The paper titled "Semantic Search Trajectory Networks for Understanding Genetic Programming", authored by our researchers Josip Hrvatić, Magda Smolić-Ročak, and Assoc. Prof. Marko Đurasević in collaboration with Prof. Gabriela Ochoa from the University of Stirling, has been awarded Best Paper at the EuroGP 2026 conference, held from April 8 to 10 in Toulouse.

This was the 29th edition of the world's leading event dedicated to genetic programming.

The research team adapted Search Trajectory Networks for tree-based genetic programming, filling a gap that had previously existed in the field. Part of the work also extends the application of these networks to complex real-world problems. Instead of the traditional approach that focuses solely on performance when comparing algorithms, this approach makes it possible to compare the entire evolutionary process of each algorithm and explain why one generates better solutions than the other.

The collaboration was made possible primarily through the "Mobility Programme – Outbound Mobility of Research Assistants" (MOBDOK-2023-1584) funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, under which Josip spent over three months on a research stay at the University of Stirling.

It is worth noting that this is the second consecutive year that researchers from FER have won the Best Paper award at EuroGP.Last year, the award was won by Assoc. Prof. Marko Đurasević, Prof. Stjepan Picek, and Prof. Domagoj Jakobović in collaboration with Claude Carlet from the University of Bergen and Luca Mariot from the University of Twente.