ASSIGNMENT OF ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES WITH PREVIOUS INTERACTIONS OPTIMIZING PHYSICAL SPACES: AN INTEGER LINEAR PROGRAMMING APPROACH

Abstract

The activities assignment problem has been widely studied and developed by exact and
approximate solution techniques. The present work develops a mathematical model and a
methodology based on interactions of sets to solve the academic activities assignment problem
with pre-established schedules. The objective is to carry out the programming maximizing the use of the classroom’s capacity and the compliance of restrictions. The academic activities are
converted into elements with unique coding that feed a larger set with the input characteristics of
the model, allowing its relaxation and resolution as a whole linear problem. The optimization of
the problem is evaluated in terms of the number of hours programmed for the activities that meet
the strong and weak constraints. The proposed methodology is validated with an example at a
smaller scale and applied to a real case in a higher education institution contemplating the necessary
conditions to perform the assignment of activities with defined schedules in an academic period.
The quality of the model and the methodology are evident in the efficient computational times and
the allocation results obtained.