The Spark Programme which will introduce students to Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology was launched on Monday at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).
A release from the Ministry of Education said that the programme is a product of collaboration between the Ministry and the LEAD Mindset, JASECI Labs and BCS Technology.
The participating schools are Christianburg-Wismar Secondary School, Mackenzie High School, Queen’s College, the Bishops’ High School, St. Joseph High School, St. Rose’s High School, St. Stanislaus College, President’s College, Berbice High School, New Amsterdam Secondary School, West Demerara Secondary School and the Anna Regina Secondary School. Students from the Government Technical Institute and teacher trainees from the Cyril Potter College of Education will also be participating, the release said.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand said at the launch “… this programme here, this partnership that we’re entering into, we jumped on it immediately because we see the potential in it. Not only will this allow you to be creators and innovators, but we hope it is going to make you all into leaders”.
A total of 136 students will be participating in the programme.
Founder of JASECI Labs, Jason Mars, explained that the programme will run for eight weeks with two tracks, one that focuses on developing the leadership and innovative mindset while on the other, participants will be exposed to the AI technical track. He said that the AI track will instruct the students on how to code and use the same instruments utilised by the biggest companies in the world to build AI products and services. He said that along the AI track, students will be required to build a real AI product. According to Mars, who is also a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Michigan, such products when sold to the world on a global scale can funnel value from the global market into Guyana and the region.
The training will be facilitated by him and Chief Executive Officer of the LEAD Mindset Dennise Hilliman, who will both spend 90 minutes each week in virtual classrooms with students, the release said. The participants will also benefit from question and answer sessions along with a series of assignments. At the end of the course, students will present their creations.
“It’s our ambition and in my expectation that these creations themselves can then turn into real products that could be sold by young entrepreneurs that come out of this programme. So they’ll have the right mindset, and they’ll have the right skills to create software,” Mars said.
According to the release, Hilliman said that the world is changing fast with technology accelerating most of those changes. She said that those who fail to adapt to these changes will be left behind.
Hilliman shared anecdotes of her journey from being a user of technology to becoming an advocate with a deep passion to nurture creators of technology.
Francis Cumberbatch, General Manager and Director of Business Development of BCS Technology said that it is important for the collaborating entities to drive the digital transformation journey that Guyana is proceeding upon.
He said that the initial programme will be expanded to involve graduates of the University of Guyana. He added that the programme will also be looking at apprenticeship opportunities for participants which can lead to employment.
