By GEORGINA MICHAEL
LANDS Commission officers have completed a four-day artificial intelligence (AI) and data management training aimed at improving the Commission’s ability to analyse complex land matters and produce reports more efficiently.
The training, held from August 17 to 20, 2026, at the Institute of Technology and Innovation (ITI), covered three courses: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, AI for Office Productivity, and Data Visualization and Building Dashboards.
A total of 20 participants took part, including Chief Commissioner Molean Kilepak, Commissioner for Operations Immanuel Sawan, Director Legal Mark Jumogot and 17 other Lands Commission officers.
The training was facilitated by ITI and Dr Siva Sundararajan.
Speaking at the certificate presentation, Mr Kilepak said the training was timely as the Commission transitions into a new entity following the merger of the Land Titles
Commission and the National Lands Commission.
He said the Commission’s 2023-2027 Corporate Plan calls for transformation to better address land-related matters and prepare staff for emerging technologies.
“Because it is a new entity, we decided that we should conduct training for our staff to better prepare us in terms of the new emerging ICT trend. In particular, the development of AI and how it is influencing changes in the workplace,” Mr Kilepak said.
The Commission is currently dealing with two major projects referred by the court and government—the tenement-to-gold mine issue and oil and petroleum projects.
The Commission conducts hearings to determine land ownership before benefits from such projects can be distributed.
Mr Kilepak said officers had faced challenges in analysing large volumes of documents and preparing reports, making AI and data visualisation skills increasingly important.
He said the Commission chose ITI because of its flexibility and experience in delivering the training.
Mr Kilepak said the data visualisation and dashboard course would be particularly useful for lawyers, registry staff and the Commission’s GIS officer when dealing with large volumes of information.
“It’s an important tool that will assist the office greatly. It’s going to allow our lawyers, our registry, and the GIS officer to be able to analyse those very big documents,” he said.
The Commission currently has six Copilot licences, but Mr Kilepak said officers had not been able to fully utilise the service.
“With the training that has just been completed, it’s going to enable us to really fully utilise that particular service,” he said.
Mr Kilepak recommended the training to other government and non-government organisations, saying staff could gain three certificates from the four-day program.
He also acknowledged ITI for delivering the training and announced that the Lands Commission was looking forward to signing a memorandum of understanding with ITI to make the program ongoing rather than a one-off training.