Knowledge of mathematics at the level of a bachelor's degree programme in Civil Engineering and basic user skills in Microsoft Excel.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will acquire the knowledge, skills and competences required to formulate, solve and evaluate basic optimisation and decision-making problems, with a focus on their application in water management and civil engineering.

Knowledge

Upon successful completion of the course, students will:

• know the basic principles of operations research, optimisation and the systems approach to solving technical problems,
• know the principles of linear, nonlinear and dynamic programming,
• understand the fundamentals of multicriteria optimisation and decision-making,
• know the fundamentals of graph theory and network analysis methods,
• be familiar with the basic principles of project management and risk analysis,
• know the basic principles of selected computational intelligence methods, particularly artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms,
• understand the possibilities and limitations of applying individual methods to problems in water management and civil engineering.

Skills

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• formulate a basic decision-making or optimisation problem and identify its main variables, objectives and constraints,
• select an appropriate basic approach for solving linear, nonlinear and multicriteria optimisation problems,
• solve basic optimisation problems using appropriate software tools, particularly Solver in Microsoft Excel,
• apply basic principles of graph theory and network analysis to model technical problems,
• solve basic project management tasks using appropriate software tools,
• interpret and evaluate the results of optimisation, decision-making and risk analyses,
• explain the principles and potential applications of artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms in solving technical problems.

Competences

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• independently transform a basic technical problem into a form suitable for analytical or optimisation-based solution,
• select and professionally justify an appropriate solution method with regard to the nature of the problem and the available data,
• critically assess the results of a model-based solution, including its assumptions and limitations,
• apply operations research and systems analysis methods to problems in water management and civil engineering,
• professionally interpret, present and justify the proposed solution approach and the results obtained.

Knowledge of mathematics at the level of a bachelor's degree programme in Civil Engineering and basic user skills in Microsoft Excel.