You want them to remember? Then make it memorable! Means for enhancing operations research education

Abstract

In this article I summarize the main points I made in the keynote presentation of the same title I gave at the EURO XXIV conference in Lisbon, Portugal in July of 2010. Each of these points deals in some way with making communications between an operations research professional (academic or practitioner) and a student, client, subordinate, supervisor, or colleague more effective. Furthermore, each point is directly related to some realization (or epiphany) that I have had with regard to communication since I began teaching ORMS in 1984. It is noteworthy that these communications share a common objective; we are trying to facilitate learning. Since I have spent most of my career in academia, my primary emphasis is on communication with students (particularly those enrolled in introductory ORMS courses). However, I have also spent a great deal of time working on operations research problems outside of academia, either as an employee in private industry or as an operations research consultant to corporations and not-for-profit organizations, and I hope as a consequence my discussion is also relevant to those working in the practice of ORMS.