Complex decision problems arise throughout society and industry in logistics, healthcare, energy, humanitarian response, public policy and environmental planning. They are characterised by scale, uncertainty, multiple and sometimes conflicting objectives, interdependent decisions, human behaviour and incomplete information. Classical operational research provides powerful tools to model and optimise such problems; artificial intelligence offers complementary capabilities to learn from data, extract insight from unstructured information, represent difficult relationships and guide decision-making. This course provides a structured introduction to the rapidly growing interface between AI and OR, and examines how these approaches can be combined to produce decisions that are not only computationally effective, but also robust, interpretable and useful in practice.
The topics covered include Foundations of Complex Decision Problems, Machine Learning for Optimisation, Contextual Optimisation, Learning-Based Decomposition, Simulation, Optimisation and Generative AI, LLMs in Multi-objective Optimisation Problems, and AI for Evidence Extraction from Text. Lectures are combined with hands-on computational workshops, case studies from warehousing, humanitarian logistics and disaster planning, a practitioner session, and a week-long group challenge based on a real-world Net Zero problem drawn.from
Dr Ramin Raeesi: Course Leader
PRE-REQUISITES
Participants should have a basic familiarity with operational research, probability and quantitative modelling. Some experience of mathematical optimisation and programming will be helpful, but prior specialist knowledge of machine learning or large language models is not required. Guidance on required software and preparatory material will be provided before the course.
AIM
The course aims to equip students with a conceptual framework and a practical toolkit for combining AI and OR to tackle complex decision problems. It provides familiarity with state-of-the-art methods at the interface of machine learning, optimisation, simulation and generative AI, and develops the ability to judge critically when and how AI should be integrated into a decision-support model, and how to assess whether doing so actually leads to better decisions. On completion of the course, participants should be well prepared to understand, and contribute to, the fast-moving research literature in this area.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of the course, participants will be able to:
• Characterise the sources of complexity in real-world decision problems and explain the complementary roles of AI and operational research.
• Select and apply appropriate machine learning and optimisation approaches, including contextual optimisation, smart predict-then-optimise and learning-based decomposition.
• Explain how simulation, optimisation, generative AI and text-based AI methods can be combined to support complex decisions, and assess the reliability and usefulness of their outputs.
• Critically evaluate AI-supported decision approaches, including their treatment of Pareto-efficient trade-offs, preference elicitation, feasibility, validity, ethics and risk.
• Work collaboratively to frame a real-world complex decision problem and propose a well-justified combined AI-and-OR approach.
PRINCIPAL TOPICS OF STUDY
• Foundations of complex decision problems and the complementary roles of AI and operational research.
• Machine learning for optimisation, including contextual, sequential and smart predict-then-optimise approaches.
• Learning-based decomposition and surrogate modelling for scalable, data-informed optimisation.
• Simulation, optimisation and generative AI for decision support, including agent-based modelling and prompt engineering.
• AI-assisted extraction, measurement and prediction from unstructured text.
• Multi-objective decision support, Pareto-frontier exploration, AI-mediated preference elicitation, and the ethical, practical and interpretive challenges of AI in decision-making.
• Applied case studies and group work on real-world AI-and-OR decision problems.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment will take the form of a group challenge presentation. Participants will develop and present an AI-and-OR response to a complex real-world decision problem, demonstrating their understanding of the methods, assumptions, limitations and practical implications involved.
TIMETABLE
To be confirmed nearer the time.