Above: At the signing, Dr. Arvind Singh – Principal Investigator, intelliGRID, AIIC; Dr. Craig Ramlal – Executive Director (Chair), AIIC; Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine – Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor UWI, St. Augustine Campus; Nirad Tewarie – CEO, AMCHAM T&T; Professor Bheshem Ramlal – Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, UWI . Photo courtesy AmCham.

The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) and the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre (AIIC) at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, today formalized a strategic partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the AIIC.
This collaboration marks a significant step toward strengthening the intersection of industry and academia to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, innovation, and policy development in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

The partnership will focus on a range of collaborative initiatives, including joint research, the development of corporate AI and cybersecurity policy frameworks, national policy recommendations on AI governance and digital trade, and the delivery of training programmes, micro-credentials, and public education campaigns. The MoU also provides for co-hosted events, technical workshops, and innovation showcases, including integration with AMCHAM T&T’s Tech Hub Islands Summit (T.H.I.S.), as well as opportunities for pilot projects and industry-led AI solutions.

Speaking on the significance of the partnership, Nirad Tewarie, Chief Executive Officer of AMCHAM T&T, stated: “AMCHAM T&T is delighted to partner with the UWI and the AIIC specifically on this initiative. A closer partnership between Industry and Academia represents a powerful but still largely untapped opportunity to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world application. This collaboration will enable our members and the wider private sector to better understand, adopt, and scale AI-driven solutions in a practical and responsible way.

By working closely with one of the region’s leading centres of expertise, we can support stronger policy development, build digital capacity within companies, and position Trinidad and Tobago as a more competitive, future-ready economy.”

Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus said: “We welcome this partnership with AMCHAM T&T as a timely and important collaboration that represents a deliberate shift from being consumers of technology to becoming creators of responsible, indigenous AI solutions shaped by our own realities. By partnering with AMCHAM T&T, we are strengthening the bridge between academic research and real‑world application and ensuring that AI development in the Caribbean is grounded in innovation, ethics, and impact.”

The AIIC is the Caribbean’s first and largest hub for artificial intelligence research, education, and innovation. Founded in 2018, it has grown into a multidisciplinary centre with over 50 members, more than 35 active projects, and partnerships spanning over 20 institutions across the region. The Centre advances both the science and application of AI, with work spanning cybersecurity, agriculture, climate resilience, digital humanities, and AI governance and ethics.

At its core, the AIIC is committed to ensuring that the Caribbean is not merely a consumer of AI technologies, but an active contributor to their global development – an objective that aligns closely with AMCHAM T&T’s mission to drive innovation, competitiveness, and sustainable growth within the private sector.

Dr. Craig Ramlal, the Executive Director of the AIIC said: “In the face of a poor research to commercialisation ethos throughout the region, the AIIC remains committed to developing the relationship between cutting edge ideas and digital products and goods, and we hope that this partnership will play a pivotal role in reversing this.”

“At the AIIC, we emphasise the importance of policy as an integral part of AI in the business sector and through this partnership with AMCHAM T&T, we are also happy to explore what an AI and Policy guidebook can look like for companies and organizations,” Dr Ramlal said.

“This will also bring capacity building through academic programmes and continuing professional education short courses and micro-credentialing to the forefront of AI integration.”

This partnership is expected to deliver tangible benefits to businesses, professionals, and the wider society. For AMCHAM T&T members and the private sector, it will provide access to cutting-edge research, practical tools for AI adoption, training and upskilling opportunities, and direct engagement with academic experts and innovation labs. For the national ecosystem, it strengthens the foundation for evidence-based policymaking, supports digital transformation, and fosters a more inclusive and resilient innovation landscape.

By bringing together industry insight and academic expertise, the MoU establishes a framework for meaningful collaboration that will drive technological advancement, enhance workforce readiness, and support Trinidad and Tobago’s transition into a knowledge-driven, digitally enabled economy.