“Artificial Intelligence is here,” and 12 Information and Communication Technology students are ready to harness its benefits.
This follows the distribution of bursaries worth $10,000 by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) to support their studies at COSTAATT, UWI and UTT — all in a bid to extend the efforts of digital transformation and digital equity in the country.
At Friday’s Distribution Ceremony, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence, Rhoda Patiram, said the Ministry aims to strengthen the ICT workforce while supporting students with ambitions to pursue careers in the field.
“For the Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence, it strengthens our local ICT workforce, fuels our capacity for innovation, reduces our reliance on imported expertise, and builds a sustainable talent pipeline to serve government, industries and communities well into the future.”
Chief Executive Officer of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), Kurleigh Prescod, added that the bursary programme helps in leveraging technology without limitations for students, such as financial constraints.
“One of the benefits of this particular programme is ensuring that we equip the students who will be creating the workforce of tomorrow with the necessary ICT skills to leverage technology such as artificial intelligence to use it productively and to get the best outcomes and, of course, use it ethically as well.”
Mr. Prescod said ensuring that there’s equality within the ICT field and providing opportunities for all is also the aim of the bursary programme.
“It’s important because I think once technology and skills are available to everyone, then you ensure that you get the best talent, if it is you only favour a particular gender, you don’t necessarily get the best talent evolving to fulfil the roles that we need to fill, so by ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to be exposed, to grow, to create, to adapt then we ensure that the best will be available for nation building.”
Now in its fifth year, the programme awarded bursaries to four students from each of the three tertiary institutions, covering two years of their studies.