Foundation for the Development of Computer Science Education in Jujuy (DIJ)

Jujuy is a very small province located in the Northwest of Argentina, up in the Andes Mountains abutting Bolivia and Chile. Jujuy has a strong native population -- direct descendants of the Incas, who created an amazing civilization before the Spaniards arrived. They are about to create a new revolution! We believe that the future of Jujuy, and indeed the future of Argentina, is intertwined with the entire economic future of the world. In this new era, progress lies not in natural resources, commodities, or even agricultural or industrial productivity, but in the very brains of its citizens, who may now, because of the internet, sell its talent across physical and psychological borders to the entire world. This is what this fascinating project is about.

Jujuy has already proven, and continues to prove daily, its leadership in software development in northwest Argentina, thanks to its extraordinary and totally free educational resources. Jujeño leaders in the field include the National University of Jujuy (UNJU) and the renowned public high school, the "Dr. Horacio Carrillo School of Mines," which is generating a group of brilliant software engineers. Our foundation is dedicated to fostering this development by initially supporting high school and engineering students facing financial hardships that extend beyond their educational needs, including basic necessities such as food. It is disheartening to note that some engineering students have experienced extreme hunger on campus—actually fainting on campus—highlighting their unwavering determination and passion for their studies. Thus, our support goes beyond enabling them to dedicate time to programming; it also helps them with basic necessities of life, like food and transportation from their remote towns to the educational centers in San Salvador de Jujuy and other major cities nearby.

We also focus on younger students in primary schools scattered throughout the province --even in remote and isolated places in the high-altitude Andes Mountains -- to instill knowledge and a love for this wonderful, rewarding, and revolutionary field of work. Our foundation also financially supports computer science teachers, both at the secondary and university levels. Due to the lack of public funds, many of these teachers must at times spend their own money to assist their brilliant students. Our foundation aims to replace these personal contributions with generous private philanthropy to ensure greater access to resources and to ensure that teachers do not feel pressured to spend their very modest salaries on school resources. Finally, we provide financial assistance to educational institutions like UNJU and the School of Mines, which require excellent equipment to carry out their educational goals.

Our mission includes granting scholarships to deserving students, such as the ones who participate in national and international informatics competitions. Jujuy has already included students as part of the Argentine team at the International Olympiad in Informatics competitions. We provide financial support to Jujuy's computer science teachers, allowing them to travel to educational centers to improve their knowledge. We engage private IT companies at the national level, especially those working on original projects, to offer jobs and internships to this center of young local talent, which is already a shining example for the other northern provinces of our country.

Finally, our mission includes educating the inhabitants of the wonderful province of Jujuy about the importance of this new form of education and future work for their children. Today’s global economy enables remote work, which transcends not only Jujuy's borders but also Argentina's, providing top income and preventing brain drain due to lack of local employment opportunities. We know that Argentine programmers, especially the indigenous people or communities living in Jujuy, possess the intelligence, drive and creativity to engage in the various activities within the global IT field without having to leave their hometowns and migrate to more prosperous regions. This type of work applies not only to traditional desktop software development but also to video game engineering morphing into Metaverse, graphic design, network administration, remote medicine, accounting and other services that can be performed virtually on a global scale from Jujuy. The creation of exciting new computer programs and mobile applications with the potential to change the global economy is not and should not be exclusive to major global IT hubs. We are at the vanguard of a more democratic world where brilliance knows no geographical boundaries, flourishing particularly in societies teeming with exceptional talent, as exemplified by the people of Jujuy. Their potential, hindered solely by insufficient financial resources, limited public funding, and cultural burdens, is a testament to the untapped wealth of human potential worldwide. This, in turn, generates more educated, healthier, and freer global citizens who then can purchase goods and services that the first-world has to offer, thus improving the economy throughout our world. The goal, thus, is for more young people in Jujuy to wish to learn and remain in their region so as to significantly improve the economy, not only of Jujuy, but also of Argentina and Latin America in general. We strongly believe that this is a wonderful way to harness the wealth of the people in the developing nations and take them out of poverty. The human brain is the new tool for prosperity. For we are confident that if this project is successful in Jujuy, many other rural provinces throughout Latin America, indeed the world, will follow suit, replacing their erstwhile poverty with an explosion of technology experts, startups, and highly educated, eager individuals excited about giving back to their compatriots across the region.

An example of Greatness.