Scheduling EURO-k conferences

EURO-k conferences are among the largest Operations Research conferences in the world, typically including more than 2000 presentations. As opposed to many other conferences, EURO-k conferences are hierarchically organized, and the conference schedule should reflect this structure to make navigation easier and more logical. In this article we present a scheduling tool that has been developed during the EURO2015 and EURO2016 conferences to schedule the streams, sessions and talks. A schedule is obtained by solving a number of optimization models, each addressing a specific objective. First, areas are assigned to buildings, making sure that related research areas are located close to each other. Next, the goal is to allocate each stream to only one room, and to ensure that the stream consists of a sequence of consecutive time slots. Finally, we optimize the assignment of room sizes. We illustrate the process by showing results from the scheduling of the EURO2016 conference, which took place in Poznan (Poland), July 3–6, 2016.