Carlos Jaime Barrios Hernández, General Chair of SCALAC, participated in a workshop organized by the IDB and CENIA to contribute to the design of programs that boost productivity through artificial intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
At the invitation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), SCALAC participated in the workshop “Program Design Lab to Boost Productivity with AI,” held on October 19–20, 2026, in Panama City. The event was jointly organized by the IDB and Chile’s National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA).
The workshop brought together policymakers involved in artificial intelligence development initiatives for which IDB financing has been requested. In this context, SCALAC’s participation brought the capabilities, needs, and lessons learned from high-performance computing in Latin America and the Caribbean into the discussion on scientific infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and productivity.
Carlos Jaime Barrios Hernández, a professor at Universidad Industrial de Santander in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and General Chair of SCALAC, led the session “An Overview of High-Performance Computing in Latin America and the Caribbean: Capabilities, Needs, and Lessons Learned.”
His presentation helped identify gaps and propose action plans to advance AI development and adoption across the region. It also addressed the multiple dimensions involved in developing sustainable high-performance computing (HPC) projects for AI that are connected to the global ecosystem.
The workshop preceded the regional competitiveness dialogues, which bring together senior government officials from Latin America and the Caribbean and representatives of multilateral organizations.
This participation reinforces SCALAC’s contribution to the regional dialogue on high-performance computing as a strategic capability for research, innovation, and the development of artificial intelligence.
