A National Taught Course Centre in Operational Research (NATCOR)

OR社区与《国际数学评论》中表达的对英国博士培训(广度和深度)的担忧一样，实际上，我们认为它们适用于OR，并具有特别的影响力。2004年《英国或可持续发展研究现状回顾》阐明了有关或可研究数学基础的英国研究人员数量较少及其对英国在国际研究议程上保持强大影响力的能力的潜在影响。在OR审查中提出了相应的挑战，对研究理事会(除其他外，涉及支持OR博士培训)和OR社区提出了挑战。这项建议涉及到为博士生提供运筹学数学的授课课程。这项建议得到史密斯研究所的支持，并由美国运筹学协会作为合作伙伴，并构成一套协调一致的回应来自运营界的挑战的战略部分。建议的目的是通过开设授课课程，显著提高所有从事或运算数学工作的博士生(特别是那些由EPSRC资助的博士生)的培训的广度、质量和吸引力。目前还不能提供所设想的广度和水平。地方一级缺乏临界质量意味着，这门学科的优秀课程以及可行的学生人数只能通过国家联合体提供。我们相信，计划中的拨款还将大大有助于加强对OR博士课程的招聘，并有助于建立一个更紧密联系的从事数学基础工作的博士生社区，从而使英国的研究长期受益。

The OR community shares the concerns about (the breadth and depth of) UK PhD training expressed in the International Review of Mathematicsindeed, we would argue that they apply to OR with particular force. The 2004 Review of the Research Status of OR in the UK articulated additional concens about the small number of UK researchers in OR working on mathematical foundations and its potential impact on the UK's capacity to sustain a strong influence on the international research agenda. Consequential challenges were posed in the OR Review, both to the research councils (concerning, inter alia, the support of PhD training in OR) and to the OR community. This proposal concerns taught course provision for PhD students in the mathematics of OR. It has the support of the Smith Institute, with the OR Society as collaborating partner, and forms a strategic part of a co-ordinated set of responses to the Review's challenges from the OR community.The proposal aims to achieve a significant enhancement of the breadth, quality and attractiveness of the training available to all PhD students (and especially those funded by EPSRC) working in the mathematics of OR through taught course provision. Provision of the breadth and at the level envisaged is currently not available. Absence of critical mass at a local level means that excellence of provision across the subject together with viable student numbers can only be delivered through a national consortium. We believe that the planned provision will in addition contribute significantly to the strengthening of recruitment into PhD programmes in OR and to the building of a more strongly connected community of PhD students working on mathematical foundations, to the long term benefit of UK research.