24 Mar 2019

Huawei will this year sponsor 10 Batswana students to study ICT in China through its Seeds for the Future ICT talent training programme.

A news release from Huawei Botswana says the students will participate in various forms of ICT training in their three-week stay in Beijing and Shenzhen.

On a related matter, the release says since the first Huawei ICT contest was held in 2015, the number of participants has grown exponentially making the competition one of the largest ICT events in the world.

The 2018/19 event attracted more than 1 000 universities in more than 50 countries around the world under the slogan: Connection, glory and future.

Some 80 000 students from across the globe participated in the competition, 28 000 of them from southern Africa.

Meanwhile, a team of three Botswana students scooped third prize in this year’s Huawei’s global ICT sub Saharan regional finals held in Johannesburg, South Africa, recently. The competition covered the latest technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobile networks and big data.

About 30 000 students from over 100 universities in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and Mauritius participated in the competition.

Competing teams comprised 42 students who sat for theory and practical examinations in Johannesburg, which saw teams from Nigeria and Tanzania emerging the champions.

Mr Gontse Basupi, a University of Botswana third year student who participated in the contest, said it had elevated his skills in terms of ICT and networking.

He said he gained exposure in competing with international industry experts, and that the certificate he was awarded would give him a head start in the corporate world as well as open new opportunities.

“Huawei is expanding in the networking industry, especially with the introduction of surveillance project in Botswana, which uses Huawei technology. This certification will hopefully help in the competiveness of jobs as Huawei continues to integrate in Botswana,” he said.

Certification gives students confidence in dealing with physical network devices and practical experience to strengthen the theoretical knowledge already acquired.  

It states that while the country was striving to equip its youth with ICT skills, there was still a challenge in establishing infrastructure to support research and innovation for development.

In this regard, encouraging collaboration between industry and academia is important for university students to build entrepreneurial skills and develop an innovative culture which is usable in industry.

“This ICT competition is part of our innovative initiatives to support that and promote ICT skills. We believe that this event will inspire more students’ quest in ICT learning in Africa; it provides them with a world-class stage to showcase themselves and consolidate the vital ICT needed for Africa’s development,” states the release. ENDS