The government has announced that eighteen Kenyan students have left the country to compete in the prestigious Huawei ICT Competition Global Final in China.
The event attracted over 120,000 students from 2,000 universities and colleges across 74 countries and regions.
The Huawei ICT Competition Global Final will see six teams compete in the Cloud, Computing, and Network tracks. Each team will be accompanied by a university lecturer and supported by Huawei experts.
The Huawei ICT Competition, initiated in 2015 under the Huawei ICT Academy, collaborates with more than 50 tertiary education institutes to enrich the ICT talent pool and grow the industry.
This competition is a crucial component of LEAP, a talent ecosystem development program launched by Huawei in sub-Saharan Africa. The program aims to cultivate over 100,000 ICT talents within three years.
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National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula flagged off the group alongside Dagoreti South Member of Parliament John Kiarie, who chairs the ICT committee in the National Assembly.
Speaking during Monday's flagging off, Wetang’ula praised Huawei for its advanced technology and leadership in innovation across Africa.
Recalling his visit to Huawei Headquarters in China as Foreign Affairs Minister, he admired the cutting-edge work at the Huawei Campus.
“Technology is becoming integral to our daily lives, both personally and in business. Investing in our youth by providing them with the necessary resources to grow their skillset is essential to meet market demands for a skilled workforce.”
In Kenya, Huawei has established ICT Academies in over 50 universities and vocational colleges. These Academies provide training in Networking, Cloud, 5G, and AI and annually train over 4,000 students.
The Huawei ICT Skills Competition attracts over 6,000 students each year in Kenya alone. It offers a platform for students to compete, win awards, exchange ideas, and enhance their ICT knowledge and practical skills while increasing their ability to innovate using new technologies and platforms.
On his part, Huawei Kenya Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Gavin Gao stated that the technology company is committed to building the talent of Kenyan youth.
“Talent is the most important factor to ensure the vitality and continuous growth of the industry. Huawei has made many efforts to train Kenyan ICT talent by sharing our knowledge and best practices. We team up with educational institutions, industry associations, and partners to build a platform to foster the ICT talent ecosystem.”
