Education for applied OR: Experience from trainers workshops in Asia

Following an initiative at the 1984 IFORS Washington Conference, a workshop for trainers has been held in Asia each year from 1986 aimed at influencing the teaching of Operational Research OR towards more applied and relevant directions. The workshops have mainly focused on case exercises and the use of decision support systems. Participants’ feedback has been very positive and a summary is given of workshop experience to date. Some proposals are put forward for an expanded contribution to Operational Research OR training in Asia, including further workshops, an international seminar, and the development of a trainers network; it is argued that IFORS should play a key role in future activities.