A harmony search algorithm for university course timetabling

One of the main challenges for any university administrations is building a timetable for course sessions. Such a challenge not only relates to how to build a usable timetable but also how to build an optimal timetable at the same time. The university course timetable is classified as an NP-Complete problem. In general, it means assigning predefined courses to certain rooms and timeslots under specific constraints. Harmony search algorithm is a new metaheuristic population based algorithm derived from a natural phenomena of musicians’ behavior when they cooperatively play their musical instruments to achieve a fantastic harmony. The major thrust of this algorithm lies in its ability to integrate exploitation and exploration in a parallel optimization environment. In this paper, a harmony search algorithm is applied to university course timetabling against standard benchmarks. The results show that the proposed harmony search is capable of providing a viable solution compared to those in previous works.