ICT students from across the Sub-Saharan Africa region celebrated a strong showing at the global final of the 8th Huawei ICT Competition held in Shenzhen, China from May 23-26. The region entered a total of 18 teams – the most of any other region, and emerged with the most prizes of any other region:
Grand Prize (4 teams): Nigeria Cloud Team 2, Nigeria Computing Team, Tanzania Network Team, Uganda Network Team 1;
First Prize (6 teams): Kenya Network Team 1, Kenya Network Team 2, Nigeria Network Team 1, Nigeria Network Team 2, Uganda Network Team 2, and Nigeria Cloud Team 1;
Second Prize (3 teams): Madagascar Network Team, Kenya Computing Team 1, Uganda Computing Team
Third Prize (5 teams): Kenya Cloud Team 1, Kenya Cloud Team 2, Kenya Computing Team 2, Ghana – Farm Choice (Innovation Track), South Africa – ATS (Innovation Track)
Women in Tech Award (2 teams): Uganda Network Team 2, Kenya Cloud Team 2.
The 2023-2024 ICT Competition circuit attracted more than 170,000 students from over 2,000 universities and colleges across more than 80 countries and regions, making it the largest offline competition since its launch in 2015. More than 160 teams consisting of over 470 contestants from 49 different countries and regions reached the global final in Shenzhen, having previously been successful in their respective national and regional competitions.
Dr. Mrs Olayinka Taibat Jinadu, Professor at University of Ibadan and coach of Grand Prize-winning Nigeria Cloud Team 2, said, “This competition is really important to close the gap between academia and the application of that knowledge in Industry.”
Samuel Kinuthia Kariuki, Professor at Zetech University and coach of Second Prize Kenya Computing Team 1 said, “The skills that the students are gaining through this competition will help them gain employable skills that are in demand in Kenya, and across the whole of Africa and maybe the whole world. This competition is helping our students gain the required skills so that they can easily gain employment in the future.”
Of her experience at the competition, Vhutshilo Maeba, University of Venda student who earned Third Prize for her team’s road safety innovation on behalf of South Africa, said of the competition, “It opened my mind to think more technically and to the fact that tech can be used to bridge any gap in industry. It has exposed me to possibilities. [As far as future careers] it opened my mind and my world – everything is possible.”
Several country representatives were also in attendance at the event. Dr. Esther Thaara Muoria, Kenya Ministry of Education Principal Secretary, State Department for TVET, Ministry of Education, said of the global final: “We in Kenya are really grateful to organizations like Huawei for organizing a fraternity like this one where a student will work knowing that they are not only working for the absolute knowledge that they are going to get in the process, but also towards an opportunity to really fight it out with others and be able to be awarded.”
Oliver Wonekha, Uganda’s Ambassador to China said, “These competitions are extremely important for the work Huawei does, and in terms of corporate social responsibility. I think these kinds of competitions are a more sustainable support and a more sustainable way of giving back to people and communities because students are the future and Huawei is full invested in their futures.”
At the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024 Final Closing & Awarding Ceremony, Zhou Hong, President of Huawei’s Institute of Strategic Research, addressed the finalists, saying: “To make sure everyone can truly enjoy the benefits of digitalization while such technologies are making radical progress, Huawei believes it is crucial to guarantee that digital technologies are accessible to all.”
Peng Honghua, President of Huawei’s ICT Strategy and Business Development Department, said, “ICT is the cornerstone of the intelligent world. Through the Huawei ICT Competition, we aim to provide students with a global platform to compete and exchange ideas.”
On the same day, Huawei also held the ICT Accelerating Education Transformation Summit. At the summit, Huawei awarded 24 instructors the title Huawei ICT Academy Global Most Valuable Instructor for the first time. This award aims to show gratitude for the important contributions these instructors have made to talent development, and mark them as role models that show how the brightest minds can develop even brighter minds. These role models will help drive sustainable development of the ICT talent ecosystem.
The Huawei ICT Competition is an annual contest held by Huawei for global university and college students. Through the competition, Huawei aims to provide students with an international platform for healthy competition and the exchange of ideas. Since its launch in 2015, the competition has helped students enhance their ICT knowledge and practical skills, while also increasing their ability to innovate by using new technologies and platforms. The ultimate goal is to advance technological development and facilitate digital inclusion around the world. As one of Huawei’s key Seeds for the Future 2.0 projects, Huawei ICT Competition aims to provide a platform for college students to compete and communicate with each other around the world.
Huawei launched the ICT Academy in the Sub-Saharan African region in 2016. As of now, there are 478 participating academies in the region – the most for any region outside of China. To date, over 24,000 students from over 5,000 universities and colleges have participated in the ICT competition. Huawei has involved over 100,000 students and over 1,500 teachers in the ICT Academy in the region.
