Inaugural education conference: Teachers, students urged to explore benefits of AI

Teachers and students from various private and public schools in Guyana benefited from a two-day conference geared towards enlightening them on the benefits of tools, such as Beyond ChatGPT. However, Beyond ChatGPT, there are thousands of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools which can be used to make the learning experience easier and less time consuming. This was among the discussion that took place at the inaugural conference organised in private school provider- Camille’s Academy Inc.

Addressing a gathering of teachers at the opening of inaugural CaribbeanAI4Education conference held at the Princess Ramada Hotel on Thursday Dr. Ritesh Tularam underscored the importance of embracing AI in a world that is rapidly exploring the benefits of the technology.
“I want to congratulate Camille’s Academy a leading private school in this country for taking on this very important initiative. That is to bring to us here in Guyana a two day’s engagement on this very important topic,” Dr. Tularam said.
He noted that in a world where technology is rapidly developing, people in the developing countries must be trained to ensure that they remain upskilled and on par with the developed world.
“We are living in an existing ethos that is considered the 4th industrial revolution…Now what does that mean; of course, as a country, we are on the verge of development. We would have seen the significant transformation enveloping our society in the respective spaces…As a country that is now positioning itself to be categorised as a developed nation, technology plays a pivotal role in Guyana’s upward incline,” the DCEO asserted.
Additionally, the DCEO stressed that embracing the use of AI is important to ensure that Guyanese workforce is on par with the rest of the globe.
“We have to ensure that we are relevant, current, of course marketable …It means that persons that are responsible for the future they themselves ought to be exposed to what these realities in a way which makes our skills transferrable in the developed world.”

“We will have to ensure that we upskill and reskill them to ensure that the technology that is available to us is used in a manner that makes our work more efficient and provides an opportunity for our graduates to be transferable in what is the novice world of technology,” he added
In this regard, Dr. Tularam said that the focus is on educators to keep them abreast with the technologies.
“It might be true that the uses of artificial intelligence in around classroom may have the capacity to bring real benefits to teachers and students…We see tremendous promises in AI and its usability to educators around the world and here in Guyana”
“We need to reorient our energies to ensure that our administrative task towards accelerating students’ growth and learning thus making teaching more fulfilling, interactive purposeful and even more worthwhile.”
As such, the DCEO noted that the AI usage should benefit teachers and students throughout the length and breadth of Guyana
Camille Deokie-Gorakh, CEO of Camille’s Academy shared a similar view. Deokie-Gorakh said that intention of the conference was to expose teachers and students in Guyana to the benefits of the technology.
“There are hosts of benefits that this technology can bring to education sector in Guyana so after having my teachers introduced and trained in the use of AI…I started looking for ways to collaborate because my main concern was how I can bring this very useful tool to the rest of the education sector…and so I decided to invest in hosting the first AI conference, along with the help of a few generous stakeholders and sponsors I was able to make the conference a reality.”