RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann — In a first for the HEART/NSTA Trust, two of its students have been chosen to represent Jamaica at the WorldSkills Mobile Robotics Competition in Lyon, France, this September.

“This robotics field is something new that Jamaica is offering and I’m happy to be a part of it and compete for my country. I’m excited to see where this venture will take me,” said Farquharson.

He was speaking with the Jamaica Observer during the opening ceremony for HEART’s WorldSkills Jamaica Autonomous Mobile Robotics Invitational Training Camp held at the Cardiff Hotel in Runaway Bay, St Ann, on Tuesday.

Vassell is equally eager to delve even deeper into the field.

“I’m really excited, looking forward to new experiences, meeting new people, and gaining connections. I also know that I will be able to learn a lot from my competitors when I go to France and improve on my skills,” he said.

Vassell and Farquharson share a similar curiosity — from very early in life — to figure out how things around them work.

“I’ve always been interested in some form of engineering; when I was younger I use to pull down stuff in the house and fix them up back,” said Vassell.

Farquharson can relate.

“I use to pull down stuff just to see what makes it up from the smallest detail to the most complex. So when I saw that HEART had the programme I just jumped on it,” he said.”

They are convinced that they are on the right path to contribute significantly to Jamaica’s technological development.

The two have been honing their talent and love for the field to innovate and so far, with the assistance of their teacher, they have created a robot which has been programmed to navigate a vineyard and pick grapes to be used in wine production.

“Robotics is emerging in Jamaica, which means it will drive economic growth and this is the area I want to be a part of,” said Vassell.

The young men are still prepping and perfecting the design for France.

Running from September 10 to 15, this year’s contest will be the 47th WorldSkills Competition. An estimated 1,500 competitors from more than 65 countries and regions are down to take part in 62 skill competitions in an event that organisers have dubbed “the world’s largest skills championship”.

HEART’s participation in an international robotics contest comes on the heels of a Jamaican team winning gold at the Robotics Olympics in Singapore in October last year.

HEART’s managing director, Dr Taneisha Ingleton, is convinced that both young men will represent the institution well. She spoke of the significant investments that have been made in advancing the robotics programme.

“We have purchased 60 autonomous mobile robotic kits and 20 drones. These kits will take our students from basic to advanced in designing, programming and installing robots in just about any sector,” Ingleton said.

“Robotics is at the forefront of revolution, promising advancements in various industry, from health care to agriculture and we are determined to position Jamaica as a leader in this transformative field,” she added.”

Senator Dana Morris Dixon, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for skills and digital transformation, lauded the HEART/NSTA Trust for breaking barriers.

“[In the past] when you thought of HEART it was just hospitality. But HEART is not at the place that we knew before; they have grown and transformed. They are the centre of a new emerging world. I find it fascinating that HEART has been able to move with the times and move our country forward,” she said in delivering the main address during Tuesday’s event.

She urged Jamaicans to appreciate and celebrate the talent that the country produces.

“If we just stop for a minute and look at what is working in Jamaica and not [focus] on the negative, we will see that our young people are brilliant. We have talent, even in robotics, and our goal is to unleash more of that in Jamaica similar to what HEART is doing today, teaching our young people how to compete,” Morris Dixon added.