In the European or global levels, Decision Support Systems (DSS) are well known on Supply Chain (SC) context, conjugating data and intelligence, promoting the assumption of the best and possible decisions, and the uncertainty on forecast is adequate. Thus, the Optimization of discrete decisions on uncertain environment is a necessity and we address exact and approximation methods to promote the robustness of the discrete decisions, through risk technical measures.

The goal is to develop and present an intensive programme on Optimization techniques directed to SC and to integrate it with well known DSS. The programme focuses the modeling and optimization of a network of production-distribution facilities, considering the material and financial fluxes in a multi-echelon framework, and also addressing the “green” logistics approach. In the production levels, it will be addressed the planning and scheduling of the processes and their systems usually found in manufacturing industry, petrochemical and pharmaceutical SC.

The target groups are MSc. or PhD. students on Engineering or Logistics specialties, which can expand the graduation skills, industry worker-students that focus knowledge updating in a Lifelong Learning sense, and graduates that search for an Optimization approach onto decision making in SC.

Several learning methods are blended (general talks, formal lectures, case studies, teamwork onto project development, computer lab sessions, and technical visits) in a set of topics that will promote the project development in DSS within SC (Project-Based Learning-PBL approach). They are balanced benefits and difficulties in environmental subjects, focusing a sustainability orientation. The programme foresees internal evaluation of student learns, and an external procedure to the assessment will be established to be carried out by each HEI in the consortium.

Attention is paid to DSS, using a professional immersive environment that focuses decision rules based in qualitative or quantitative techniques. The entrepreneurship competence is implicit in the advanced decision framework proposed in the programme.

In the consortium institutions, the programme contents in Optimization are well developed, and we intend to integrate them within the DSS, in an applied and effective manner. We intend to further strength the industry framework and achieve recognition of IP studies by the partners HEI. The partners HEI present expertise and large experience in the field, and we propose to elaborate a Handbook of Optimization Techniques on SC, to disseminate ours efforts through presentations of the developed projects in the partners HEI.