Online preparatory courses

The goal of these preparatory courses, which last approximately 10 hours, is to strengthen and standardize the basic knowledge of certain quantitative tools among professionals from central banks and member institutions of CEMLA, providing the necessary foundations in programming, mathematics and statistics for a better use of various courses and more advanced training activities offered by CEMLA.

It should be mentioned that some techniques or tools, such as machine learning and others which are part of artificial intelligence, as well as the rapid increase in the availability of data and their centrality to the analysis of the different activities carried out by central banks, makes it advisable for this Centre to offer such courses for a greater and more effective fulfilment of its objectives. Being available online and in both Spanish and English, these courses allow participants to prepare flexibly and at their own pace.

These courses aim to reduce training gaps among participants with different professional backgrounds, facilitating a common understanding of the concepts and tools that are used intensively in more specialized courses. In this way, they promote smoother and deeper participation in various technical courses and activities offered by CEMLA.

In particular, the preparatory courses serve as an academic basis for specialized programmes such as the Course on Macroeconomic Models, the Course on Financial Mathematics and the Course on Machine Learning, as well as initiatives such as Suptech and Regtech, the Data Laboratory for Access to Microdata by Researchers, specialized seminars on applications of artificial intelligence, big data, and data analytics in central banks, and advanced courses such as the Course on Macroeconomic Forecasting with Machine Learning, the Course on DSGE Models for Central Banks, the Introduction to Numerical Methods Course and the Macroeconomics and Numerical Methods Course, allowing participants to focus on the conceptual and applied aspects of these courses and activities, rather than spend time reviewing technical prerequisites.

All introductory courses will include subject-specific notes which will serve as reference material for participants before, during and after the course.