OR in Education


The OR Society’s OR in Education (ORiE) project liaises with teachers, lectures and educators to promote operational research (OR) in education and raises awareness of the importance of its real world applications and career potential to students. We do this with the help of our invaluable volunteers who visit schools, colleges and universities, attend careers fairs, run interactive workshops and give presentations on recent projects.

The ORiE stretch goal is to ensure “every student knows what OR is” and we have created a range of free resources to achieve this. These include teaching resources based on the A-Level Decision Maths modules, university course and careers information and a short film and booklet about OR.

Most recently we’ve been refining and updating the materials we offer, to ensure both volunteers and teachers get the best experience. We’re thrilled to say the results are paying off and this year you’ll see standardised booking forms for free school visits and interactive workshops, along with updated and enhanced materials – all available to download free of charge. These resources, and more, are available in our Resources Centre.

Have a look at the information on the following pages and if you’ve any questions, please do get in touch via the contact us form!

What is Operational Research?

OR is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. By using diverse techniques such as problem structuring methods and mathematical modelling to analyse complex situations, OR helps people make more effective decisions based on:

  • More complete data
  • Consideration of all available options
  • Careful predictions of outcomes and estimates of risk
  • The latest decision tools and techniques

Find out about OR Careers

Everything you wanted to know about OR in Education

From our recent annual conference

Contact us

Contact us

Contact OR in Education

You can use this to ask a question, report a problem or suggest an improvement

For Volunteers

Help us reach the next generation of operational researchers and analysts

Volunteer with ORiE

For Teachers

Take advantage of the free resources made especially for teachers - and book a workshop as well!

Free workshops, resources and more

For Lecturers

Let us help you support and develop your students

Speakers, Awards, Careers and more

ORiE Visit Request Form









If you have a specific event or class, please provide further details such as the event date, number of students and year group.