What is the primary focus of the ALTEC 2027 congress?

The congress focuses on technology management and innovation within the Ibero-American context.

XXII Congreso Latino-iberoaméricano de Gestión Tecnológica y de la Innovación ALTEC 2027

Name: XXII Congreso Latino-iberoaméricano de Gestión Tecnológica y de la Innovación ALTEC 2027
Start: 2027-09-28T00:00:00Z
End: 2027-10-01T00:00:00Z
Location: San José

Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2027San José, Costa RicaIn-person

Registration open

The XXII Congreso Latino-iberoaméricano de Gestión Tecnológica y de la Innovación ALTEC 2027 is set to convene in San José, Costa Rica. This significant event will bring together experts and stakeholders to discuss advancements and strategies in technology management and innovation. The conference aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange across the Ibero-American region, addressing key challenges and opportunities in the field.

Committees & topics

Topics
Knowledge Production and Transfer in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula · Technology Policy and Industrial Capabilities in Ibero-America · Innovation Systems and Productivity in Ibero-America · Innovation-Led Economic Development in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula · Technology and Innovation for Social Development · Innovation for Environmental Sustainability and the Green Transition · Digital Transformation of States, Firms and Societies · Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Ibero-America

Why it matters

Innovation and technology management are critical drivers of economic growth and societal development, particularly in the Ibero-American context. This congress provides a vital platform for sharing best practices, exploring emerging trends, and developing collaborative solutions to complex issues. The discussions and outcomes from this event can significantly influence policy-making and strategic investments in technology and innovation across participating nations.

The insights generated from this gathering can help bridge the Digital Divide and promote more equitable access to technological advancements. By focusing on regional challenges and opportunities, the congress contributes to building stronger innovation ecosystems. Furthermore, the exchange of ideas can inform strategies for sustainable development and enhance competitiveness in the global economy. Understanding the various approaches to technology management, as discussed at this event, is crucial for any nation seeking to optimize its innovation output and integrate new technologies effectively.

How to prepare

To prepare for this congress, delegates should focus on understanding the diverse technological landscapes and innovation policies within the Ibero-American region. Researching the specific challenges and successes of different countries in adopting and managing new technologies will be beneficial. Familiarity with concepts such as stakeholder mapping and engagement strategies will be valuable for navigating discussions and forming effective collaborations.

Consider how different national contexts influence technology adoption and innovation. For instance, exploring the nuances of gender dynamics across cultures in technology sectors could provide a deeper understanding of workforce development challenges. Preparing case studies or examples of successful technology transfer or innovation policies from various countries can enrich contributions to the discussions. Additionally, understanding the role of Digital diplomacy in fostering international technological cooperation will be pertinent.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 1 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Costa Rica

As the host nation, CRI is positioned to showcase its advancements in technology and innovation, while also facilitating regional dialogue and collaboration.

Role in topic

CRI plays a central role in organizing and hosting this significant regional event, providing the venue for discussions on technology management and innovation. This allows CRI to highlight its own progress and contribute to the broader Ibero-American agenda.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

Knowledge Production and Transfer in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula

Knowledge generation in Ibero-America has historically been concentrated in a small number of public universities and state research institutes, with comparatively low private-sector R&D investment relative to OECD averages. The region's gross expenditure on R&D has hovered around 0.6% of GDP for decades, well below the OECD mean of roughly 2.7%, producing persistent gaps in patenting, scientific output per researcher, and knowledge-based exports. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Portugal account for the bulk of regional scientific publications, while smaller economies remain dependent on knowledge imports and diaspora networks. Since the 2000s, instruments such as Brazil's CNPq, Mexico's CONAHCYT (formerly CONACYT), Spain's CSIC and the Ibero-American Programme for Science and Technology for Development (CYTED) have sought to strengthen cross-border research cooperation. However, fiscal pressures, brain drain to North America and Europe, and fragmented intellectual property regimes continue to limit the translation of academic knowledge into productive use. Debates today center on open science, indigenous and traditional knowledge protection, and how to align university incentives with social and industrial needs. The core challenge for the committee is to identify governance mechanisms that improve knowledge circulation between academia, firms and the state, while preserving the public-good character of research and addressing structural asymmetries between Iberian and Latin American partners.

Key players

Technology Policy and Industrial Capabilities in Ibero-America

Technological capability in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula has evolved unevenly since the import-substitution era of the mid-20th century. Initial state-led efforts to build domestic industries in aeronautics (Brazil's Embraer), pharmaceuticals (Cuba, Argentina), automotive assembly (Mexico, Spain) and energy (Petrobras, YPF, Repsol) produced pockets of advanced capability, but trade liberalisation in the 1990s exposed many sectors to global competition before they had matured. The result is a region that consumes frontier technologies largely produced elsewhere, with technology-intensive exports concentrated in a handful of multinational-led value chains. More recently, geopolitical competition between the United States and China, the reshaping of semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains, and the EU's strategic autonomy agenda have reopened debates about industrial and technology policy. Mexico and Brazil are positioned as nearshoring destinations, Chile and Argentina hold strategic lithium reserves, and Spain and Portugal anchor European efforts in renewable energy and microelectronics through the EU Chips Act and IPCEI initiatives. At the same time, technology transfer conditions, standards-setting and dual-use export controls increasingly shape what Ibero-American firms can absorb. The committee must consider how regional cooperation can strengthen domestic technological capabilities, manage dependencies on dominant suppliers, and ensure that technology policy supports productive diversification rather than enclave modernisation.

Key players

Innovation Systems and Productivity in Ibero-America

National innovation systems in the region developed largely under state guidance, with agencies such as Brazil's FINEP, Mexico's CONAHCYT, Chile's CORFO, Colombia's Minciencias and Spain's CDTI shaping public funding for business R&D. Despite reforms over the past two decades — including tax incentives, venture capital programmes and innovation vouchers — business expenditure on R&D remains low, SME participation in innovation is limited, and university–industry linkages are weak compared to OECD benchmarks. The 'middle-income trap' debate has framed much of this discussion: countries grow but fail to upgrade into knowledge-intensive activities. The post-pandemic period has accelerated experimentation with mission-oriented innovation policy, green industrial strategies, and startup ecosystems in cities such as São Paulo, Mexico City, Medellín, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Lisbon. Multilateral bodies including ECLAC, the IDB, CAF and the OECD have argued for stronger coordination between innovation, productive development and social policy. Persistent challenges include informality, low absorptive capacity in firms, and fragmented evaluation of public innovation spending. Delegates should examine how Ibero-American innovation systems can shift from input-based metrics toward outcome-based strategies that raise productivity, address societal challenges, and reduce intra-regional inequalities in innovative capacity.

Key players

Innovation-Led Economic Development in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula

Latin America's economic trajectory since the 1980s has been marked by macroeconomic stabilisation, commodity booms and busts, and persistent low productivity growth. ECLAC has long argued that the region suffers from a structural heterogeneity in which a small modern sector coexists with large informal and low-productivity segments. Iberian economies, meanwhile, have converged toward EU averages but face their own productivity stagnation, particularly in Spain and Portugal after the 2008 financial crisis and the euro area sovereign debt episodes. Across the region, the link between technological learning and growth has been weaker than in successful East Asian catch-up cases. Current debates focus on how to translate technological and innovation efforts into broad-based economic development amid a more contested global trading system, decarbonisation pressures, and shifts in global value chains. Topics include nearshoring opportunities and risks, the role of state development banks (BNDES, Bancoldex, BICE, ICO), green industrial policy linked to critical minerals and hydrogen, and the macroeconomic space available for productive transformation given high debt burdens and exchange-rate volatility. The committee is asked to consider how STI policy interacts with macroeconomic, trade and financial frameworks to deliver sustained, inclusive growth, drawing on both Ibero-American experiences and lessons from other catching-up regions.

Key players

Innovation for Environmental Sustainability and the Green Transition

Latin America hosts roughly half of the world's biodiversity, the Amazon basin, and major freshwater reserves, while the Iberian Peninsula is among the European regions most exposed to desertification, water stress and climate-driven wildfires. The region is also a key supplier of minerals essential to the energy transition — lithium (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia), copper (Chile, Peru), rare earths and green hydrogen potential (Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Chile, Uruguay). Yet deforestation, illegal mining, and fossil-fuel dependence in several economies create tensions between extractive growth models and environmental commitments under the Paris Agreement and Kunming–Montreal biodiversity framework. Innovation plays a central role in this transition: precision agriculture and bioeconomy in Brazil and Argentina, renewable energy in Chile, Uruguay, Spain and Portugal, electric mobility pilots, circular economy strategies, and early-warning systems for climate adaptation. The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the US Inflation Reduction Act, and Chinese investment in clean technologies are reshaping incentives for environmental innovation across Ibero-America. The committee should evaluate how STI cooperation can support a just environmental transition that respects sovereignty over natural resources, advances climate and biodiversity goals, and avoids reproducing extractive dependencies under new 'green' labels.

Key players

Digital Transformation of States, Firms and Societies

Digital transformation in Ibero-America accelerated sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, when teleworking, e-commerce, digital payments and online public services expanded rapidly. Initiatives such as Brazil's PIX instant payment system, Mexico's CoDi, Spain's Cl@ve and digital identity programmes, and various 'gov.br'-style digital government platforms reshaped citizen–state interactions. According to ECLAC and ITU data, however, the region still exhibits significant gaps in fixed broadband quality, rural connectivity, digital skills, and cybersecurity capacity, particularly for SMEs and the public sector. The regulatory agenda has expanded to include data protection (building on the EU's GDPR, Brazil's LGPD, and similar frameworks in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Colombia), platform regulation, digital competition, interoperable digital public infrastructure, and cross-border data flows. The UN's Global Digital Compact (2024) and the EU's Digital Decade targets provide reference frameworks but require regional adaptation. Cyber incidents against governments and critical infrastructure in Costa Rica, Chile, Spain and others have underscored the need for stronger cyber resilience. Delegates should examine how Ibero-American countries can pursue inclusive, sovereign digital transformation that strengthens productivity, public services and rights, while managing concentration of power among global platforms.

Key players

Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Ibero-America

Artificial intelligence has moved from a research field to a general-purpose technology shaping productivity, public services, labour markets and information ecosystems. Generative AI systems released since 2022 intensified global debates on safety, bias, intellectual property, labour displacement and concentration of compute and data among a small number of firms based primarily in the United States and China. UNESCO's 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, the EU AI Act (2024), the OECD AI Principles, and the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI provide an emerging governance scaffolding, but implementation in Ibero-America remains uneven. Within the region, Brazil has advanced a comprehensive AI bill in Congress, Chile and Colombia have published national AI strategies, Mexico is debating sector-specific rules, and Spain hosts the EU's first AI Supervisory Agency (AESIA) and a regulatory sandbox aligned with the AI Act. Portugal participates in EU initiatives on trustworthy AI. Common challenges include limited domestic compute capacity, dependence on foreign foundation models, scarce specialised talent, Spanish- and Portuguese-language data and benchmarks, and asymmetric power vis-à-vis global technology providers. The committee should consider how Ibero-American states can coordinate on AI governance, build sovereign and cooperative AI capacities, protect rights and democracy, and ensure that AI contributes to productive transformation rather than deepening existing dependencies.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for XXII Congreso Latino-iberoaméricano de Gestión Tecnológica y de la Innovación ALTEC 2027.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

US Job Openings at 6.7M

Trump's Economic Reset

Trump's Economic Approval Hits 30% Amid Iran

GOP Promotes Trump's Tax Savings on Deadline

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

Conflict Resolution

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Costa Rica September 2027

By committee

Frequently asked questions

XXII Congreso Latino-iberoaméricano de Gestión Tecnológica y de la Innovación ALTEC 2027

Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2027San José, Costa RicaIn-person

Registration open

Committees & topics

Topics
Knowledge Production and Transfer in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula · Technology Policy and Industrial Capabilities in Ibero-America · Innovation Systems and Productivity in Ibero-America · Innovation-Led Economic Development in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula · Technology and Innovation for Social Development · Innovation for Environmental Sustainability and the Green Transition · Digital Transformation of States, Firms and Societies · Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Ibero-America

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 1 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Costa Rica

As the host nation, CRI is positioned to showcase its advancements in technology and innovation, while also facilitating regional dialogue and collaboration.

Role in topic

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

Knowledge Production and Transfer in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula

Key players

Technology Policy and Industrial Capabilities in Ibero-America

Key players

Innovation Systems and Productivity in Ibero-America

Key players

Innovation-Led Economic Development in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula

Key players

Innovation for Environmental Sustainability and the Green Transition

Key players

Digital Transformation of States, Firms and Societies

Key players

Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Ibero-America

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for XXII Congreso Latino-iberoaméricano de Gestión Tecnológica y de la Innovación ALTEC 2027.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

US Job Openings at 6.7M

Trump's Economic Reset

Trump's Economic Approval Hits 30% Amid Iran

GOP Promotes Trump's Tax Savings on Deadline

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

Conflict Resolution

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Costa Rica September 2027

By committee

Committees & topics

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Topics & background

Resources

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Frequently asked questions

Committees & topics

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Topics & background

Resources

Related conferences

International Conference on Discourse and Globalization (ICDG)

Cybersec Summit 2026

International Conference on Political Discourse and Democracy (ICPDCD)

PwnedCR 0x9 — Conferencia de hacking y ciberseguridad en Costa Rica

International Conference on Peacebuilding, Human Security, and Global Development (ICPHSGD)

VI Congreso Internacional Economía de Francisco en América Latina y el Caribe 2026

Frequently asked questions