from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau Chief
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – INFORMATION and communications technology (ICT) students from Africa are preparing to demonstrate their talent and innovation when they compete with peers in a global competition aimed at driving the development of ICT talent.
They will compete under the aegis of the Huawei ICT Competition, which also aims to drive digital transformation.
Set for November 6 to 9, it is one of the largest ICT events in the world.
Among the students who will participate at the global finals are from Kenya.
A strong performance by Kenyan scholars from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Laikipia University, Multimedia University and the University of Nairobi will represent the East African country.
They were among the top eight teams from the more than 40 African teams that competed in the regional competition.
This year, more than 50 000 students from 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa participated in the Huawei ICT Competition, the biggest attendance so far.
Over the past five years, Huawei has signed cooperation agreements with over 250 universities in 14 Sub-Saharan countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
This cooperation has enabled more than 7 000 university students to obtain Huawei ICT certification, which gives them more knowledge so they can be better candidates for ICT-related jobs and help drive the digital economy.
Hou Tao, Global Vice President of Huawei, highlighted the enthusiasm of the students, which is much needed for Africa’s digital inclusion in the era when the gravity of workplace skills is already shifting online.
“As a private company serving the African market for over 20 years, Huawei has dedicated itself to and will always remain a trusted partner of governments and academia in building ICT talent pool, strengthening capacity building and increasing people’s digital competence,” Hou said.
Prof. Funso Falade, President of African Engineering Education Association (AEEA), acknowledged Huawei’s constructive role in addressing Africa’s needs during the pandemic.
He said the skills development opportunities provided by Huawei were in line with AEEA goals and aspirations for students in a critical area which now required a lot of expertise in Africa, now more than ever due to the disruption the coronavirus has brought to local educational systems.
– CAJ News