A second cohort for Git Commit Uruguay, now with AI front and center

Uruguay’s developer population and repository counts on GitHub have climbed steadily for years. In 2023 the country also welcomed its first AI lab—the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the third outside the U.S. That activity helps explain why the International Trade Administration ranks Uruguay among Latin America’s largest per capita software exporters.

GitHub’s Git Commit Uruguay program, launched in 2022, targets a different slice of that pipeline: high school students and recent graduates in underserved Montevideo neighborhoods. The goal is to lower the barriers to entry for people who might not otherwise see software development as an option. The second cycle, run in 2023, put AI at the center of the curriculum.

What the students actually learned

Core developer skills still anchored the syllabus—Git commands, repository setup, project structure, and commits. But the emphasis shifted to GitHub Copilot and AI tooling, reflecting where the wider industry is moving. Each participant built a personal website hosted in the cloud and assembled a portfolio of completed work to use in job applications.

GitHub brought in two experienced instructors from Mexico and Chile specifically so that language would not get in the way of learning. The program also arranged guest sessions with Elianne Elbaum, manager of the AI lab that opened in 2023, and Alejandro Pazos, Microsoft’s country general manager in Uruguay, who shared career advice with the group.

An auditorium with stadium-style seating filled with a rapt audience!

Photo of a male student taken from behind. He is resting is cheek on his right hand, and the computer screen in front of him is on a website about GitHub Copilot. Further in the distance, there is a teacher gesturing toward a projector screen displaying text in Spanish.

Growth and next steps

The program expanded considerably in its second year. Participation grew from 60 students to 105, all drawn from the lowest-income neighborhoods, and the number of partner institutions rose from three to seven.

The cohort’s willingness to engage with AI in their training is a strong signal that these tools belong in education and early-career development. GitHub is now working to line up internships with local companies so that graduates can put their new skills to use quickly.

A group of students wearing red t-shirts that read "Octogatos." They are holding certificates and standing in front of a large banner with a collage of GitHub stickers on it.