Mexico City, May 7, 2026.— The Universidad Panamericana to strengthen its international presence in the field of research. As part of this commitment, the Dr. Félix Martínez Ríos, a tenured research professor and Level I member of the National System of Researchers (SNII) in the School of Engineering, completed an academic visit at Harvard Business School (HBS)in Boston.
During his stay, he collaborated with two prominent researchers from the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard to plan a cutting-edge project that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology, and decision-making in business environments.
The collaboration arose from an initiative led by Dr. Santiago García, president of the Panamericana University’s Mexico City campus. Subsequently, Dr. Martínez participated in an international conference in Lisbon, Portugal, where he had the opportunity to meet and interact with researchers from theDigital Data Design Institute at Harvard.
A partnership focused on artificial intelligence
The project falls under the thematic area of artificial intelligence, with the goal of using AI and digital technologies to drive business and society forward.
“The overall objective of this research is to conduct interventions (controlled experiments) in companies that use computing technology in their processes—even if they are not currently using AI—to determine its effectiveness in decision-making,”, explains the researcher.
The study aims to examine how AI can be effectively integrated with human judgment and local context to improve economic decisions on large-scale digital platforms.
The project is based on empirical evidence obtained through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and real-world administrative data, with a focus on labor markets, business development, and multinational experimentation.
Collaborative work with researchers from HBS
During his short research visit, Dr. Martínez worked directly with Rem Koning, director ofthe Tech Lab, which provides services to all the other labs at the Harvard Business School AI Institute, and with Professor Hossein Alidaee, who is also a principal investigator atthe Tech Lab.
“Both Harvard professors have conducted this type of experiment before, and I will be contributing my expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the design of new learning and information extraction models,” said Dr. Martínez Ríos.
Strengthening the mission of the Universidad Panamericana
For the Universidad Panamericana, this international partnership represents a significant step toward achieving its institutional goals.
“One of the cornerstones of Panamericana’s strategic planning is research. This involves not only basic scientific research, but also using the results of that to positively impact the business environment and society as a whole,” the academic states.
In the short term, Dr. Martínez will assemble a multidisciplinary team with other researchers on campus to identify potential companies where the experiments and analytical models will be implemented.
UP Research with a Global Reach
The researcher emphasizes how valuable it is to him, as a faculty member at UP, to be able to forge ties with an institution like Harvard Business School.
“This support for the research fellowship provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research is extremely important and gives me the opportunity to interact and collaborate with a research team at Harvard Business School that is undoubtedly among the best in the world,” he says.
Finally, he states: “For the sake of our university’s research impact and international visibility, this collaboration will allow us to produce joint publications with Harvard professors, in addition to carrying out concrete initiatives that have an impact on business and society in general, as well as promoting the responsible use of computing technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence techniques.”
Learn more about the researchers at the Universidad Panamericana : https://www.up.edu.mx/investigadores-panamericana/
