Special Issue of the 2024 Metaheuristics International Conference

Journal of Heuristics

Important Dates:

  • Submission deadline: February 15, 2025
  • Acceptance notification: June 15, 2025
  • Target date for final manuscripts: August 30, 2025

Area Editor:

  • Marc Sevaux, Université Bretagne Sud, France

Guest Editors:

  • Romain Billot, IMT Atlantique, France
  • Salma Makboul, Université de Technologie de Troyes, France
  • Alexandru-Liviu Olteanu, Université Bretagne Sud, France
  • Eduardo G. Pardo, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain

Submissions are expected to be significant extensions of abstracts or papers already published in the proceedings of MIC 2014 and will be peer-reviewed. Novel contributions will also be considered.

Authors should submit their manuscripts using the Journal of Heuristics Editorial Manager at https://www.editorialmanager.com/heur, selecting “S.I. : Metaheuristics International Conference” as article type. All manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the available instructions for authors.

International Transactions in Operational Research

Important Dates:

  • Submission deadline: March 31, 2025
  • Acceptance notification: June 28, 2025
  • Target date for final manuscripts: August 30, 2025

Guest Editors:

  • Patrick Meyer, IMT Atlantique, France
  • Marc Sevaux, Université Bretagne Sud, France
  • Angelo Sifaleras, University of Macedonia, Greece
  • Kenneth Sorensen, University of Antwerp, Belgium

Each paper will be peer-reviewed according to the editorial policy of ITOR, published by the International Federation of Operational Research Societies – IFORS. Papers should be original, unpublished, and not currently underr consideration for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the instructions to authors available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/14753995/homepage/forauthors.html. Authors should upload their contributions using the submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/itor, indicating in their cover letter that the paper is intended for this special issue and listing the novel contributions considering the related literature.


The Metaheuristics International Conference (MIC) is an annual forum for the exchange of new algorithmic developments, high-impact and novel applications, new research challenges, theoretical developments, implementation issues, and in-depth experimental studies in metaheuristics. In 2024 the 15th instance of this conference was held in Lorient, France, June 4-7. As a natural outcome of this activity and thanks to the support of Springer and the Journal of Heuristics, as well as Wiley and the International Transactions in Operational Research, we are pleased to announce a special issue in each of these journals, devoted to selected publications on works presented at MIC 2024.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Techniques such as tabu search, simulated annealing, iterated local search, variable neighborhood search, memory-based optimization, evolutionary algorithms, memetic algorithms, ant colony optimization, particle swarm optimization, scatter search, path relinking, etc.
  • Techniques that enhance the usability and increase the potential of metaheuristic algorithms such as parallelization of algorithms, reactive search mechanisms for self-tuning, offline metaheuristic algorithm configuration techniques, algorithm portfolios, etc.
  • Empirical and theoretical research in metaheuristics including large-scale experimental analyses, algorithm comparisons, new experimental methodologies, engineering methodologies for stochastic local search algorithms, search space analysis, theoretical insights into properties of metaheuristic algorithms.
  • High-impact applications of metaheuristics in fields such as bioinformatics, data mining, planning and scheduling, telecommunications, logistics and supply chains, etc. Particularly welcome are innovative applications of metaheuristics that have a potential of widening research frontiers.
  • Contributions on the interface of metaheuristics with other disciplines, such as agent-based models, integer programming, constraint programming, machine learning, Quantum Operations Research, etc.
  • Challenging problems such as multi-objective, stochastic, or dynamic problems.