MT3444: Combinatorial Optimization


See this for the question bank, project template, and possible problems. .

Marks distribution:

30 % Internal Evaluation Consists of 2 quizzes (15%) and a project report plus viva (15%)
30 % Mid-term exam Theory paper
40 % End-term exam Theory paper


Lectures

Date References
Lecture 01 5th Jan 2026 Introduction (Ch 1 in [1])
Lecture 02 6th Jan 2026 Examples (Ch 2 in [1])
Lecture 03 7th Jan 2026 Integer Linear Programming (Ch 3.1 in [1])
Lecture 04 12th Jan 2026 Maximum-Weight Matching (Ch 3.2 in [1])
Lecture 05 13th Jan 2026 Minimum Vertex Cover (Ch 3.3, 3.4 in [1])
Lecture 06 19th Jan 2026 Theory of Linear Programming (Ch 4.1 in [1])
Lecture 07 20th Jan 2026 Solving LP, ILP using SciPy. Python file
Lecture 08 21st Jan 2026 Basic Feasible Solution (Ch 4.2 in [1])
Lecture 09 27th Jan 2026 Convex Polyhedra (Ch 4.3, 4.4 in [1])
Lecture 10 28th Jan 2026 Simplex Method (Ch 5.1 to 5.5 in [1])
Lecture 11 2nd Feb 2026 Simplex Method in General (Ch 5.6, 5.7 in [1])
Lecture 12 3rd Feb 2026 Avoiding Cycle in Simplex (Ch 5.8 in [1], Example )
Quiz-01 4th Feb 2026 Question Paper
Lecture 13 11th Feb 2026 Duality of LP (Ch 6.1 in [1])
Lecture 14 14th Feb 2026 Strong Duality Theorem (Ch 6.3 in [1])
Lecture 15 14th Feb 2026 Farkas Lemma and proof of Duality (Ch 6.4 in [1])
Lecture 16 15th Feb 2026 Proof of Farkas Lemma assuming Lemma 6.5.1 (Ch 6.5 in [1])
Lecture 17 16th Feb 2026 Konig's Theorem by Duality (Ch 8.2 in [1])
Mid-term 23rd Feb 2026 Question Paper
Lecture 18 2nd March 2026 Complexity Classes (Appendix A1 in [2])
Lecture 19 5th March 2026 Complexity Classes (Appendix A2, A3 in [2])
Lecture 20 9th March 2026 Greedy Algorithm for Set Cover (Ch 2.1 in [2])
Lecture 21 10th March 2026 Set Cover via Dual Fitting (Ch 13.1 in [2])
Lecture 22 11th March 2026 Rounding Applied to Set Cover (Ch 14.1, 14.2, 14.3 in [2])
Lecture 23 14th March 2026 Primal-Dual Schema for Set Cover (Ch 15.1, 15.2 in [2])
Lecture 24 16th March 2026 MultiCut on Trees (Ch 18.1, 18.2 in[2])
Lecture 25 17th March 2026 Multicommodity Flow on Trees (Ch 18.1, 18.2 in [2])
Lecture 26 18th March 2026 Scheduling on Unrelated Parallel Machines (Ch 17.1, 17.2 in [2])
Lecture 27 23rd March 2026 Scheduling on Unrelated Parallel Machines (Ch 17.3, 17.4 in [2])
Lecture 28 24th March 2026 Steiner Forest (Ch 22.1, 22.2 in [2])
Lecture 29 25th March 2026 Steiner Forest (Ch 22.3 in [2])
Quiz-02 30th March 2026 Question Paper
Lecture 30 1st April 2026 Zero-Sum Games (Ch 8.1 in [1])
Lecture 31 6th April 2026 Zero-Sum Games (Ch 8.1 in [1])
Lecture 32 7th April 2026 Zero-Sum Games (Ch 8.1 in [1]. Before Choosing Numbers.)
Lecture 33 8th April 2026 Error-Correct Codes (Ch 8.4 in [1]. Till proof Prop 8.4.4 )
Lecture 34 13th April 2026 Error-Correct Codes (Ch 8.4 in [1]. Till proof Prop 8.4.4)
Lecture 35 15th April 2026 Summary
End Term 23rd April 2026 Question Paper


Nr. Book Authors
[1] Understanding and Using Linear Programming Jiri Matousek and Bernd Gartner (Online Copy)
[2] Approximation Algorithms Vijay Vazirani (Online Copy)