After several months of national and regional competitions amongst some of the region’s brightest young minds and prominent academic institutions, the winners of the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition 2021 have been named. This year’s competition featured 13 teams of exceptional students from 10 nations and 453 Middle Eastern institutions and universities, with the final ceremony taking place both physically and virtually in Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Zhan Tao, director of UNESCO IITE, said: “I am very delighted to witness such innovation among Middle East youth in this competition. UNESCO IITE maintains good cooperation with Huawei on ICT talent development. As our joint report on Middle East ICT talent for digital transformation insight report shows, cultivating ICT talent remains one of the current priorities and requires the joint efforts of governments, international organizations, universities, and enterprises. Huawei has been a long-term supporter of global ICT talent development. The successful holding of the ICT Competition for many years has brought a positive impact on ICT talent development.”
Commenting on the final results, Steven Yi, President of Huawei Middle East, said: “On behalf of Huawei, I would like to congratulate all our winners and the efforts of all those who participated in this year’s competition. It’s now more important than ever to empower and support young talents to develop their ICT skills and play a key role in achieving their national development plans. At Huawei, we are honored to offer our global expertise and world-class technologies in order to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace, and in turn, further drive the digital economy for a successful future in the region.”
He continued: “We firmly believe in the importance of openly collaborating openly with our partners in the public and private sectors, as well as educational institutions with the aim to strengthen the skills of local ICT talents and encourage them to participate in the digital transformation journey.”
The company teamed up with various public partners, such as ministers of education, telecom regulators, and youth empowerment authorities, for the 2021 edition of the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition, with the goal of developing local ICT ecosystems, nurturing young talent, and encouraging innovation among the next generation of ICT leaders. Participants got instruction and world-class information from Huawei specialists throughout the competition, which was followed by a national exam held in their home countries, and then on to the final stage which included a 6-hour practical exam to determine the final winners.
The final ceremony began with an opening speech by Steven Yi, President of Huawei Middle East, in the presence of Shunli Wang, Vice President of Huawei Middle East, Dr. Zhan Tao, Director of UNESCO IITE, and Ambassadors to China from some of the competition’s participating countries who gave welcome speeches, and then celebrated the competition’s top winners and acknowledged the outstanding participants.
This year, a team from Pakistan received the first prize of USD20,000, consisting of students from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, and Islamiya University Bahawalpur. A team from Lebanon, consisting of students from American University of Science and Technology (AUST), Lebanese University, and Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) University, took second place, while a team from Pakistan, consisting of students from Government College University, Faisalabad, Virtual University, Islamabad, and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, took third place. Two teams from Iraq, including students from Salahaddin University in Erbil, Lebanon French University in Erbil, Anbar University, and Cihan University, and a team from Jordan, including students from Al- Balqa Applied University, earned the third place. Excellent Partner award, Excellent Academy award, Excellent Tutor award, and Outstanding Performance award were among the other award categories. As a reward for their achievements, the victors received excellent prizes such as trophies and certificates.
Since its inception in 2017, the Huawei ICT Competition has attracted over 75,000 students from throughout the Middle East and has grown to become one of Huawei’s most important competitions. Last year, the company worked with over 20 ministries and 442 institutions, and over 15,000 students took part in the tournament. Last year, the inaugural “Innovation Track” was launched to help students expand their skills and give a platform for implementing specialised capabilities and applications in the Middle East.
The Huawei Middle East ICT Competition is one of Huawei’s many CSR activities aimed at developing talent among Middle Eastern youngsters. Thousands of young people in the region benefit from an advanced skills development pipeline every year, thanks to the Huawei ICT Academy, the Huawei Innovation Competition, the Seeds for the Future programme, joint university labs, and other initiatives, which equip them with the necessary skills to lead digital transformation and development efforts within their country.
