More than 25 of Carmen's optimization experts gathered at the Gothenburg office for their annual Carmen Optimization Workshop (also known as COW) to discuss the latest developments and achievements in all aspects of resource optimization. COW has until now been an internal event to provide a forum for the exchange of new ideas and results.

This year, two renowned experts and researchers participated in the event. Professor John-Paul Clarke from MIT gave a presentation on valuing and measuring robustness in airline scheduling which is of critical importance to airlines as congestions and delays are expected to reach record highs during this summer. Professor Leo Kroon from Dutch Railways and Erasmus University Rotterdam presented the planning of railway rolling stock circulation in the Netherlands. Allocating the right capacity during peak and non-peak hours in the world's densest railway network is essential to fulfill the service commitment to the public.

Stefan Karisch, Vice President Operations Research, said that the presentations and discussions during COW showed that "Carmen's research and development in optimization is well aligned with and contributes to the state of the art. According to Curt Hjorring, Optimization Guru, "The COWs are always great because they not only include talks that address technically interesting issues, but also the business reasons for the decisions. What was particularly inspiring this year was to see the improvements that the participants have made in their professional development, for instance being able to discuss
optimization issues with non-industry specialists."

Besides the scientific component, a highlight of COW was a very pleasant excursion by boat to a dinner with all of the participants on one of the islands in the Northern Archipelago of Göteborg.