NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – 21 Kenyan students have been awarded under the 2023/24 Huawei ICT Competition, out of nearly 6,000 participants.
18 of the national winners will represent Kenya at the global finals in China, surpassing other countries in the region.
The students also got cash prizes and Huawei products, while other awards were given out for lecturers and women in technology, and 21 students got internships and job offers.
Luis Kinyua, the top student, expressed his gratitude towards Huawei instructors, university lecturers, and Huawei Technologies for their pivotal role in making the competition possible.
“You helped us embrace the important ICT field and this served as a stepping stone to those of us who are interested in becoming Network and Cloud experts. Huawei always ensures that it updates all its course materials with regards to the latest trends in technology,” he stated.
The ceremony, attended by Ezekiel Machogu, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Education, emphasized the significance of technology skills and collaboration between academia and industry leaders.
The Huawei ICT Competition, part of the Huawei ICT Academy since 2015, aims to enhance the ICT talent pool by imparting the latest knowledge from a global technology leader.
This year’s competition featured four tracks: cloud, computing, network, and innovation, demonstrating Huawei’s commitment to diverse technological fields.
During the ceremony, Gavin Gao, CEO of Huawei Kenya, thanked the Ministry of Education for their partnership in promoting innovation and skill development.
“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Ministry of Education for working with us to ensure the success of this ICT competition enabling young people to build their skills and promote innovation,” Gao said.
“We all need to continue this important work to ensure we create value from the Digital Superhighway paving the path for youth around the country to have a brighter future.” he added.
The event was part of a National ICT Talent Summit attended by stakeholders from universities and the ICT industry, including Safaricom and UNESCO.
Discussions focused on enhancing the teaching and use of emerging ICT technologies in higher education.
Institutions like Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology shared successful cases of integrating industry certification learning into undergraduate programs to equip students for the digital economy.
In Kenya, Huawei has established over 50 ICT Academies in universities and colleges, training thousands of students annually in networking, cloud computing, 5G, and AI.
The Huawei hardware installation base has been recognized by the Ministry of ICT Innovation and Youth Affairs for its contribution to nurturing Kenya’s ICT talent pool and supporting national development initiatives.
