From 27–29 August 2025, the first meeting of the Dutch Sequential Decision-Making Community took place at EURANDOM, Eindhoven University of Technology. Organized by LNMB and hosted by the 4TU.AMI Strategic Research Initiative on Real-world Inspired Sequential Decision Making, the three-day programme brought together more than 50 participants from the Netherlands and across Europe.
The programme covered a broad spectrum of methods in sequential decision-making, ranging from Markov decision processes, reinforcement learning, and stochastic optimal control to systems control and agent-based modelling. Applications discussed included predictive maintenance of medical devices, greenhouse climate control, and agent-based modelling of animal behaviour.
Beyond the success of the event itself, the meeting marked the launch of a new Dutch community for sequential decision-making. Supported by the 4TU.AMI SRI, the initiative seeks to close gaps in the Dutch research landscape by bringing together expertise that is currently fragmented across different disciplines.
The long-term aim is to develop methods that are inspired by real-world applications, while at the same time advancing theoretical understanding. Planned activities include:
- regular workshops and internal meetings to exchange approaches and develop a common language,
- research visits and collaborations across the 4TU network and beyond,
- educational initiatives, such as contributions to Mastermath and LNMB courses,
- joint grant proposals to secure funding and strengthen visibility.
The next gathering of the community will be a core member meeting on 20 October 2025, focused on discussing open problems, forming collaborations, and matching research ideas to potential national and European funding schemes.
With its first meeting, the Dutch Sequential Decision-Making Community has laid the foundation for a sustainable network that connects theory with practice and strengthens collaboration across disciplines.
