Techsuyo 2023: Inspiration from Silicon Valley

Under the motto 'Solving Challenges Like in Silicon Valley', outstanding Peruvian professionals working in top companies like Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon, and Netflix shared their knowledge and experiences for the first time at the Universidad San Pablo in Arequipa. With previous editions held at renowned institutions such as Stanford, MIT, and Berkeley, Techsuyo 2023 returned as one of the most important technology conferences in Latin America. During two intensive days—September 6 and 7, 2023—the event offered workshops, panels, and a hackathon, with over 30 experts addressing challenges and opportunities in technology development within high-performance environments like Silicon Valley. Featured speakers included Spencer Friedman (Rappi), Angela Galdós (Google), Emilia Paz (Google Chrome), Omar Flores (IBM Research), Luis Larco (Google X), and Bruno Wong (Amazon). Representing the National University of Moquegua (UNAM), a group of seven students—Allison Reynoso, Jamir Bacona, Selime Maquera, Yoselin Arocutipa, Estrella Velasquez, Mariela Nina, and Jhormely Sosa—had the opportunity to participate in this international event. The experience not only highlighted the differences between the national context and global innovation standards but also served as inspiration to take an important step: the creation of the AiMara Research Group, officially registered at UNAM. Since then, this group has initiated regular meetings where natural discussions about artificial intelligence and its fields have driven the development of projects with a global vision. Following the premise 'create technology, rather than just learn to use it', these young researchers have embarked on a path toward innovation and technological development. Direct contact and conversations with the Techsuyo 2023 speakers marked a turning point for this emerging group in Moquegua, turning received inspiration into concrete actions aimed at creating knowledge and technology from southern Peru.