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A New Neural Network Based Construction Heuristic for the Examination Timetabling Problem

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Parallel Problem Solving from Nature - PPSN IX (PPSN 2006)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 4193))

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Abstract

This paper examines the application of neural networks as a construction heuristic for the examination timetabling problem. Building on the heuristic ordering technique, where events are ordered by decreasing scheduling difficulty, the neural network allows a novel dynamic, multi-criteria approach to be developed. The difficulty of each event to be scheduled is assessed on several characteristics, removing the dependence of an ordering based on a single heuristic. Furthermore, this technique allows the ordering to be reviewed and modified as each event is scheduled; a necessary step since the timetable and constraints are altered as events are placed. Our approach uses a Kohonen self organising neural network and is shown to have wide applicability. Results are presented for a range of examination timetabling problems using standard benchmark datasets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queens University of Belfast, Northern Ireland

    P. H. Corr, B. McCollum, M. A. J. McGreevy & P. McMullan

Authors
  1. P. H. Corr
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  2. B. McCollum
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  3. M. A. J. McGreevy
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  4. P. McMullan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Science Institute, University of Iceland, P.O. Box, Iceland

    Thomas Philip Runarsson

  2. Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences, Hochschulstr. 1, A-6850, Dornbirn, Austria

    Hans-Georg Beyer

  3. Automated Scheduling, Optimisation and Planning Group, School of Computer Science & IT, University of Nottingham, NG8 1BB, Nottingham, UK

    Edmund Burke

  4. Depto. Arquitectura y Tecnologa de Computadores, ETS Ingeiera Informtica, C/Daniel Saucedo Aranda, s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain

    Juan J. Merelo-Guervós

  5. Colorado State University, 80523, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    L. Darrell Whitley

  6. University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Xin Yao

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Corr, P.H., McCollum, B., McGreevy, M.A.J., McMullan, P. (2006). A New Neural Network Based Construction Heuristic for the Examination Timetabling Problem. In: Runarsson, T.P., Beyer, HG., Burke, E., Merelo-Guervós, J.J., Whitley, L.D., Yao, X. (eds) Parallel Problem Solving from Nature - PPSN IX. PPSN 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4193. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11844297_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11844297_40

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-38990-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-38991-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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