On August 7, 2007, SynBERC hosted a delegation of twelve university and industry leaders from Colombia to explore how synthetic biology can be used to help Colombian industries, and how our educational resources can be used to develop graduate and undergraduate curricula in the emerging field of synthetic biology for all of Latin America. As a result, SynBERC and the Colombian delegates are developing a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines agreed-upon best practices for fostering a cooperative research environment among members. SynBERC will begin to share its developing synthetic biology curriculum to with our Colombian partners to help inspire students to pursue science careers in the emerging field of synthetic biology and its related disciplines. In addition, three Colombian companies have pledged to join SynBERC’s formal Industry Alliance Program. A number of other companies from Colombia, Chile and Argentina are now interested in joining SynBERC, paving the way for a broader Latin American component to SynBERC's industry alliance. The partnership promises to bring synthetic biology advances to Colombia’s water and food processing industries, and provide new opportunities to young researchers in Latin America.