Master thesis internship: Adding fairness - recognizability in rostering problems

ORTEC helps many of the world's best-run organizations make better data-driven decisions. Our decision support software and data science expertise enable you to improve your business results and make a positive impact on the world.

With workforce being increasingly scarce, it is vital to make efficient use of workforce by scheduling employees at the right time (and the right place). Furthermore, it is important to acknowledge that employees have more influence than ever on their schedules (e.g. days on / off requests, working time preferences). Additionally, adherence to complex labor rules (e.g. enough daily/weekly rest) is imperative. Consequently, creating an employee schedule from scratch, with the objective of optimizing employee utilization, presents a significant challenge for planners.

When transitioning to optimized rosters generated by an algorithm, both planners and employees often prefer to retain familiar aspects of their existing scheduling methods.

Based on these insights, you will develop a formula to quantify the recognizability/ fairness of a given roster. This metric will then be incorporated as an additional objective in the process of matching employees to available shifts, ensuring the optimized schedules maintain a sense of continuity and familiarity.

What can you expect to do?

• Review existing literature and methodologies related to the nurse scheduling problem, recognizability/ fairness and employee assignment;

• Familiarize yourself with the concept of recognizability/ concept of fairness and express it mathematically;

• Create a new model that incorporates recognizability/ fairness;

• Evaluate the impact on the algorithm based on the solution, runtime etc.

• You are currently living in the Netherlands, studying at a Dutch University, and communicate fluently in Dutch or English, verbally and in writing;

• You are a master student in Operations Research, Econometrics, Applied Mathematics or another related field and looking for a graduation project;

• You like programming and can hunt for bugs;

• You have experience with heuristics;

• You are available for a minimum of six months to a maximum of nine months, ideally starting in March, April, or May 2026;

• You can travel to the office (in Zoetermeer) at least twice a week.

• Entrance to the most passionate powerhouse in applied mathematics. We share a drive to use our problem-solving skills to improve our planet, from the world at large to our own backyard. 

• Inclusion in a company founded by graduate students back in 1981, which today still fosters its students by: 

o Excellent supervision during your graduation project;

o Good internship allowance, laptop, and other office facilities;

o An open, kind, and fun culture;

o Access to Young ORTEC formal and informal events.

The next steps: 

If you're an enthusiastic graduate student seeking a hands-on experience that combines analytical thinking, multidisciplinary collaboration, and problem-solving, we invite you to join us on this exciting assignment by uploading your CV, motivation letter and grade lists (BSc and MSc in PDF if applicable) by the 16th of January 2026. The recruitment process will consist of two online assessments and an interview.