Research and discovery are fundamental to the advancement of visionary universities. In the modern era, the impact of scientific research on development underscores the critical need for enhanced collaboration among experts. In Ecuador, both public and private universities are spearheading high-quality research initiatives that engage hundreds of scholars, highlighting an increased momentum in scientific output. This surge necessitates an efficient computational tool to support these academic communities in networking, finding collaborators, and selecting joint research topics. To address these needs, we have developed an architecture underpinning a new application named “Centinela”. This architecture is structured into three layers: i. two operational and one analytical databases that forms the data layer, which by combining multiple databases, optimizes the retrieval, processing, and presentation of research data; ii. Django for the back-end to handle business logic; and iii. Angular for the front-end that supports the user interaction. Centinela integrates data from the Scopus API, focusing on the contributions of Ecuadorian researchers, and builds networks of co-authorship, acts as a search engine for academic publications, allows researchers to form groups, provides recommendations on research topics and facilitates group decision-making processes. This integration showcases the application’s robustness in streamlining the management of researchers’ collective expertise and fostering in-depth knowledge across both foundational and advanced subjects.