Kenyan students scoop top three prizes at Huawei's ICT competition awards

A group of Kenyan students has scooped top awards at Huawei’s 8th ICT Competition held in Shenzhen China.

Kenya had six teams at the global competition that ran from May 23 to May 26, 2024, with two network track teams winning the Global first track.

Kenya is the country that had the most teams in the region with a total of 16 teams placing it in a position to win the most prizes of any other region.

As a result, the first prize, second, third and the women in Tech Awards were scooped by the Kenyan teams.

The Huawei ICT Competition is an annual contest held by Huawei for global university and college students.

Through the competition, Huawei aims to provide students with an international platform for healthy competition and the exchange of ideas.

Since its launch in 2015, the competition has helped students enhance their ICT knowledge and practical skills, while also increasing their ability to innovate by using new technologies and platforms.

The ultimate goal is to advance technological development and facilitate digital inclusion around the world.

As one of Huawei's key Seeds for the Future 2.0 projects, Huawei ICT Competition aims to provide a platform for college students to compete and communicate with each other around the world. 

The 2023-2024 ICT Competition circuit attracted more than 170,000 students from over 2,000 universities and colleges across more than 80 countries and regions, making it the largest offline competition since its launch in 2015.

More than 160 teams consisting of over 470 contestants from 49 different countries and regions reached the global final in Shenzhen, having previously been successful in their respective national and regional competitions.

TVET Principal Secretary Dr Esther Muoria said is a noble idea for Huawei to organize such a competition where the students know they are not only working to know their space but also to practice it out while competing with others.

“When you stay in your country you compete with others within your area, within your space, but when it is an international event like this, you are gearing up to meet on an international stage, and therefore you are striving to not only be the best in your environment but to be the best in the globe,” she said.

 The PS added, “It is a good thing for Huawei to think about a way of encouraging students. Me, as a practical educator, an educator who wants students to work on practical skills, I am very impressed by this because I encourage students work on a real situation basis.”

At the same ceremony, Kenya School of TVET was awarded as a new Huawei Instructor Support Center in Kenya which will function as a center for ICT Cutting edge technologies training for TVET teachers in Kenya.

 Zhou Hong, President of Huawei's Institute of Strategic Research told the finalists to make sure everyone can truly enjoy the benefits of digitalisation while such technologies are making radical progress.

Huawei awarded 24 instructors the title Huawei ICT Academy Global Most Valuable Instructor for the first time.

This award aims to show gratitude for the important contributions these instructors have made to talent development and mark them as role models that show how the brightest minds can develop even brighter minds.

These role models will help drive the sustainable development of the ICT talent ecosystem.