Microsoft Research in Latin America

On May 14, Microsoft Research kicked off its fourth annual Latin American Academic Summit, where the Panamanian President Martin Torrijos Espino welcomed nearly 300 academic, government and industry research leaders from 18 Latin American countries to the Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge) research park.

The attendees were brought together by Microsoft Research to discuss how scientific research and development can stimulate social, economic and scientific progress throughout the Latin American region. Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research, delivered the keynote address, and Gonzalo Rivas, chief of the Division of Science and Technology at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), provided comments.

Over the past several years, Microsoft has worked to identify local trends and challenges in technology, and to establish deep relationships with academic and governmental research communities. Since 2002, Microsoft Research has invested approximately $5 million (US) through research grants, technology learning labs, regional research summits, internships and doctorate fellowships, and other regional initiatives. One tangible result of this investment is the Virtual Institute.

The institute's administrative hub has been established at Pontificia Universidad Catolica De Chile (PUC-Chile) and Universidad de Chile in Santiago, with spoke universities in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Mexico. Microsoft Research also continues to support research projects ranging from advancing bioinformatics, genome biology and biotechnology to digital inclusion through mobile and wireless technologies.