default risk.
Participants learned about challenges such as computational complexity, the intricacies of mathematical modeling, and the demands of high-performance computing. Additionally, Prof. Chen introduced forecasting problems related to demand and supply capabilities in Germany's natural gas network and forecasting issues in quantitative finance, particularly the automatic detection of stochastic dynamic changes.
Prof. Chen at the spring school
Dr. Lê Thị Thái's lecture on the topic of energy systems was the final session of the Spring School. The lecture covered the history of the energy sector in general, with a particular focus on renewable energy. It discussed the combined use of numerical analysis methods, optimization methods, and artificial intelligence techniques to more accurately predict instabilities in industrial energy systems.
Dr. Thai presented about energy system
The Spring School on Operations Research and Applications provided participants with new knowledge and insights into the potential for practical applications. The school was well-received and positively evaluated by the participants.
Some notable images from the Spring School:
