APORS - the Association of Asian-Pacific Operational Research Societies within IFORS - is holding its 7th Triennial Conference in Manilla, Philippines, from 16 - 18 January 2006.  There are two new opportunities in relation to this:

 

1.  The  APORS Council has recently  announced a special programme for sponsoring ' Young OR  Scholars' (aged 25 - 35)  to the APORS conference in Manilla, 16 - 18 January, 2006 , to attend the conference and take part in special sessions with other Young Scholars.  APORS has obtained financial assistance from IFORS and low-cost accommodation  to make the conference affordable for these Young Scholars.  (See the document attached).  This is similar in kind to the financial assistance that was provided in 1994, (generously provided by  the  ORS of Japan ), which allowed me to attend APORS 1994 in Fukuoka Japan representing ORSNZ.  This was a fantastic opportunity, and I am delighted that APORS has been able to persuade IFORS to provide support for the upcoming conference.  Furthermore ORSNZ has indicated it will also assist the successful candidate with travel expenses in order to travel to this event. 

 

We are now looking for young people to apply for this wonderful opportunity.  We will be selecting our Young scholar at the time of the ORSNZ conference  from those people who are presenting papers at ORSNZ that could then be presented at APORS.   In order to be eligible, you should meet the age guidelines (or be close to them),  and be confident that you will be able to attend the APORS conference in Manilla January 16 18 if selected.   If you need additional funding, we suggest you apply to your employer or Uni for support, and the ORSNZ will also provide assistance.

 

2.  Secondly, we are also invited to select a National Paper for presentation at APORS which is open to any person from ORSNZ regardless of age.   If you are presenting a paper at ORSNZ 2005 and wish to be considered for the nominated national paper at APORS, please get in touch with me.  As with the Young Scholars, application is taken to imply  you   would be willing and able to go to  APORS in Manilla, Philippines in January , if selected .   There are no specific requirements for a paper to be considered as a 'National Paper' so please do let us know if you are going to APORS and would be interested in this opportunity. 

APORS Young Scholars Program Details 2005

Implementation Plan:

Funding:
1. IFORS will fund the amount of USD 3500 (at USD350 per participant) to pay for the registration fees of the scholar.
2. The corresponding national societies or their candidate will help source the transport and accommodation expenses.
3. ORSP will make available lower-priced alternative accommodation available to the awardee.

Selection of Awardees:
Ideally, the ten 10 awardees will come from each of the 10 APORS member societies (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore).

Candidates will be nominated by the national societies. In case a national society does not endorse a candidate, its slot can be made available to a qualified candidate who may come from a member society or not. Although nationals of APORS member countries will be given preference, deserving nationals of Asia-Pacific region countries may be awarded the scholarship. This gives APORS the opportunity to establish links in countries that do not yet have a national OR society.

Conference Activities:
An exclusive track for the young scholars will be arranged on specific days of the conference. During this time, they will be asked to present their papers to each other and critique each other's work. They will be asked to submit a report to the APORS President at the end of the conference.


Announcement:

The following announcement shall be posted at the IFORS, APORS and Conference websites. National Societies will be asked to give this announcement the maximum exposure to enable the selection of the most qualified program scholars.

IFORS is pleased to announce its search for participants for the APORS Young Scholars' Program

The APORS Young Scholars' Program is intended to build among young OR scientists in the region an awareness that:
* They are a part of a group of eager young people working in various fields of OR amidst different environments and cultures;
* The rich experience of other people is available for them to tap; and
* There are vast opportunities for contributing to the work of others.
As the program brings together young operations researchers in contact with each other, the program is envisioned to jumpstart the creation of good social and professional linkages with the end of enhancing the skills of future OR workers in the region.

Ten scholars (from each member society) will be given free registration to the APORS 2006 conference to be held in Manila. If available, travel support assistance will be extended by the scholar's national society. The conference will feature a special track that will enable the scholars to discuss their respective work among themselves and exchange ideas with senior lecturers.

This program is open to 10 operations researchers from the region who are working on projects consistent with the Conference theme of "Operations Research: Optimizing Resources, Outstanding Results."

If you:

1. Have done work along the lines of the conference theme;

2. Are 25- 35 years old; and

3. Possess English language skills that will enable you present your unpublished work and participate in discussions,

you may be the person we are looking for. Endorsement by an APORS member society is an advantage.

Please email your curriculum vitae, a two-page abstract of the work you plan to present by November 30, 2005 to: Malu de Guzman (malu_de_guzman at yahoo.com) and Dennis Cruz (cruzde at dlsu.edu.ph). Selection of candidates will be announced by December 10.