PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence (MPAAI) officially launched the AI Academy, a six-month capacity-building pilot programme designed to strengthen artificial intelligence (AI) skills across the public service.
The launch was held via a live webinar on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, featuring remarks from representatives of MPAAI, CAF, and UNDP including, Nariya Baksh, director, Public Service Academy, MPAAI; Bernardo Requena, director representative of CAF in Trinidad and Tobago; and Ugo Blanco, resident representative, UNDP Trinidad and Tobago. The session also included a live demonstration of the AI Academy platform led by UNICC, and was followed by a question-and-answer segment.
“The AI Academy embodies the ministry’s mandate, founded on three core pillars: Digital Services, Smart and Efficient Government, and a Digital Nation,” said Baksh. “To achieve this mandate, our initiatives must be built on robust education and the empowerment of Trinidad and Tobago’s greatest asset—our people.”
Speakers highlighted the strategic importance of the Academy, describing it as a pioneering initiative that comes at a pivotal moment for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean public sector.
Implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), and supported financially by CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Academy aims to equip public officers with practical, responsible AI skills while fostering the development of real-world AI solutions aligned with national priorities.
Approximately 100 public sector professionals will participate in structured AI training, with ten officers engaging directly in the hands-on development of two to three AI prototype use cases through a secure AI Sandbox environment. The programme will also provide MPAAI with practical guidance on implementing AI projects, including best practices for data governance, training, cross-agency collaboration, and infrastructure planning.
Strategically, the pilot aligns with the government’s digital transformation and innovation agenda, addressing critical capacity gaps and enabling evidence-based decision-making and more efficient service delivery.
The AI Academy represents a timely initiative, positioning MPAAI to harness technological change for the benefit of citizens while setting a benchmark for innovation across the public sector.
