“By Trinidad and Tobago…. for Trinidad and Tobago and the world” were words that shaped the conversation of digital transformation in Trinidad and Tobago at the launch of a Tech Lab by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Tuesday.
“This regional tech lab comes at the opportune time when frontier technologies such artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and big data among a host of other things continue to be seamlessly to be integrated into various aspects of our day-to-day lives.”
Minister of Planning and Development Pennelope Beckles at the launch of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Tech Lab, revealed that in collaboration with the health sector, the digital handling of files will soon see a transformation termed as “one patient, one record.”
Similarly, the Minister of Digital Transformation shared insight on the modernization of the water sector to enable the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to deliver services efficiently.
“The mention of the WASA project with the IDB had to do with water distribution, water measurement, the ability to move water around. Control of pumps and that kind of thing. They have a control room that’s built by themselves using their own people to do it and it is an example of the revolution that I think has happened in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Minister Bacchus added that with technology being primarily a youth centred thing, the involvement of younger persons in its creation and advancement is crucial.
General manager and Chief Information Officer of IDB Jean-Michel Baudoin expressed his gratitude for the government’s collaboration in advancing the transformation of the digital landscape. He highlighted three key factors to know how technology is going to disrupt different sectors.
“Three words. First one is explore, the second one is experiment and the last one which is probably the most important is collaboration.”
The IDB’s Tech lab is open to all, and Minister Bacchus encourages individuals to utilize it even if it is out of curiosity and see what is available to advance the technology sector of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region.