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The Chilean Institute of Operations Research (ICHIO) invites graduates of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs who obtained their degree through a thesis in Chile to participate in the 2025 ICHIO Award for Best Thesis.

The ICHIO Award seeks to recognize outstanding work carried out at Chilean higher education institutions, research centers, and similar entities, in the field of Operations Research, from January 2023 until the closing date of this call.

Participants may submit their thesis or graduation project for evaluation only once, in the selected category.

Possible topics include:

• Discrete Optimization
• Mathematical Programming
• Multi-objective Programming
• Stochastic Programming
• Bilevel Optimization
• Supply Chain Management
• Network Optimization
• Heuristics and Metaheuristics
• Simulation
• Logistics Optimization
• Bayesian Optimization
• Production Planning and Scheduling
• Related Disciplines

As well as practical applications in:

• Supply Chain Engineering
• Inventory Management
• Production Planning and Control
• Pricing
• Finance
• Education
• Energy
• Public Services
• Medical and Healthcare Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Agriculture and Environment
• Telecommunications
• Other Areas

The award has three categories. The top three places in each category will receive recognition, and the first place will receive a monetary prize:

• Bachelor's Thesis(undergraduate thesis, graduation project, etc.)
  CLP $150,000to the first place
• Master's Thesis
  CLP $250,000to the first place
• Doctoral Thesis
  CLP $350,000to the first place

Any category or placement may be declared void if the submitted works do not meet the required standards.

If selected as a finalist, the student must present their work during the ICHIO Award sessions at the conference. Finalists will receive an individual registration grant to participate in OPTIMA 2025 and present their work in the award sessions.

Participation in this award does not imply acceptance of the work in the regular sessions of the conference program. Therefore, we encourage participants to also follow the regular call for papers.

In the case of theses articulated between different academic programs, the category corresponding to the highest academic degree will apply.

Participants who wish to present their Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctoral thesis as a candidate for the award must submit:

1. Curriculum vitae.
2. Letter of endorsement from the advisor of the submitted work.
3. Copy of the graduation or degree certificate from the institution, including the date of the final exam.
4. Complete thesis.

To apply for the ICHIO award, applicants must:

1. Submit an extended abstract to the conference in the regular manner, just like any other presenter (through the Microsoft CMT system), using this link.
2. Send the information related to their thesis in the corresponding category to premioichio@ichio.cl.

Finalists will be selected from among applicants who have completed their conference registration and will be notified no later than November 15th, 2025. Finally, they must present their theses during the in-person OPTIMA Conference sessions for the ICHIO award.

The award jury is composed of four members selected by the Organizing Committee of the OPTIMA 2025 conference and the ICHIO Board of Directors.

The evaluation process will consist of two stages. In the first stage, the documentation submitted by the participant will be reviewed, and the quality of the thesis will be evaluated based on a rubric for written work.

In this stage, jury members may rely on external reviewers to select up to three finalists per category.

In the first stage, evaluators will consider the following criteria:

• Originality of the work.
• Relevance, adequacy, and up-to-dateness of the literature review.
• Mastery of applied knowledge.
• Contribution of the thesis to the theory or practice of operations research.
• Applicability of the results.

In the second stage, finalists must deliver an oral presentation of their thesis during the ICHIO Award sessions at the OPTIMA 2025 Conference. The presentation will be evaluated by the jury using a rubric that includes the following criteria:

• Quality of audiovisual materials.
• Mastery of the topic and applied knowledge.
• Clarity of presentation and time management.
• Strength of conclusions and relevance of contributions.
• Clarity and accuracy in responding to jury questions.

If a finalist is supervised by a jury member, that jury member will abstain from evaluating the corresponding category, and a replacement from the ICHIO Board will be appointed.

The jury's decision is final, and the results will be announced during the OPTIMA 2025 Conference Dinner. Any issues regarding the process or outcomes must be addressed in writing to the jury and the ICHIO Board.

Any cases not covered in this call will be resolved by the jury. The ICHIO Award jury accepts applications from all groups within the operations research community, without discrimination based on age, nationality, sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation. All applications will be considered based on merit.

Participants must submit the required documents by email to premioichio@ichio.cl. All documents must be in PDF format, included in a single ZIP file, and sent in an email with the subject {Category}_{Participant Name}.

The deadline for submitting documents for this call is October 10th, 2025. Participants will be formally notified of the results via email no later than November 15th, 2025.

For any questions regarding this call, please contact premioichio@ichio.cl.

The jury is composed of the following members:

Ph.D. Pablo Miranda González

Jury chair. Catholic University of the North.

Ph.D. Carla Marina Vairetti

University of Los Andes.

Ph.D. Germán Paredes-Belmar

Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso.

Ph.D. Andrea Espinoza Pérez

University of Santiago de Chile.