The development and use of OR in Africa is an important component of ORSSA. As such the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the ORSSA 2024 conference offered the Development Package Sponsorship again this year to support promising students from different universities. The sponsorship provided attendance, travel and lodgings for the conference.
The LOC was once again very excited to accept the an offer from the NWU Centre for Business Mathematics and Informatics to buy this package. Their sponsorship enabled Serutle Moeng and Florinda Maningue from the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the University of Limpopo to attend as student delegates. ORSSA further matched the number of sponsored students one-to-one to increase access to the event.
The students provide the following feedback to express their thanks:
Serutle writes, "I would like to express my sincere gratitude for sponsoring my attendance at the 53rd annual ORSSA Conference at Skukuza. It was an incredible experience to witness the wide range of applications and methodologies used in OR. Before being introduced to OR, I had little interest in pursuing my degree further, as it seemed limited to mathematics, computer science, or statistics. While those fields are valuable, they didn’t offer me a clear connection to solving real-world problems in our country.
At the ORSSA conference, I had the opportunity to learn about various research projects addressing pressing issues. For example, Robert Bennetto’s "A Tale of Two Grids" focused on solving the load shedding crisis, Lize Visser's work tackled the "Inventory Routing Problem," Hannah Callaghan presented on "Mobile Clinic Deployment," and Sheetal Silal discussed "COVID-19 Modelling," among others. These presentations inspired me deeply and showed me how OR can be applied in the professional world. I also had the chance to engage with some of the presenters, gaining valuable advice and motivation to continue my studies so that I too can contribute to improving people's lives.
The conference further inspired me to collaborate with my lecturer, Mr. Dikgale, in encouraging more students at our university to enroll in OR courses. I can now confidently define OR as the use of scientific methods and analysis to solve complex problems by breaking them down into fundamental components while considering the costs associated with decision-making.
The highlight of the conference was the bush braai. Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I must admit I was a bit nervous, imagining I might have dinner while the lions considered me theirs!" Florinda writes, "I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the sponsorship that allowed me to attend the 53rd Annual ORSSA Conference held in Kruger National Park. It was an enriching experience where I had the opportunity to engage with experts in OR and statistics, gain insights into the latest research, and network with fellow students and professionals. I am deeply grateful for the exposure.
The conference had several highlights for me. I was particularly fascinated by the presentations on dynamic complex systems analysis, especially the discussion on the notion of time and path inconsistency and the challenges of maintaining consistent decision-making paths in dynamic systems. I also found the session on IRP formulation insightful. One presentation that resonated with me was about predicting learner progress in South Africa. It made me reflect on how the stability of a learner's environment significantly impacts education—a fact that should motivate learners to strive for better. A memorable quote from the session was, "Help a child get a father before they get basic education," which struck a chord with me.
Another captivating session focused on graph theory. The discussions on basement weapon aim, cell phone tower location relative to network coverage, and different types of domination, as well as topics like harvest scheduling and graph transversals, were incredibly informative. I also learned about the b-coloring of regular graphs, which can be used to organize training sessions or other activities. The overview and comparison of heuristics for the generalized bin packing problem were particularly remarkable, highlighting the strategies and factors considered in efficient packing.
Being surrounded by individuals with a deep understanding of OR was also an invaluable experience. I didn’t need to struggle to explain OR, and it was inspiring to see how diverse the field is and how widely it is applied across various industries.
The presentations helped me refine my interests, particularly in scheduling and routing problems, such as the Travelling Salesman Problem. The conference not only deepened my understanding of OR but also solidified my decision to pursue a BSc Honours in Operations Research in 2025 and become more actively involved in the OR community. This conference was both educational and enjoyable, and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to attend."
If you would like to sponsor students to attend the next ORSSA conference, contact the Society Secretary today for a copy of the latest sponsorship prospectus!
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