Admission: 2009 Spring ITTP Master Program, 2011 Spring ITTP Ph.D Program

Affiliation: PUCMM (Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra)

(Previous: Data2Go, Dominican Republic)

Position: Research professor

(Previous: CTO, Data Analyst, Co-founder)

“I initially went to Korea for a two-years master program. By the time I left Korea, I had a family, a great group of friends and completed a master and PhD program.”

I first arrived in Korea on February 2009 in the middle of winter. I was impressed by the winter scenery, which was very different from that of the Dominican Republic. Korea gave me much more than I initially expected and I’m grateful for it. I initially went to Korea for a two-years master program. By the time I left Korea, I had a family, a great group of friends and completed a master and PhD program.

From the academic perspective, I was able to develop important skills that have helped me professionally. I improved my communication, how I think and how I consume information. I was not only seeing the new technologies developed, but also understanding the different mechanisms and policies that created those possibilities.

Korea provided me not only an education but the opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world. From this opportunity I created long lasting friendships that allowed me to see the world differently. A perspective that helped me grow as a person.

During my time at ITTP, I was able to travel all around Korea and adapt to the culture and the warmth of its people. The was life changing experience. During that time, I met the lady who would become my wife and with whom I have two boys. Both my children were born in Daejeon during the time I was studying. My first son was born when I was finishing the master program and the second was born when I was finishing the PhD program.

My wife is a Korean and we met a couple of months after I arrived, and we have been married for more than eleven years. After I completed the Ph. D program, we moved back to the Dominican Republic. My family has adapted well to the country and we have a tight relation with the Korean community in the country. My wife is part of the Korean School of Santo Domingo, where they teach the Korean language and culture to those interested.

I followed the steps of our great ITTP professors and became a professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. I was director for the Information and Telecommunication program from 2016 to 2018 and now I am the founder and lead researcher for the Technology and Innovation for Smart and Sustainable Communities research program. From this program we have developed multiple R&D projects for both the private and public sector.

Currently I lead a team that is developing an Electronic Voting System for the Senate of the Dominican Republic. This system uses blockchain to secure the votes and assure transparency in policy making. The system controls all the aspects in the life cycle of all the policies introduced in the Dominican Senate. Currently the first version of the system is live on the senate.

At the same time, our team developed and maintains the data infrastructure for the Covid 19 vaccination plan of the Dominican Republic. Through this platform, the Ministry of Health can monitor the program performance and emit digital vaccine certificates to those who are fully vaccinated.

In the private sector, we developed an AI system to monitor the entrance of the largest Free Zone Park in the north part of the country. The system uses security cameras to automatically control the trucks that enter and exit the park to secure the park and assure the costumes policies are being followed.

The capacity and the vision for developing these and other projects I gained from the time I spent in ITTP, with great discussions I had with professors, other ITTP students, ITTP Alumni and many special guests the program introduced to us. The program took us to important conferences, workshops and company visits that allowed us to expand our vision. The gatherings we had as a community helped me understand the world and become a true global citizen.

Every time I think about the time I spent on ITTP, I only have great memories. I am part of ITTP, and ITTP is an important part of me. I am so happy the program exists, that it is growing and celebrating its 16th anniversary. Just as my life has changed because of this program, I’m sure many others have as well.