By GINNAH MINI
The Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), Professor Ian Findlay, has stated that Papua New Guinea (PNG) have to upskill its general population about the challenges that Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bring to ensure that AI is a servant and not a master.
Speaking at the Digital Transformation Summit 2026 (DTS26), Professor Findlay said that PNG has a major challenge to upskill and uplift in quantity and quality the number of ICT and IT professionals.
“All of our neighboring countries: Japan, China, Australia, and South Korea are rapidly moving ahead with technology and AI,” Professor Findlay said while adding that PNG is doing nothing to move with AI.
Professor Findlay noted that five years ago, nobody was talking about AI and five years later, everyone is talking about how AI is going to redefine the future.
“In PNG, we have to have a major reset, we need to think about how we are going to address challenges of IT and AI moving into the future,” Professor Findlay said.
“If we don’t do it now, we’re going to be left behind.”
He said that UPNG has launched the Centre of Excellence in ICT and has started its programs yesterday to ensure that the country has professionals in ICT and IT.
“We are educating the general population in certificate level and upscaling people about what is IT mean and what is AI mean,” he said.
Professor Findlay stated that UPNG will launch four IT programs: Networking, Programming, AI, and Cyber Security to the Centre of Excellence in ICT in 2027 to make sure that PNG’s challenges and problems in AI and technology is addressed by natives.
The plenary session was attended by VCs, presidents and representatives from the different tertiary institutions in PNG where they highlighted the challenges of AI and how it can be utilized in schools.