Summer school
PhD Summer School on Sustainable Supply Chains - 1.5 ECTS
Sustainability has become an increasingly important topic to consider in the development and application of quantitative modelling approaches for Supply Chain Management. The quantification of environmental impacts as well as their consideration in Operations Research methodologies, however, often leads to complex multi-objective optimization problems. This Summer School addresses these challenges in relation to e.g. mathematical-programming-based and agent-based multi-criteria decision-making approaches. A variety of lecturers will present methods, tools, and case examples related to the most commonly used quantitative tools used to design and operate sustainable supply chains. Participants will also be working on industrial cases from companies and presenting their results.
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this course, participants are expected to be able to:
- Access an advanced knowledge base on operations research methodologies in the context of sustainable supply chains
- Evaluate and assess different methodological approaches in relation to their own PhD research
- Communicate and discuss complex operational problems in sustainable supply chains with their peers and experts in the field
- Design solution approaches for industrial case studies and present these to relevant stakeholders
Programme
The programme of the summer school will consist of the following components:
- Welcome and get-to-know-each-other on July 1.
- Tutorials on selected topics on the interface of operations research and sustainable supply chains, e.g. mathematical modelling approaches for sustainable supply chains; multi-criteria decision-making; modelling trade-offs between economic, environmental, and social objectives, dealing with interdisciplinarity, e.g. combining optimization and life cycle assessment; discussion of specific characteristics of e.g. bio-based and food supply chains; current developments in the context of the circular economy.
- Opportunity to discuss own PhD research with peers and expert (guest) lecturers from the field.
- Case assignments in which the PhD students get to work on industry cases. Solutions developed by participants will be presented for industry stakeholders at the end of the summer school.
The tutorials and casework end on July 5, and is followed by the 2nd EURO Working Group Conference on Sustainable Supply Chains, July 6-7, 2018, in Amsterdam. This conference registration is open for all PhD students in the Summer School (at a discounted rate) as well as members of the EURO Working Group on Sustainable Supply Chains, and other interested researchers.
Assessment
Pass/fail based on active participation and presentation of group work (and conference poster presentation, if relevant)
Target group and min/max number of participants
This course is intended for a maximum of 30 participants.
Assumed prior knowledge
Participants are expected to already have an MSc-level background in Operations Research and/or Industrial Engineering, as well as basic knowledge and/or interest in its use in the context of sustainable supply chains. Please contact the organizers in case of doubt about the required entry level.
Course fee
For WASS, WIMEK, PE&RC PhDs the registration fee is 245 euro, for all others the registration fee is 490 Euros. This will cover accommodation in a twin room with breakfast, conference material, coffee breaks, lunches, and social dinner. A discount will be discussed with participants that do not require accommodation.
Application
Interested students should send the following documents by March 31, 2018 to sustsc.orl@wur.nl. Notification of acceptance is expected by April 15, 2018.
1. Allication letter including:
a. Name, affiliation and email address
b. PhD Programme you are enrolled in, current stage of studies, as well as your PhD supervisor's name(s)
c. Background in Sustainabilty and in Operations Research
d. Motivation to attend the PhD School
2. Curiculum Vitae
3. A recommendation letter from the PhD supervisor