UTech, Jamaica Amber Group and HEART/NSTA Trust Join Forces to Establish Jamaica’s National AI Lab
Seated (l-r) signing a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of Jamaica’s National Artificial Intelligence Lab on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the AC Hotel in Kingston are Dr. Kevin Brown, President, University of Technology, Jamaica, Ambassador Dushyant Savadia, Chief Executive Officer, Amber Group Limited and Dr. Taneisha Ingleton, Managing Director, HEART/NSTA Trust. Witnessing the signing of the historic agreement (from left) are Mr. Christopher Reckord, Chair, Jamaica Artificial Intelligence Taskforce, Dr. Kasan Troupe, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator the Honourable Audrey Marks, Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation and Digital Transformation in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Dr. the Honourable Dana Morris Dixon, Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Professor Sean Thorpe, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Computing at the University of Technology, Jamaica and Ashish Pandya, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, ScoreExI AI.
In a bold move signaling Jamaica’s leap into the new frontier of digital transformation, the University of Technology, Jamaica, Amber Group and HEART/NSTA Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab to be housed at the university’s Papine Campus by September 1, 2025.
The MoU was signed during an official ceremony at the AC Hotel in Kingston on Friday, June 6, 2025. The event also included the unveiling of the Jamaica Learning Assistant (JLA) – A digital education technology designed by the Amber Group with specialized AI-generated content for students of all learning styles.
Ambassador Dushyant Savadia (left), Chief Executive Officer, Amber Group addresses the audience during the official MoU signing for the National Artificial Intelligence Lab between UTech, Jamaica, Amber Group and HEART/NSTA Trust on Friday, June 6, 2025, the AC Hotel. Seated in the front row from left are Senator the Honourable Audrey Marks, Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation and Digital Transformation in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Dr. the Honourable Dana Morris Dixon, Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kevin Blake, Commissioner of Police, Honourable Bryan Sykes, Chief Justice of Jamaica, Dr. Kevin Brown, President, University of Technology, Jamaica and Dr. Taneisha Ingleton, Managing Director, HEART/NSTA Trust.
In his address, Ambassador Dushyant Savadia, Chief Executive Officer, Amber Group stated “We need to keep up with where the world is going and hence the AI Lab was such an important thing for us to do here. We are developing the curricula. We are going to onboard 100 data analyst engineers in Jamaica to start Jamaica’s first proper AI Lab to build agentic AI…by September 1st the National AL Lab will be up and running.”
He explained that agentic AI will allow for autonomous operations and service delivery in various sectors through Machine Learning with the goal of optimizing the quality of output, user satisfaction, social and economic development.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, UTech, Jamaica, Amber and HEART/NSTA Trust will combine their specialized skills and industry know-how to create the state-of-the-art AI Lab as a public-private centre of excellence. The lab will serve as a hub for infrastructural and economic development in alignment with the strategic objectives presented in the 2024 National AI Taskforce Report. These strategic objectives include the prioritization of workforce development, promotion of ethical AI practices and the development of sector-specific AI applications. The facility will allow developers, researchers, entrepreneurs and students to innovate and collaborate on AI-driven solutions.
Amber Group will provide cutting-edge Graphics Processing Units, high performance computing machines, dedicated servers and relevant software to support the operations of the National AI Lab. The global technology company will also deploy experienced trainers and mentors to deliver high quality education and training in AI software development, coding and product innovation.
The University of Technology, Jamaica will provide the relevant infrastructure such as lab spaces, internet connectivity and maintenance support within its capacity to facilitate the required training sessions. UTech, Jamaica will also help to develop and execute educational programmes to advance teaching, research and service to the academic community and industry partners to meet the needs of national development and deliver services and products to the wider Caribbean.
The HEART/NSTA Trust will recruit qualified student data analysts and technical talent for the AI Lab. The national training agency will also contribute to ensuring that a continual talent pipeline exists to support and sustain lab operations. In keeping with the government’s recent allocation of stipends to HEART trainees, the national training agency will also fund the stipends for 100 AI enrolled trainees each month for the duration of the engagement.
Unveiling of the Jamaica Learning Assistant Platform
Ambassador Dushyant Savadia, Chief Executive Officer, Amber Group Limited walks the audience through a live demo of the Jamaica Learning Assistant during the official MoU signing ceremony between UTech, Jamaica, Amber Group and the HEART/NSTA Trust for the National Artificial Intelligence Lab on Friday, June 6, 2025 at the AC Hotel in Kingston.
Ambassador Savadia also noted that while the establishment of the National AI Lab is underway, another aspect of Amber Group’s current contribution to the education sector will be the official handing over of the Jamaica Learning Assistant platform to the government. “We built a learning assistant that will allow children to learn in many ways” Ambassador Savadia noted. “What we are building is the world’s first and most powerful curriculum aligned agentic AI-driven platform to deliver gold standard education that is personal, affordable and engaging,” he added. Savadia noted that the digital platform is 80% complete. He said it will allow students and educators to use Standard Jamaican English or Jamaican Creole as the language of instruction.
Fostering Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Dr. Kevin Brown, President, University of Technology, Jamaica said the initiative aligns with the institution’s mission to foster technological innovation and entrepreneurship. “This initiative marks the beginning of a strategic collaboration that will accelerate our economic transformation and cement Jamaica’s leadership in AI-driven solutions within the Caribbean and globally”.
He added that being home to the island’s first start-up business incubator, (the Technology, Innovation Centre) and with its Faculty of Engineering and Computing that has “consistently produced highly skilled graduates,” UTech, Jamaica “is well-positioned to serve as the host institution” for the National Artificial Intelligence Lab. “We are committed to fully integrating the lab into our teaching and research programmes, ensuring our students and faculty remain at the forefront of AI innovation and continue to contribute meaningfully to national development,” Dr. Brown stated. He also shared that this latest partnership builds on the foundation of the 2024 Amber/UTech LaunchPad initiative to support 100 tech-based startups in 1,000 days.
A New Frontier for Development
Dr. Taneisha Ingleton, Managing Director, HEART/NSTA Trust noted that the partnership marks the new frontier for development through “faculty exchanges and laboratory sharing between HART and UTech, fostering a seamless learning community.” She noted that “Our focus is firmly directed towards the future…this is more than an initiative. It is a movement, one that is consistent with the mandate of the HEART/NSTA Trust.”
A Driver of Economic Development
Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Senator the Honourable Ambassador Audrey Marks underscored the significance of AI for Jamaica’s future. “AI is no longer just a tool of convenience, it is a powerful driver of economic transformation, job creation, innovation and global competitiveness” Senator Marks stated. She added that “with the global AI market expected to reach $3.6 trillion by 2034, Jamaica must position itself as a serious contender” as “we have the talent, infrastructure and entrepreneurial spirit” to do so.
Ambassador Marks further noted that the Government of Jamaica, through public-private partnerships, is “taking concrete steps to build an AI-driven digital economy.” She stated that the government’s vision and policy framework for digital transformation is taking shape through initiatives such as the establishment of the National AI Taskforce, the AI and jobs reskilling programme, and the integration of AI literacy in the education system. “The government is now here to make sure that full support is here for all our entrepreneurs and innovators in the digital space and beyond” Marks emphasized.
A New Era in Education
Senator Dr. the Honourable Dana Morris Dixon (right), Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information looks on as Ambassador Dushyant Savadia (right), Chief Executive Officer, Amber Group Limited shows a student how to use the Jamaica Learning Assistant digital AI platform. Behind them (l-r) watching with enthusiasm are Ashish Pandya, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, ScoreExI AI and Dr. Kevin Brown, President, University of Technology, Jamaica.
Senator Dr. the Honourable Dana Morris Dixon, Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information commended Amber Group, UTech, Jamaica and HEART/NSTA Trust for their “bold” partnership. She stated that the National AI Lab and the Jamaica Learning Assistant together symbolizes an unveiling of “foundational pillars of a new era in education.” Noting that, “our country, was one of the first countries in the world to have an AI policy in education,” the minister explained, “we are not fearful of AI and we want to use AI in our education sector…Jamaica’s young people need not just to be consumers of global technology, but to be the creators of it,” she added. She said the AI Lab is important as it will help to further the government’s digital transformation mandate.
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Watch the JIS recording of the official MoU signing ceremony.
https://jis.gov.jm/videos/jistv-jamaicas-historic-national-ai-lab-signing-ceremony/