RoboMindset 4.0 Summer Camp Highlights Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship for Youth in St. Kitts and Nevis

The St. Kitts & Nevis Robotics Association (SKNRA) is conducting its RoboMindset 4.0 Summer Camp, a three-week program aimed at equipping young innovators with robotics, coding, and entrepreneurship skills. Running from July 6 to July 24, 2026, the camp targets youth across the twin islands to develop essential technology and leadership capabilities.

Participants engage in hands-on activities building and programming physical robots while learning foundational coding and Artificial Intelligence (AI) concepts. The program’s comprehensive approach integrates technical training with business and legal education.

A key component of the camp was a dedicated session on Intellectual Property (IP) rights led by Candisie Franklin from the St. Kitts and Nevis Intellectual Property Office and Wendy Hollingsworth, an IP expert affiliated with the Caribbean Intellectual Property and Innovation Project (CarIP).

Franklin and Hollingsworth introduced the youth to the various types of intellectual property, noting that while many participants were familiar with the concept of protecting creations, they were less aware of the specific IP categories and terminology.

"So our goal was to introduce intellectual property to the youth in St. Kitts, and we were pleasantly surprised because they actually know what exists, they just didn’t know the names or the types of intellectual properties that they actually identify with," Franklin explained.

Hollingsworth emphasized the importance of understanding IP protection as a means to safeguard innovations and create economic opportunities. She highlighted CarIP’s regional efforts to collaborate with IP offices and educate innovators on linking their technical work with value creation and protection.

"One of the things that the Carapri project does is that we team up with the IP offices in the region, and we seek to teach about innovation and intellectual property. So we thought this was an excellent opportunity to meet with the young people because we do have a programme for the youth, in the case of robotics, to sort of connect what they do with robotics with how you actually create value and then how you protect that value. So the linkage between the actual work and how they can protect it and possibly make money, start businesses in that particular area," Hollingsworth stated.

The Caribbean Intellectual Property and Innovation Project operates across the Caribbean region to raise awareness about the power of intellectual property in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

By integrating IP education into the RoboMindset 4.0 Summer Camp, SKNRA aims to empower youth not only to build technological solutions but also to understand how to protect and leverage their inventions commercially.

This initiative reflects a growing recognition in the Caribbean of the importance of intellectual property rights in supporting innovation-driven economic development and youth entrepreneurship.

The camp’s blend of robotics, coding, AI fundamentals, and IP knowledge positions participants to become future leaders in technology and business within St. Kitts and Nevis and the wider Caribbean region.