Minister with out Portfolio within the Office of the Prime Minister with accountability for Science, Technology and Special Projects, Dr Andrew Wheatley, has unveiled a National Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) structure dubbed the “House of Innovation”, aimed toward remodeling Jamaica’s innovation panorama and driving financial progress.
Making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Wheatley stated the initiative will create a extra cohesive science, technology and innovation atmosphere whereas addressing fragmentation inside the sector.
The framework is designed to set up centered analysis and growth (R&D), decrease boundaries to innovation, and create funding and monitoring mechanisms to assist excellence and accountability.
Wheatley stated the House of Innovation will likely be constructed on pillars comparable to educational innovation, public sector science, and non-public sector analysis and growth, supported by governance and coverage path from key nationwide establishments.
The minister argued that innovation should grow to be a central a part of Jamaica’s growth technique, emphasising the necessity to put together younger Jamaicans to remedy issues and create options.
“Every Jamaican child deserves to grow up thinking like a problem solver,” Wheatley informed the House.
He stated the initiative will focus closely on creating human capital by science and technology training, innovation programmes, and partnerships designed to strengthen the nation’s analysis and innovation capability.
According to Wheatley, the House of Innovation will present a structured framework to join authorities, academia, and the non-public sector, creating an ecosystem that encourages analysis, entrepreneurship, and technological development.
The minister stated the initiative is meant to construct a powerful basis for innovation by establishments, financing, and human capital, positioning Jamaica to higher compete in an more and more technology-driven international financial system.
“Building the innovation foundation through institutions, finance and human capital” has been recognized as a key goal of the framework.
Wheatley’s presentation shaped a part of the Government’s broader efforts to leverage science, technology, and innovation as drivers of nationwide growth and financial transformation.
He stated Jamaica ought to start cultivating scientific minds from the earliest phases of training.
– Andre Williams
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