On March 18, 2025, Colombia’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Yesenia Olaya Requene, formally installed a working group of expert scientists to guide the country’s strategic research lines in quantum sciences and technologies. According to the official MinCiencias announcement, the group was created to advance capabilities in quantum computing, quantum metrology, advanced materials, and quantum telecommunications.
Five academics were appointed to the working group: Dr. Angela Stella Camacho Beltran, president of the Colombian Network of Women Scientists; Dr. Jose Jairo Giraldo Gallo of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, an expert in superconductivity; Dr. Yenny Rocio Hernandez Pico, a physics professor and vice-dean of research at the Universidad de los Andes Faculty of Sciences; Dr. Omar Calderon Losada, an experimental quantum optics researcher at the Universidad del Valle; and Dr. Alejandra Catalina Valencia Gonzalez, who leads the first experimental quantum optics group in Colombia at the Universidad de los Andes.
Minister Olaya stated that one of the group’s tasks would be to orient the ministry on the forthcoming ColombIA Inteligente call focused on quantum sciences, which would carry an investment of approximately COP 20,000 million (approximately US$5.2 million). The group was also tasked with identifying applications in strategic sectors such as bioeconomy, energy transition, genomics, and digital security, and with promoting public engagement with quantum science.