A Branch-and-Cut Procedure for the Udine Course Timetabling Problem
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This paper describes a branch-and-cut procedure for a curriculum-based university course timetabling. First, we present an alternative integer programming formulation for this problem, which uses a lower than usual number of variables and a number of constraints exponential in the number of periods per day necessary to reach optimality. Second, we present a branch-and-cut procedure, where constraints from enumeration of event/free-period patterns, necessary to reaching optimality, are added only when they are violated. We also describe further problem-specific cuts from bounds implied by the soft constraints, cuts from patterns given by days of instruction and free days, and all related separation routines. We also discuss applicability of standard cuts for the graph colouring and weighted matching. The results of our preliminary experimentation with an implementation using ILOG Concert and CPLEX 10 are provided. |
| Related projects: |