Inria Chile takes part in the 20th anniversary of STIC AmSud and reaffirms its role as a key collaborator in the programme
Date :
Changed on 30/10/2025
Since the creation of Inria Chile, 63 STIC, Math and Climate AmSud projects have been supported by Inria and the AmSud programme since Inria’s arrival in Chile in 2012, strengthening cooperation between France, Chile and researchers across South America. On 21 October, Inria Chile took part in the seminar celebrating 20 years of the STIC AmSud programme, held at Chile’s National Agency for Research and Development, where Luis Martí joined the central round table, “20 Years of Cooperation.”
Inria Chile participated in the “20 Years of the STIC AmSud Programme” seminar on 21 October 2025. The event, co-organised by the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) and the Embassy of France in Chile, marked two decades of Franco-regional scientific cooperation.
The AmSud programmes (STIC, MATH and CLIMAT) are an initiative of French cooperation and its counterparts in 10 South American countries, including Chile. Their aim is to promote and strengthen collaboration and the creation of research and development (R&D) networks by funding researcher mobility within joint projects.
Regional cooperation as a driver of impact
The meeting opened with remarks by Patrick Flot, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the Embassy of France in Chile and Director of the Institut Français, and Alejandra Pizarro, National Director of ANID.
This was followed by the session “20 years of Franco-Latin American scientific cooperation: AmSud”, focused on the programme’s achievements and outlook. Speakers included Andrea Cibotti, Head of the Linking and Networks Department at ANID; Sylvia Fernández, Regional Cooperation Delegate for the Embassy of France in Chile; Marc Pouilly, Representative of the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay; and Camille Sala, Officer for Scientific and University Cooperation at the Regional Cooperation Delegation for South America at the Embassy of France in Chile.
After introductory remarks by Alejandro Maass, academic at the Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas de la Universidad de Chile, and 2025 Chilean National Prize for Exact Sciences, the central round table “20 Years of Cooperation” took place.
Panellists included Javiera Barrera, academic at the Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias de la Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, who shared her experience with the “Performance Evaluation and Design of Optical and Wireless Networks” (2008) project, developed in particular with Gerardo Rubino of the DIONYSOS team at the Centre Inria de l’Université de Rennes; Luis Martí, Scientific Director of Inria Chile; Carla Taramasco, Director of the Institute of Technology for Innovation in Health and Well-Being (ITiSB) at Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB); and Carlos Silva, PhD in Computer Science from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and academic at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. The discussion was moderated by Héctor Ramírez, Director of the Centro de Modelamiento Matemático (CMM) (CMM) at the Universidad de Chile.
The panellists discussed the role of the AmSud programmes as “seed” projects for international collaboration, noting that their value lies not only in links with scientists in France but also with researchers across South America.
In his contribution, Luis Martí illustrated these benefits with two examples of projects coordinated by Inria Chile:
- GreenAI, an initiative addressing the ecological impact of AI by researching and developing environmentally viable and sustainable artificial intelligence. The project was carried out with scientists from Inria’s TAU and SPIRALS teams, and researchers at Universidad de la República (Uruguay), Universidad de Asunción (Paraguay) and the aboratório Nacional de Computação Científica (Brazil).
- EMISTRAL, which combines AI, machine learning, simulation and the Internet of Things to develop autonomous sailing vessels capable of marine eco-monitoring, conducted with scientists from Inria’s AIO and SCOOL teams, Universidad de la República (Uruguay),Universidade Federal Fluminense and Universidade Federal Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil).
Verbatim
At Inria Chile we are delighted to celebrate these 20 years of STIC AmSud. Programmes such as STIC, MATH and CLIMAT AmSud are fundamental tools for scientific cooperation that Inria has supported since their creation so that they have a significant impact on the region’s scientific development. For 20 years, collaboration between France and South American countries under STIC AmSud — dedicated to information technologies — has enabled progress at the knowledge frontier and, above all, opened doors, created new links and new perspectives for young researchers who have often had their first international experiences through an AmSud project. We are convinced that this joint work is the way to build strong bridges between the ecosystems of France and South America — and within the region itself as well.
Auteur
Poste
Director of Inria Chile / Director of the Franco-Chilean Binational Center on Artificial Intelligence
Over 60 AmSud projects with Chile supported by Inria since 2012
Inria’s role as a key partner of the programme is reflected in the active participation of its research teams in France in numerous ongoing STIC, MATH and CLIMAT AmSud projects, enabling the exchange and mobility of researchers between France and South America and supporting research initiatives with potential for transfer and innovation.
Since Inria’s arrival in Chile in 2012, 63 AmSud projects have been supported, involving hundreds of researchers and students. In 2025, there are 10 AmSud projects underway involving scientists from Inria and Chile, making Chile Inria’s leading partner in South America within this programme.