07 Dec 2015

 Ten information communications technology (ICT) students from University of Botswana (UB), who recently attended the Huawei Technologies Seeds for the Future ICT Training Programme, have said their trip to China was an eye opener.

Together with their peers from Serbia and Indonesia, they learned latest technologies used by the Chinese company during the training held in the city of Shenzhen, where Huawei’s headquarters are based in China’s Guangdong Province.

One of the trainees, Molly Kgobathe, said most of the stuff they learned was new and refreshing. 

“We learned about Huawei’s concepts of telecommunications networking and cloud computing, especially the 4G and the upcoming 5G. The knowledge we have acquired through the Seeds for the Future Training Programme is going to be useful for us in future,” the first year Masters degree student in computer science information systems said after completion of their training on Friday.

“What we have learned through this training has added value to our knowledge of computing and networking. We have learned about Huawei’s internal culture, strategies and values, and received training from some of the finest professionals in the industry,” Kgobathe said.

She stated that they were grateful of Huawei’ kindness and the great opportunity it has afforded them.

They were the first batch of Seeds for the Future trainees from Botswana after the programme was launched in the country during Huawei Botswana’ tenth anniversary celebrations last month.

Trainees were also taught basic Chinese language and visited some of the country’s monuments including the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Huawei vice president, Mr David Harmon, said the Seeds for the Future is the company’s flagship knowledge transfer programme.

“Through this programme we encourage the development of ICT talent in countries we operate within. 

We have strong corporate programmes in all countries where we operate,” Mr Harmon said.

The Chinese company is a strong player in the connectivity and networking business in Botswana. Mr Xu Liang, its public communications manager in Botswana said they have partnered with ICT providers such as Mascom, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation and Bofinet. Ends