Practice and theory of automated timetabling IV

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This volume features selected papers from the 4th International Conference on the Practice and Theory of Automated Timetabling (PATAT 2002) held in Gent from August 21–23, 2002. Since the inaugural conference in Edinburgh in 1995, the diversity of timetabling applications has expanded significantly. At the 1995 conference, only two of the 22 contributions addressed non-educational timetabling. By the 1997 conference in Toronto, the number of papers on non-educational problems had increased, with some addressing multiple applications. The steering and program committees have actively sought to broaden the range of topics. The 2000 conference in Konstanz saw a notable diversification, with only 13 out of 21 selected papers focused on educational timetabling. The classification of papers shifted from solution techniques to application domains, introducing sections on “Employee Timetabling,” sports scheduling, and air fleet management. In the current volume, over one-third of the 21 papers explore non-academic application areas, with a strong representation of sports and hospital timetabling. This evolution reflects the growing complexity and variety of timetabling challenges being addressed in the field.