ECCO XXXVI CONFERENCE 2023

11th - 14th May 2023, Chania, Crete, Greece



The 36th Conference of the European Chapter on Combinatorial Optimization will be held in Chania, Crete, Greece, and will run from Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th May 2023. It will be hosted at the Akali Hotel in the heart of the city center and about a five-minute walk away from the Old Town and the Venetian Harbor.

ECCO (European Chapter on Combinatorial Optimization) is a Working Group of EURO (Association of European Operational Research Societies) that provides an excellent opportunity to discuss recent and important issues in Combinatorial Optimization and its applications.

     

Aims and Objectives


The ECCO annual meetings aim to bring together researchers in the field of Combinatorial Optimization to present their work, share experiences, and discuss recent advances in theory and applications. The primary objectives are:

Topics of interest:


Important dates

Abstract Submission Starts December 5th, 2022
Deadline for Abstract Submission March 5th, 2023 March 19th, 2023 April 2nd, 2023
Notification of Acceptance March 19th, 2023 March 22nd, 2023 April 4th, 2023
Deadline for Early Registration April 2nd, 2023 April 7th, 2023
Deadline for Late Registration April 23rd, 2023
ECCO Conference 2023 May 11th – 14th, 2023

Plenary Speakers


Bo Chen (University of Warwick, United Kingdom)

Title: Auctions and Bidding
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for their improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats. Their theoretical discoveries have improved auctions in practice and benefited sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world (RSAS, 2020). Auction theory provides an explicit model of price making and auctions are of consider-able practical significance. Auction theory is closely linked to game theory, combinatorial optimization and computational complexity. In the first half of my talk, I will give a brief overview of auction theory and practice. I will introduce some key concepts and results in auction theory, then provide some examples of best auction practice, and conclude with pointers to some seminal full-review articles. In the second half of my talk, I will present my recent studies on some auction problems in the electricity capacity market.


Nelson Maculan (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Title: Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem in Rn: Optimization Models and New Heuristics
We will briefly introduce the Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem in Rn and its most important properties. We will show the construction and computational behavior of nonlinear optimization models with mixed integer variables and their continuous relaxations. Two new heuristics with their respective numerical tests will also be presented.
Note: This is a joint work with Hacène Ouzia (LIP6 - Sorbonne Université, France) and Renan V. Pinto (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ, Brazil).
Part of the topics presented at this conference were published in: 1-Hacène Ouzia, Nelson Maculan, Mixed Integer Nonlinear Optimization Models for the Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem in Rd, Journal of Global Optimization (JOGO), v. 83, pp 119-136, 2022.
2-Renan V. Pinto, Nelson Maculan, A New Heuristic for the Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem in Rn, to be published in TOP.


Greet Vanden Berghe (KU Leuven, Belgium)

Title: Personnel rostering: trends and challenges in theory and practice
Personnel rostering represents a fascinating combinatorial optimisation problem due to its socio-economic relevance, its potential for improvement through automated decision support and its computational complexity.
The optimisation problem has yielded ample practice-oriented operational research approaches. Despite the vast amount of academic research results, it remains hard for novice developers to profit from general insights or re-usable models and algorithms. This `cold startʼ issue can be partially explained by complicated regulations typical for personnel environments with 24/7 duties and different in almost every organisation. The very same issue also persists due to the lack of a theoretical framework for nurse rostering.
From an academic point of view, interesting models have been developed for varying nurse rostering problems. The approaches range from self-rostering and manual problem decompositions to different levels of automated decision support.
This plenary talk will focus on the challenging interplay between important practical and theoretical nurse rostering contributions.


Abstract Submissions

Abstract submission is already open

The process is through the EURO Abstract Submission System.

If you do not yet have a EURO login account, please create one. If you already have an account, for example from the previous EURO or IFORS conferences, you will be able to login using your credentials.
Abstracts must be written in English and contain no more than 1,500 characters in plain text format (no formulas are allowed).
Please note that the submission MUST be done by the person who will present the paper and will be shown as first author. No change to the speaker (first author) will be allowed later.

For each submitted paper, ONE unique registration must be submitted as well (e.g., for two submitted papers, two separate registrations must be submitted).

Registration

Registration type Cost (€)
Regular Early Registration until: April 7th, 2023 190
Regular Late Registration until: April 23rd, 2023 240
Student Early Registration until: April 7th, 2023 130
Student Late Registration until: April 23rd, 2023 180
Accompanying person registration (Gala dinner & social event) until: April 23st, 2023 50
Accompanying person registration (Gala dinner, lunches & social event) until: April 23rd, 2023 80

Transfer costs (e.g., credit card fees, etc.) are not included in the registration fee and are paid by the delegate.

Special Student Rate: A number of about 20 master/PhD students will be supported and can apply for the Special Student Rate. To qualify for the Special Student Rate, students need to provide official evidence of their studentship from their institution on a stamped letterhead. Student applications with their university certificates should be submitted by email by April 2nd. The announcement of the acceptance/rejection of the applications will be made by April 4th.

The category (early/late) of the registration fees are determined by the date the payment is made, not the date of registration.

Cancellation policy: The registration of participation is binding. Cancellation of registration must be submitted in writing via email. Cancellations received before 23 April 2023 are subject to a 20% administrative fee. No refunds will be paid after 23 April 2023.

Registration payment system is available through the following link of the Technical University of Crete: https://payment.tuc.gr/register.php?id=37

The registration must be completed by filling the registration form here.


Scientific & Social Programs

The Conference will take place between Thursday 11th and Sunday May 14th 2023.

Programme of Talks

  • The conference program is available here.
  • The Registration Desk will be open on Thursday 11th May at 08.45am.

Social Events

  • Conference Dinner: On Friday 12th May at 8.00pm there will be the conference Diner at Old Harbor of Chania.
  • Optional Excursion 1: Theriso - Saturday, May 13.
  • Optional Excursion 2: Lake Kournas – Sunday, May 14.

Information about the excurions is available here. Those interested in participating should pay the corresponding amount through the electronic payment system of the Conference from Monday 24/4/2023 until Wednesday, 26/4/2023 Friday 28/4/2023, noting the names of the participants. Please email the receipt of deposit or transfer to nikos@ergasya.tuc.gr.



Publications

Book of Abstracts

The Book of Abstracts is available at the following link.

Special Issue

The following special issue will be devoted in papers presented in the conference: Journal of Combinatorial Optimization
All articles will be refereed according to the high standards of the journal. Details of the process will be given during the conference.


Venue

The conference takes place at the Civitel Akali


Travel & Accommodation

The following links provide information on how to reach Chania by ship or plane via Athens, as well as, information on transportation between airports, ports and ciy center:

The hotel where the conference will be held offers the following special rates for conference participants:

  • Standard single room = 95.00 € BB
  • Standard double or Twin room =120.00 € BB
  • Superior Double for single use = 115.00 € BB
  • Superior twin room = 150.00 € BB

The above prices include a rich breakfast and all taxes.
In addition, there is an accommodation tax of 3.00 € per day per room.
Reservations can be made until March 31st, 2023, under the name ECCO2023.

Travel Documents

  • Citizens of European Union countries do not require a visa to enter Greece and will only require a valid passport or for Schengen countries, an identification card. Citizens of Australia, Canada, Isreael, Japan, New Zealand, Iceland, Switzerland, and USA do not require a visa in order to enter Greece for a period of less than 3 months.
  • Citizens of countries other than the ones mentioned should contact their nearest Greek Consulate or Embassy or http://www.mfa.gr/en/appendix/greece-bilateral-relations/a.html. Please make sure that you deal with these matters as early as possible, in case you encounter unexpected processing delays and difficulties.
  • Participants of the conference that require visas in order to travel to Greece are kindly asked to contact the ECCO23 Local Organizing Commitee Chair to solicit an official letter.


Committees

Program committee

Organizing committee



Contact


News

ECCO 2023 conference photos

    The ECCO 2023 conference photos are available here.

ECCO 2023 conference program

    The ECCO 2023 conference program has been updated and is available here.

Book of Abstracts

    The Book of Abstracts is available at the following link.

Useful Information

    In the following link, you will find useful teleplone numbers and directions on how to reach the Conference dinner ("Glossitses" tavern) from Hotel Akali. Info.

Optional excurion information

    Information regarding the partitipation in the optional excurions is available here.

Student fee coverage and deadline extension

    The Conference Program Committee of the 36th Conference of the European Chapter on Combinatorial Optimization (ECCO XXXVI), taking into consideration:
    a. its intention for participation in the conference by as many Master/PhD students as possible,
    b. the current financial capabilities of the conference, and
    c. the delegates' requests for a few days’ extension of the deadlines, decided:
    a. covering the participation fees of about 20 Master/PhD students, and
    b. the extension of the abstract submission deadlines for April 2, 2023.