The Land Information Council of Jamaica (LICJ) continues to receive praise from regional stakeholders for its capacity to facilitate a more holistic sharing of geospatial data across the public and private sectors in support of national development. Senior Geographic Information System (GIS) Manager and Trainer at the National Spatial Data Management Division (NSDMD), Simone Lloyd, said the Council has significantly...

The National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) is now in the process of assessing proposals and applications for the Science and Technology Research and Development Fund. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ recently, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, said the Commission has received several promising applications, for which they have hopes of seeing...

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, is reassuring the public that the newly launched GOV.JM is a secure portal, and users’ personal information will not be compromised. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on August 23, Dr. Wheatley said persons are being encouraged to use the technology. “We are committed to ensuring that all government websites...

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says the Government is committed to a knowledge-based digital society whereby Jamaicans, particularly youth, have greater access to technology. To this end, he said, barriers of access have been removed from approximately 250 government and educational websites. “I must thank our telecoms partners for ensuring that (the more than)...

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been inked by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) establishing a partnership to host Jamaica’s first natural gas conference. Slated for October 4-6 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, the conference is aimed at exploring the economic, commercial, legal and regulatory implications of the development...

The Government’s Data Protection Bill, which aims to safeguard the privacy of individuals whose personal information has been documented by entities with whom they interface, is expected to be tabled in September when the Houses of Parliament reconvene following the August summer recess. This was noted by Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, during the recent...

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says the provision of electricity in communities which were previously without the service forms part of the Government’s push to create economic opportunities for everyone. Addressing a National Energy Solutions Limited (NESol) ceremony to officially commission electricity service to the Park Lee and Ridge Pen communities in Mountainside, South...

The design for the Government’s proposed communications network, GovNet, which is expected to result in greater interconnectivity and efficiency in the public sector, has been completed. GovNet is to be a secure, wide area network communication infrastructure that will connect government ministries, agencies and departments to facilitate shared services, including data centre computing services (Gov-Cloud), consolidated voice communication system (Gov-Talk),...

General Manager of Wigton Windfarm Limited, Earl Barrett, says that the organisation has been busy over the last 10 months rolling out its training programme in several facets of renewable energy. He said areas of focus include solar thermal, concentrated solar power, photovoltaic, fuel cells, small hydro, windpower and bioenergy. “Along with accommodating scheduled instructional tours of the Windfarm for...