ICT-KM Program Key Players

Carlos Meneses
IT Manager, CIAT

Carlos Meneses is a man who believes in giving something back; nothing gives him greater satisfaction than being able to use the knowledge and experience he has gained throughout his career to help others.

Although he has been working at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) for the past 20 years, five of those years (1995-2000) were also spent lecturing part time at the Colombian University in his hometown of Cali , where he was a professor of Communications and Strategic Planning. He still has strong ties with his Alma Mater and is the Research Technology Coordinator for the university's high-speed network.

"One of CIAT's strengths is having a strong relationship with local IT students and professors," Carlos says. "Indeed, CIAT IT personnel have undertaken several successful projects with the university."

The university network is now ready to connect to Internet2, which will allow students and educators to participate in the National Academic High Speed Network, giving them access to virtual laboratories, digital libraries, centers of virtual education, high-resolution videoconferencing, super-computing centers, etc.

This genial electrical engineer, who also has a master's degree in Business Administration and Finance, is quick to point out that hard work and dedication are the main factors that have enabled him to progress in his chosen career. He started out at CIAT in the IT Hardware Support section before being promoted to the position of Head of Computer Services, and is now an IT Manager and a member of CIAT's international staff.

The same enthusiasm that Carlos has for his work is evident when he speaks of his involvement in the ICT-KM Program.

"My role in the Program's C4D Project involves providing technical advice/support and seeking opportunities that could benefit the Project with regard to technological advances and Open Source code. I also helped prepare a paper titled: Collaborative Tools for Virtual Teams, and established a site test with these tools during an open discussion forum organized by Bellanet."

He is also impressed with the team spirit which is evident among the various players in the Program, and which, he believes, has contributed to the success in getting the main components of the Program in place.

"It was CIO Enrica Porcari's challenge to organize people to work together, and we are now collaborating as a strong team. In order to use a powerful information system, we need to be organized. Five years ago, we held meetings but nothing came out of them. It was just talk. Now that we are working together, we have established commitments and common goals. We are really a team. Achieving Enrica's goal has involved a cultural and organizational change that we can all benefit from."

Carlos also talks about the active role CIAT plays in the Second Level Connectivity Project, which aims to upgrade Internet access at some of the CGIAR's remote locations.

He elaborates, "CIAT has been working on this Project as a technical advisor. We implemented a low-priced VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal - Satellite) solution at the Kawanda station in Uganda , and CIAT users are now enjoying the connectivity benefits: accessing headquarters' resources such as Oracle Financial, Intranet, budget execution, commercial journal subscriptions, and statistical data processing."

When this busy man isn't occupied with his various commitments (he was also actively involved with the Board of the Colombian Association of Computer Users for more than five years), he likes to relax at home in Cali with his wife, Carmen, and his teenage son, also called Carlos.

Carmen is very supportive of her husband's passion for his work with the ICT-KM Program. The fact that she also works at CIAT and can see first-hand the impact of his endeavors might have something to do with this.

In summing up his involvement in the Program, Carlos echoes the sentiments of the CIO: "Our main idea is to collaborate and work together to benefit everyone involved."

When it comes to giving something back, Carlos can be counted on to get the job done.

More key players of the ICT-KM Program coming soon...