Hybrid Metaheuristics are skilled combinations of different metaheuristics such as simulated annealing, evolutionary algorithms, tabu search, ant colony optimization, scatter search, iterated local search. Each of them has tackled plenty of hard problems in a huge variety of areas, including bioinformatics, logistics, engineering, business, etc. Metaheuristics are considered state-of-the-art methods for many problems.

In recent years, it has become evident that the concentration on a sole metaheuristic is rather restrictive. A skilled combination of concepts can provide a more efficient behavior and a higher flexibility when dealing with real-world and large-scale problems. The hybridization of metaheuristics with AI/OR techniques, such as integer linear programming and constraint programming, has been proven to be very effective as well.

HM 2007 will be the fourth workshop of the series previously held in Spain (HM 2004 in Valencia, HM 2005 in Barcelona, and HM 2006 on Gran Canaria). It intends to bring researchers in metaheuristics and its applications together and provide them with a relaxed atmosphere for interaction and discussion. HM 2007 is organized as a single-track conference and a non-profit event.