Last Friday, May 22nd, the Universidad de Mendoza – campus Río Cuarto It was the setting for UM Tech Talks 2026: Software Industry Today, an academic and professional day organized by the University Technician in Software Development (TUDS) degree course of the School of Engineering, within the framework of the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the campus.

Starting at 6:30 p.m., the main hall of the campus welcomed over 80 attendees, including university students, high school students from the region, teachers, authorities, and professionals from the technology sector. The day featured four talks by leading figures in the software industry and concluded with a question-and-answer session that fostered a rich exchange between the speakers and the audience.

An event to connect the university with industry

The opening was led by Eng. Guillermo Cuenya, coordinator of the Technical Program, who welcomed the attendees, presented the objectives of the event and gave an introduction to the TUDS degree course, highlighting the opportunities that the IT sector offers to future professionals in the region.

“We want students to see that what they learn here has a real impact outside, in companies that are solving concrete problems with technology.”Cuenya said at the start of the night.

The talks: technology applied to the real world

DevOps in real-world projects and the aerospace sector

Hugo Cejas, Engineer – Ascentio Technologies

The first presentation was given by Hugo Cejas, an engineer from Ascentio Technologies, an Argentine software engineering company with projects in the aerospace sector. Cejas gave a practical presentation on DevOps and how it is applied in highly demanding technical environments where errors have critical consequences. He demonstrated continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows, the importance of automation, and the quality standards that govern software projects for the aerospace industry. The presentation generated great interest among the students, many of whom were unaware of the existence of these types of applications in Argentina.

Artificial Intelligence and Data applied to Agriculture

Eng. Santiago Carignano and Ignacio Cabral – AyronOne

Engineer Álvaro Aguilar, from AyronOne, presented how artificial intelligence and data analytics are transforming the agricultural sector. Through concrete examples, he explained how large volumes of data are processed to optimize decisions in the field, from crop monitoring to yield prediction. Aguilar emphasized that Argentina has a strategic position at the intersection of technology and agribusiness, and that there is a growing demand for developers who can work on solutions for this sector.

Software Development Today

Ing. Agustín Serra and Matías Gomez – Picallex

The third talk was given by Agustín Serra, an engineer from Picallex, who offered an updated perspective on how software development teams work today. Serra covered agile methodologies, remote work, collaborative tools, and the professional profile that companies are looking for now. It was one of the most practical talks of the evening, with examples from a developer's day-to-day work: from stand-up meetings to production deployment.

“You don’t need to know everything before you start working. The important thing is knowing how to learn.”, was one of the phrases that resonated most with the audience.

Blockchain and Bitcoin: the technology behind digital money

Eng. Leonardo Apaza – Satoshi Club

Closing the series of talks, engineer Leonardo Apaza, from the Satoshi Club community, offered an introduction to blockchain and Bitcoin geared toward those new to the topic. He explained the technological foundations of these tools—cryptography, decentralization, distributed consensus—and how they are being adopted in various industries beyond finance. The talk sparked an interesting debate about the economic and social implications of decentralized technologies and became one of the most talked-about of the evening.

Q&A Panel: The most anticipated moment

At the close of the lecture series, the four speakers participated in a question-and-answer panel moderated by Engineer Cuenya. The students took advantage of the opportunity to ask about career paths, how to land their first job in technology, which programming languages ​​to learn, what it's like to work remotely for international companies, and the future of the IT sector in Argentina. The exchange was open, engaging, and very well received by the attendees.

10 years of the campus Río CuartoA milestone to celebrate with technology

The event also had a special institutional dimension: it was held within the framework of the campus's tenth anniversary. Río Cuarto from the Universidad de MendozaThe authorities present highlighted the growth of the campus over the past decade and the role that the TUDS degree course plays in training technology professionals for the region. Río Cuarto and Cordoba.

Among those present were students from IPEM 27 “Dr. René Favaloro” and IPEM 283 “Fray Mamerto Esquú”, schools with which the University maintains current agreements, thus reinforcing the link between the secondary level and the university and fostering the interest of young people in the region for technological degree courses.

A space that's here to stay

The closing remarks were once again delivered by Engineer Cuenya, who thanked the speakers, the organizing team, and all those present, and invited high school students to learn more about the Software Development Technician program. The evening concluded with the presentation of institutional gifts to each of the speakers and a promise to continue holding similar events.

UM Tech Talks 2026 consolidated the Universidad de Mendoza – campus Río Cuarto as an active space for connection between university education and the software industry, projecting the institution as a benchmark in technological training in the interior of the country.