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Operations Research Comes to Zimbabwe in a Big Way – The ORSSA 2011 Conference at Victoria Falls

1 June 2011 3,260 views 4 Comments
Dave Evans, Maseka Lesaoana, Philimon Nyamugure, and Caston Sigauke
    This is an excerpt from “Operations Research Comes to Zimbabwe in a Big Way – The ORSSA 2011 Conference at Victoria Falls,” which appeared in the February 2011 issue of ORMS Today.

    The executive committee of the Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA) recently awarded its 2011 conference to the Zimbabwean OR community. In doing so, ORSSA hopes to foster greater collaboration and cooperation across southern African OR communities, accelerate the expansion of OR applications and education in Zimbabwe, and encourage the establishment of a Zimbabwean OR society.

    A Brief History

    Many of you are aware that Operations Research (OR) started as the study of military operations (hence the name) during the Second World War. The development of operations research professional societies began soon after the conclusion of the war with the establishment of the Operational Research Society in the United Kingdom (ORS) in 1948, the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) in 1952, and The Institute for Management Sciences (TIMS) in 1954. These three societies introduced the theory and practice of OR to the international community through their respective journals, namely, Operational Research Quarterly (now Journal of the Operational Research Society), Journal of the Operations Research Society (now Operations Research), and Management Science.

    The 1960s and early 1970s saw further development and formation of OR groups. As early as 1968, a statistics and operations research group was already functional at the University of Cape order ativan cheap Town, and a Johannesburg operations research group had also been established. These groups met regularly to present and discuss interesting OR methods and applications. Today, these groups are mirrored in the regional chapters of ORSSA, which include the Johannesburg, Pretoria, Vaal Triangle, and Western Cape chapters.

    By the end of the 1960s, a number of universities and companies were actively involved in OR throughout South Africa. Both in-house experts and external consultants were involved, and most applications of OR were executed by statisticians and engineers. By this time, several South-African industries also were involved in OR applications. These included the CSIR, Iscor, the railways, the Operational Research Bureau, the South African Defense Force, the Chamber of Mines, Sasol, African Explosives and Chemical Industries, the banking sector, the South African Post Office, and computer companies.

    The speed at which OR spread in South Africa led to a meeting on April 18, 1968. More than 180 people interested in OR were present at this meeting at the Sunnyside Park Hotel in Johannesburg. The guest speaker was Patrick Rivett of England, one of the best-known operations researchers in the world at that time, as well as an excellent speaker. During this meeting, a national steering committee was formed to address the possible establishment of an operations research society in South Africa. The Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA), known in Afrikaans as Die Operasionele Navorsingsvereniging van Suid-Afrika was founded in Johannesburg on November 20, 1969.

    The society has continued to serve the interests of its members since then. Details may be found on its website.

    The ORSSA 2011 Conference

    ORSSA has been working for many years to spread the use and benefits of OR in Africa. It hosted the International Conference on OR in Development in Kruger National Park in 2001, Operations Research Practice in Africa Conference at the University of Cape Town in 2007, and the International Federation of Operational Research Societies’ Triennial Conference at Sandton, Johannesburg, in 2008.

    In September of 2010, ORSSA selected Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe as the site of its 2011 conference and the Zimbabwean National University of Science and Technology (NUST) as the host in an effort to spread its activities across southern Africa. Given NUST’s history of offering OR as a discipline, the high caliber of OR education in Zimbabwe, the strong links between OR and industry in the country, and the visible presence and increasing numbers of NUST operations researchers (both students and lecturers) at ORSSA conferences, Zimbabwe is an ideal choice for ORSSA’s expansion of its conference beyond South Africa’s borders.

    With the conference theme of “Spreading Operations Research Across Africa,” ORSSA is moving in its stated direction and working to expand the awareness, understanding, and use of OR across the wider region.

    The NUST local organizing committee (LOC), chaired by Edward Chiyaka, has begun contacting local and neighboring universities within southern Africa to enlist their participation in this conference. Maseka Lesaoana, Caston Sigauke, and Daniel Maposa of the University of Limpopo; ORSSA President Dave Evans; and Ozias Ncube of UNISA will assist the LOC in ensuring the success of the 2011 ORSSA conference. ORSSA Vice President and University of Stellenbosch professor Jan van Vuuren will be responsible for the conference program, and James J. Cochran of Louisiana Tech University will provide assistance from the United States.

    ORSSA and NUST feel strongly that holding the 2011 ORSSA Conference outside the South-African borders will encourage the spread of effective application of OR across southern Africa. The OR community at NUST also thinks holding the conference in Zimbabwe will promote the development and broaden the visibility and application of OR in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, this event will help create a foundation for the establishment of the Zimbabwe Operations Research Society, which has been delayed by the challenges the country has faced over the past several years, and it will strengthen collaborative relationships among operations researchers in the southern Africa region (and hopefully across the wider continent).

    One of the LOC objectives is to market the 2011 ORSSA Conference to all the universities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and ensure that, in addition to Zimbabwean and South-African participants, the conference attracts presenters from each of the other 13 SADC countries (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia), as well as from other African countries.

    NUST will be at the forefront while organizing the 2011 ORSSA Conference. The university has already formed its LOC in preparation for the conference. The LOC has started its preliminary work, and with the enthusiasm shown by its members, this conference promises to be one of the largest in ORSSA history. Given its heavy academic focus on OR (NUST now offers three degrees in operations research), the university hopes to provide no fewer than 15 presenters (including students). University management has already given its blessing to the hosting of this historic event, and it is hoped that the government will also play a pivotal role.

    For more information, contact the conference LOC chair, Edward Chiyaka, at edward.chiyaka@gmail.com or +263 928 2842, Ext. 2467 or 2204.

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    4 Comments »

    • Tanyaradzwa S. Nzvengende said:

      I am so excited about this and hope that this conference does pave a way for operations researchers in Zimbabwe because the society doesnt really recognise our importance in the industry and service providing sectors. I am confident that we(OR NUST students) are going to represent the country tremendously!

    • Edmore Utete said:

      the hosting of ORSSA 2011 with NUST will go a long way in spreading Operations Research (OR) in AFRICA. For OR to be known in Africa it must be first known in Zimbabwe. let us all preach the gospel of OR as a team and become a winning team. and remember there in no losers in a winning team. and also there is no winner in a losing team.

    • kofidampson said:

      Good to hear that the ORSSA 2011 conference was actually held in Zimbabwe.This goes to heightened the pubilicity of OR on the continent.As an OR professional; Until the fever hit Ghana, am doing my bit to raise the awareness in my region.

      Long live OR!!! GO AFRICA!

    • Jim Cochran said:

      It is great to see such positive reaction to the ORSSA Conference in Zimbabwe! Hopefully this will encourage the establishment of professional operations research AND statistics societies across the nations of southern Africa. Many problems faced by the people of these nations can be addressed through solid intercultural applications of statistics and operations research across areas of application.