The Government’s communications network, GovNet, which is expected to result in greater public-sector interconnectivity and efficiency, was officially launched today (June 6). GovNet is a secure, wide area network infrastructure that will link government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to facilitate shared services. These include data centre computing services (Gov-Cloud); a consolidated voice communication system (Gov-Talk), a consolidated email system...

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, will be honoured with the Jamaica College Old Boys’ Association of New York (JCOBA-NY) inaugural Technology Leadership Award this month. The presentation will be made at the Association’s Annual Griffin Awards and Fundraiser at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan, New York, on Saturday, June 9. President of JCOBA, New...

Approximately 66 local and international students will be participating in the action component of the ‘Energy For Young Minds’ (EFYM) programme this year. The EFYM is an online resource tool for secondary students being spearheaded by the Caribbean Energy Information System (CEIS) Department of the Scientific Research Council (SRC). It received a sponsorship boost on Thursday, May 31 from Marathon...

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says Government data is being made available to citizens in order to enable them to have an input in decisions impacting the country. “We believe in data-driven decisions and as such, we want to ensure that we engage our citizens in such a way that they can assist the Government...

As at 12:01 a.m. today (May 31), Jamaica became the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to utilize an additional area code – 658. From now until October 30 will be designated as the permissive period, which means seven-digit calls will still be allowed based on a collaboration between the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) and telecommunication providers, FLOW and...

Jamaican innovators have one last chance to apply for the 2018 National Innovation Awards, as the extended deadline comes to an end on May 31. Categories for entrants include Agriculture; Food and Agro-processing; Education and Popularisation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI); Energy; Cybersecurity; Entertainment Products; Environmental Sustainability; Health and Safety; Youth Innovator; Engineering; and Manufacturing. Executive Director of the...

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says embracing open data can bring significant economic benefits for Jamaica. He noted, for example, that open data is set to impact the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries within the European Union (EU), enabling their economies to see “positive results”. He said it is estimated that approximately 100,000 jobs...

Entrants in the Scientific Research Council (SRC) 2018 National Science and Technology Fair will benefit from the opportunity to have their displays selected for development support. The June 12 event invites schools to showcase their innovative projects in the areas of education, agriculture, food and agro-processing, energy, information and communications technology and electronics, security, health, sport, among others. Ten prototypes...

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says the proposed National Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) Policy will go to Cabinet shortly. He made the disclosure during his 2018/19 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 15). The policy seeks to advance Jamaica’s economic, social and environmental agenda by ensuring that ST&I are integrated into...