OPERATIONS RESEARCH SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE SAS OPERATIONS RESEARCH STUDENT COMPETITION

2009

Objectives

The objectives of the competition are:

  • to propagate the use of Operations Research (OR)
  • to encourage the inclusion of project work in courses within the field of OR
  • to bring the Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA) to the attention of students and staff at universities and technikons.

Prizes

Best Masters project: R5 000

Best Honours project: R4 000

At the judges’ discretion the prizes may be shared.

Participation

Project work that was undertaken for a Masters or Honours in Operations Research or a related field of study during the 2008 academic year, may beentered. Only projects undertaken by individuals will be considered.

Guidelines

1.Operations Research (OR)

Operations Research covers a wide range of topics and is applied in many other fields of study. It originated as a multidisciplinary field centred on mathematical modelling. In practice it often uses computer-based systems as an aid to decision making. Recent developments in OR are, for example, genetic algorithms and community OR. The complex business problems today often require integrating “hard” and “soft” OR approaches. Owing to the multidisciplinary nature of OR, it is recognised and accepted that many courses offered and projects undertaken within the field are the responsibility of courses or departments that do not include the name “Operations Research” in their title. They may, however, be included in courses or departments such as Management Science, Quantitative Management, Industrial Engineering, Decision Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics or Mathematics. For the purpose of this competition, the judges will decide whether a particular project is acceptable as an OR project or not. Should you need guidance in this respect please approach the organiser of the competition listed below.

2.Nature and extent of the project

Individual initiative is encouraged. Therefore, as few limitations as possible are placed on the nature, content and extent of the project. The project may be either practical or theoretical. Originality will weigh heavily in the judging.

3.Report

The project should be submitted in the form of a written report. This should contain at least the following:

  • a clear statement of the background and objectives of the project
  • a description of the approach or methodology adopted
  • a clear presentation of the results and conclusions
  • a discussion of the actual or possible implementation
  • references to the relevant literature.

It may also contain a literature survey and could be supplemented with suitable appendixes and computer disks.

4.Involvement of the lecturer

Each project will, of course, be conducted under the guidance of a lecturer. However, the initiative should, as far as possible, remain in the hands of the student.

For the purpose of this competition, the responsibility of the lecturer should at most involve the following:

  • helping the student to choose a meaningful and feasible project
  • advising the student, on request, during the course of the project.

Selection and award process

  1. Each university or technikon may enter at most three projects in the competition. Lecturers must provide details of each student who intends participating in the competition by completing the “NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUBMIT A PROJECT” form, which is attached. In the event of more than three such notices being submitted by one institution, the organiser will contact the supervising lecturers so that they can decide which three to submit. Every project submitted must be accompanied by a properly completed “PROJECT SUBMISSION FORM” (also attached), which includes a statement on the degree of involvement of the supervisor.
  1. The Executive Committee of ORSSA will appoint a panel of judges, which will nominate the winning projects. The Executive Committee will decide on the winning projects and inform all participating institutions of the outcome in writing. The decision of the Executive Committee will be final and no discussion or correspondence with regard to the outcome will be entered into by them.
  1. The results will be published in ORSSA’s newsletter and, if possible, in the news media.
  1. Winners will be expected to read a paper on the project at the ORSSA annual conference or another event organised by ORSSA as determined by the Executive Committee. The award and a certificate will be formally presented at this occasion.
  1. The sponsor of this competition (SAS) will receive a bound copy of each of the winning projects, on the understanding that if a winning project was done for an institution, the necessary permission will first be obtained by ORSSA.

Closing dates

  1. The “NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUBMIT A PROJECT” form must reach the organiser of the competition by 6 April2009.
  1. The closing date for the submission of projects is 6May2009. Early submissions are welcome.
  1. The Executive Committee will make the results known by21 of September2009.

Organiser and Contact Details

The organiser for the SAS Operations Research Student Competition is Mrs MJ Bester.

Please send all correspondence to:

Mrs MJ Bester

SAS OR Student Competition

P O Box 5613

Tygervalley

Bellville

7536

Any enquiries should be addressed to Mrs MJ Bester:

Phone number: 083 557 5898

E-mail:

Fax:086 622 8841

Acknowledgement

ORSSA would like to extend thanks and appreciation to SAS for sponsoring this competition.

OPERATIONS RESEARCH SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE SAS OPERATIONS RESEARCH STUDENT COMPETITION 2009

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUBMIT A PROJECT

This form must be completed by all students who intend submitting a project to the

SAS OR student competition.

University / Technikon:______

Full name of student:______

Degree / Diploma registered for: ______

Course for which the project

was/is being done:______

Title of the project:______

______

Supervising lecturer:______

Postal address:______

______

Contact details of student:

E-mail:Telephone:

Signatures:

Lecturer / Student
Date / Date

Please submit this form by 6 April2009 to:

Mrs MJ Bester, SAS OR Student Competition, P O Box 5613, Tygervalley, Bellville, 7536

OPERATIONS RESEARCH SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE SAS OPERATIONS RESEARCH STUDENT COMPETITION

2009

PROJECT SUBMISSION FORM

This form must accompany each project submitted to the SAS OR student competition.

University / Technikon:______

Full name of student:______

Title of the project:______

______

Supervising lecturer:______

Statement of the lecturer on the ______

degree of assistance provided

to the student: ______

Postal address:______

______

Contact details of student:

E-mail:Telephone:

Signatures:

Lecturer / Student
Date / Date

Please attach this form to the project and submit it by 6May2009 to:

Mrs MJ Bester, SAS OR Student Competition, P O Box 5613, Tygervalley, Bellville, 7536

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Criteria
/ MaxMark / Mark attained
1.Originality of the problem. For example: Is it an actual problem in practice? How did the student define it? This includes the relevance to Operations Research. / 15
2.How well has the project been described? / 10
3.Problem-solving approach. For example: Has the problem-solving process been followed? What techniques have been used? Why has a particular technique been used? etc. / 10
4.Quality of the theory that has been developed – correctness of techniques, etc. / 15
5.Practical applicability / 10
6.Has the project been implemented and, if so, to what extent? / 5
7.Interaction between the theory and practice / 10
8.Degree or level of complexity / 10
9.The appearance of the final report. This includes the structure and language use, and whether it has been presented as a unit that could be offered for sale. / 15
Total / 100

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