University of San Marcos

San Marcos was founded in 1551 as the Real y Pontificia Universidad de la Ciudad de los Reyes de Lima (Real and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima), less than two decades after the founding of the city of Lima. With a royal decree issued by the King of Spain Carlos I and with a papal bull, it claims to be the first officially recognised university in the Americas – Santo Domingo’s was founded first at the time of the conquest of Peru, but didn’t receive recognition from the King until afterwards.

October 8, 2008 | Lima City Guide, Modern Peru

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Software Libre

According to Microsoft, in 2007 the software industry in Peru lost $59 million to piracy. Much is lost of course, but the truth is that S./10 spent on a CD at a market stall is not S./900+ lost to Microsoft or others.

The software industry’s pressure on the Government to crack down on piracy, unlike that from the movie industry, is likely to cause them far deeper losses as customers are forced to discover free alternatives.

News of universities in Peru taking advantage of these free, “open source” alternatives might mean this change is already on the way, potentially saving the Peruvian economy hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

April 26, 2008 | Commentary/Opinion, News

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