Medellin as a District of Science, Technology and Innovation is consolidated as an epicenter in this area of economic development. The World Economic Forum -WEF, supported the District to integrate the Network of Centers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), through Ruta N, which leads and articulates the STI + E strategy of the city.
This was ratified after the two-day visit of the members of the WEF Executive Committee to the city, where they participated in a series of meetings with different actors and the signing of an agreement of wills with Mayor Federico Gutiérrez.
The objective of this agreement is to generate collaboration between the public and private sectors with an approach based on emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, betting on the training of young people in digital skills, the development of technology, entrepreneurship and technology-based companies.
In 2017, the World Economic Forum launched the Network of Centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the mission of ensuring that its benefits reach all of society.
The first of these centers was established in San Francisco (USA), given the presence in this city of the world's leading technology companies, startups, investors, venture capital firms and academic institutions In 2018, three new Centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution were born in Tokyo (Japan), Beijing (China) and in Mumbai (India).
Now Medellin (Colombia) will join the C4IR network thanks to its infrastructure and commitment to innovation led by Ruta N, which has strengthened the development and generation of technology companies.
It should be noted that Medellin will have the first special treatment zone in Colombia, located in the Northern Zone, which seeks to attract investment, promote the testing of technology and innovation to improve the competitiveness of the city, generating the articulation between the actors of the ecosystem: companies, academia, local government, citizens and international allies.
4 characteristics of the Centers of the Fourth Revolution Industry
- Being a “HUB”: co-creation space for global cooperation.
- To be a “do - tank”: a center of ideas that seeks to solve global social problems through the participation of specialists and their articulation with technology.
- Participate and lead the development of inputs for the construction of regulatory and public policy frameworks to promote the adoption of emerging technologies in different industries and countries.
- Represent a space to prioritize ethics and values in the application of technology.
