It is with great honor and heartfelt pleasure that I welcome you to the 19th International Conference on Management Science and Engineering Management (ICMSEM), convening this year at the University of Lille. This renowned institution represents a confluence of historical legacy, academic excellence, and cultural diversity, making it a most fitting venue for our gathering.

Since its founding in 2007, ICMSEM has journeyed across continents, being graciously hosted in countries such as China, the United States, Germany, Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkey, Japan, Malaysia, and now, here in France. At every stop along the way, the conference has served as a platform for academic exchange and international cooperation, reflecting our core mission to unite the global academic community in management science and engineering management, and to jointly explore the frontiers of our disciplines.

Over the past eighteen years, the ICMSEM has not only witnessed the evolution of our disciplines, but has also played a significant role in shaping their trajectory. Today, we are privileged to continue this intellectual journey in the city of Lille, renowned for its academic excellence and vibrant research environment. We extend our deepest appreciation to our gracious hosts and to all individuals and institutions whose dedication and support have made this event possible.

This year, the conference received 416 submissions from 30 countries, reflecting the truly global reach and academic vitality of our community. Following a rigorous peer-review process, 123 papers were selected for publication. Notably, the majority of these contributions stem from international collaborations, underscoring the spirit of shared inquiry that defines ICMSEM. The themes addressed in this year’s conference resonate with the pressing challenges and evolving demands of our time. The accepted papers are organized into six key areas: Data Analytics, Information Technology, AI Education, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, and Sustainable Development. These thematic tracks are designed not only to foster in-depth exploration within each domain, but also to promote interdisciplinary learning, dynamic exchange of ideas, and the pursuit of practical solutions to real-world problems.

To further delve into these critical areas and foster more profound academic exchange, this year’s conference features three specially curated forums:

(1) "AI-enabled Operations Research Education", which explores innovative approaches to pedagogy, curriculum design, and competency development in the age of intelligent learning systems, aiming to reimagine how we educate the next generation of operations researchers.

(2) "Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain Management", which focuses on emerging models, forward-looking policies, and cutting-edge technologies that support the development of agile, environmentally responsible, and robust supply chains, in response to the growing complexity of global challenges.

(3) "Smart-Driven Journal Reports on Management Science in Engineering", which offers insights into the evolving landscape of academic publishing, including trends in journal evaluation, editorial strategies, and practical guidance on enhancing scholarly impact and visibility in the field of management science and engineering management.

At last year’s conference, we proposed several forward-looking perspectives that continue to shape the direction of our field. First, AI-enabled education was envisioned as a transformative force in the teaching of operations research. Second, the development of large-scale integrated models was identified as an emerging and influential research frontier. Third, the convergence of disciplines such as data science, sustainability, and organizational design, was anticipated to redefine the research agenda in management science and engineering management.

Today, these ideas are becoming reality. Among the accepted papers, there is a notable rise in research on AI-supported learning tools, a growing application of integrated models to address real-world complexities, and an increasing number of interdisciplinary studies that bridge domains, for example, AI-driven logistics, sustainable operations, and intelligent systems for green decision-making.

We are standing at a pivotal moment in history, where carbon-based life and silicon-based intelligence are beginning to converge. This transformation is reshaping the ways we think, make decisions, and design organizations. As the collaboration between humans and machines deepens, we are witnessing the emergence of a new societal paradigm in which decisions are no longer shaped solely by individuals or teams, but are increasingly generated through complex systems that integrate human judgment, algorithmic reasoning, and intelligent technologies.

These profound changes prompt us to confront several fundamental questions for the future of our field:

(1) How can we build fair, adaptive, and transparent decision-making systems in organizations where an increasing number of decisions are made by machines?

(2) How should we teach and conduct research in an era where thinking is no longer the exclusive domain of humans?

(3) What do leadership and control truly mean when machines can process information faster than people, yet still lack the depth of human judgment?

The answer may lie in the development of Integrated Mega Models. These are not merely complex models with numerous parameters; they are intelligent systems that synthesize data, algorithms, contextual understanding, and goal orientation into cohesive decision frameworks. Scholars in management science and engineering management are uniquely positioned to lead this effort. Our field bridges mathematics with meaning, optimization with ethical considerations, and predictive analytics with evolving real-world dynamics.

As large-scale AI models continue to evolve from general-purpose tools into specialized applications across domains such as healthcare, finance, and logistics, the role of management science and engineering management will become increasingly vital. Our field will not only provide rigorous methods and optimization techniques, but will also play a key role in designing intelligent decision-making systems, shaping adaptive organizations, and guiding solutions that harmonize efficiency with human values.

This conference could not have been realized without the strong support of our partners and contributors. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Professor Sophie, co-chair of this year’s conference, and to the local organizing committee for their dedication and leadership. I also extend sincere thanks to Springer and the editorial team for their efforts in publishing the proceedings, as well as to all contributing authors whose work has made this event a vibrant forum for knowledge sharing and scholarly dialogue.

Let this gathering be more than an academic event. Let it serve as a collective step toward the future, where management science and engineering management not only anticipate outcomes, but also shape guiding values; not only refine systems, but also make them more inclusive, ethical, and people-centered.

Thank you, and welcome to Lille!!

July 24, 2025