Ondřej Benedikt

Ondřej Benedikt

Optimization Systems Developer at ČEZ

About me

Hello! I am Ondřej Benedikt. Currently, I am optimization systems developer at ČEZ specializing in unit-commitment problem and mathematical modeling. My primary working agenda include long-term unit-commitment modeling, and optimization of hydropower plants.

Studies & Work

I finished my bachelor’s (2013-2016) and master’s (2016-2017) studies at Open Informatics, CTU in Prague, with a major in Artificial Intelligence. My primary study interests included general computer science, mathematics, algorithm design and complexity study, optimization, as well as AI and machine learning. After finishing my master’s studies, I continued with a Ph.D. program (2017-2022) at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering with major interest in system modeling and optimization.

For a short summary of my working life, see my CV.

There are some things that I consider as my (work) achievements:

  • I finished both my bachelor’s and master’s studies with an excellent average grade of 1.0 (equivalent to an A+ or 4.0 GPA), graduated with honors, and obtained Dean’s awards for my theses.
  • Between 2020 and 2021, I have presented at three international conferences (ICORES-2020, CPAIOR-2020, and RTCSA-2021), and at each of these conferences, my work was awarded either the Best Student’s Paper Award or the Best Paper Award.
  • I submitted my dissertation thesis in about four years after I started my Ph.D. studies; I consider this a success since the average time at my department was nearing the seven years.

Skills & Hobbies

I see myself as an analytical and rational person. I like thinking about problems and solving them. Particularly, I like analyzing and formalizing the problems, and designing the algorithms to solve them. A big part of the process is then the application of the optimization techniques to improve the solutions.

I am not a big programming enthusiast, but I see programming as a tool helping me achieve what is needed. During my Ph.D, I have usually only prototyped the algorithms, designed the mathematical models, or wrote the scripts to prepare and process data. At my current work, I partially work as a developer on a relatively large project. I am confortable in Python, but also do some small updates in C++.

Sometimes, I also enjoy writing reports summarizing my work. I like thinking about the best way how to present the work and deliver the ideas. I also enjoy creating diagrams and other simple images, which are an essential part of the text and presentation. For the technical text, I have mostly used LaTeX language together with TikZ and Pgfplots images. Sometimes I am also forced by circumstances to work with MS Office tools.

During my free time, I am gradually renovating an old house nearby Prague. Thanks to that, I discovered some new hobbies, including masonry and plastering, woodworking, and gardening. When the time permits, I also enjoy reading books and playing games. Of course, spending time with my family brings me a lot of pleasure too.