Huawei Wraps Up 2024 ME&CA ICT Finals in Riyadh

Huawei celebrated the conclusion of its 2024-2025 Middle East and Central Asia (ME&CA) ICT Competition with a prestigious Regional Finals Awards Ceremony in Riyadh, marking the 10th anniversary of the Huawei ICT Academy in the region. The event honored exceptional talent across Cloud, Network, and Computing tracks, alongside the Innovation Competition, spotlighting students and instructors from leading institutions across the ME&CA region.

The event drew an esteemed audience, including Mr. Ibrahem AlNasser, Deputy Minister for Future Jobs and Capabilities at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology; His Excellency Mr. Chang Hua, Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; His Excellency Dr. Adel Al-Zunaidi, Deputy Governor of TVTC; His Excellency Mr. Zhan Tao, Director of UNESCO IITE; His Excellency Mr. Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan; and Dr. Suliman Almazroua, CEO of NIDLP.

Winners of the Regional Finals

• Grand Prize
  • Network Track: Team Jordan from Al Balqa Applied University.
  • Cloud Track: Team Lebanon from the American University of Science and Technology and Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.
  • Computing Track: Another Lebanese team from Beirut Arab University and Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.
  • Innovation Competition: Team Qatar for their project “Be My Sense”.
• First Prize
  • Teams from Saudi Arabia (“NABEEH”), Uzbekistan (“Volta”), and Pakistan (“PRISM”) in the Innovation Track.
• Second Prize
  • Teams from Kazakhstan (“Plantos”), Jordan (“3asheqHuawei”), Iraq (“EcoGuardians”), and Saudi Arabia (“CS2R”) in the Innovation Track.
• Special Awards
  • Saudi team “NABEEH” won the “Most Popular Team” award, receiving the highest attendee votes.

Muhammad Zubair from Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science received the inaugural Grand Prize for Instructors, highlighting Huawei’s recognition of educators in the ICT sector.

Zhan Tao, Director of UNESCO IITE, praised the Huawei ICT Academy as a “regional flagship,” fostering innovation and young talent. His Excellency Dr. Adel Al-Zunaidi commended the Saudi students and all winners, emphasizing TVTC’s commitment to partnerships that prepare youth for the digital age in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

H.E. Sherzod Shermatov noted the role of digital talents in uniting nations and driving the digital economy, while Steven Yi, President of Huawei ME&CA, stressed the importance of cultivating skilled ICT professionals to lead the digital transformation era.

Yi also announced Huawei’s upcoming “T.H.E. Gold Talent” program, launching in 2025, which will integrate advanced AI courses and technologies like 5G-A, cloud, and smart classrooms to meet the demands of the AI era.

The event celebrated the 10-year milestone of the Huawei ICT Academy. Over the past decade, the academy has partnered with 106 institutions, trained over 300,000 students, and certified 35,000 professionals in the region. This year’s competition saw record-breaking participation, with 31,000 students from 640 universities in 19 countries competing across various tracks.

Supported by UNESCO and over 40 regional ministries and industry partners, Huawei’s ICT Competition continues to solidify its reputation as a leading platform for fostering digital talent in the ME&CA region.

The regional winners will now advance to the global finals, set to take place in May 2025 in Shenzhen, China, marking the next chapter in their journey of innovation and excellence.