KU Best In Global ICT Competition
Kenyatta University students triumphed over 21 teams from around the world in the sixth edition of the Huawei ICT competition.
Along with students from China, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom, the KU team won first place in the innovation track category.
It was recognized for addressing the country’s challenges by leveraging new technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Huawei cloud computing.
Earlier in the year, the students competed on the national stage, where they won, and then advanced to the regional stage before being given the opportunity to compete internationally.
The Huawei ICT Competition attracted 150,000 students from over 2,000 universities in 85 countries and regions this year.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, it was the highest number in the contest’s history.
More than 15,000 people from 50 Sub-Saharan African universities took part. The competition in Shenzhen, China, concluded on June 25.
Xiao Haijun, president of global partner development and sales at Huawei Enterprise said the Huawei ICT Competition is an ICT talent exchange program designed for university, college, and TVET students.
It aims to promote the healthy development of the ICT talent ecosystem and support the integration of industry and education
The competition is divided into three categories: Practice, Innovation, and Industry.
The network and cloud tracks test students’ theoretical knowledge, hands-on ICT skills, and ability to work in a team.
The network track includes datacom, security, and wireless LAN technology, whereas the cloud track includes AI, big data, cloud computing, and storage.
The category for which KU students were recognized involves the use of AI, IoT, big data, and the cloud to solve real-world problems.
KU Best In Global ICT Competition
The industry category recognized students who used ICT to assist industries in overcoming challenges in their day-to-day operations.
Seven teams from Japan, China, Nigeria, and Egypt won the Network Track of the Practice Competition, four teams from Algeria, Malaysia, Brazil, and China won the Cloud Track of the Practice Competition, and three teams from China and Iraq won the Innovation category.
A team from Southeast University won the grand prize in the Industry Competition.
“ICT has become a necessity in our work and lives.” “The ICT competition is intended to help students bridge the digital divide and accelerate digital transformation by improving their ICT knowledge, skills, and innovation capabilities,” Xiao Haijun explained.
He also mentioned that this year’s participants were the first to compete in a new series of Women In Tech Awards.
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A TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Award was also given to encourage inclusive scientific and technological progress, industry development, and long-term socio-economic development.
A lack of collaboration between universities and industry has hampered the adoption of new technology to improve work efficiency.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Digital Skills Landscape
The pandemic, according to Huawei, has accelerated digital adoption across Africa. This raises the demand for more digital talent and skills. Over 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030, according to a World Bank study on Digital Skills in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The 2021-2022 Huawei ICT Competition attracted over 15 000 students from over 200 universities and colleges in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigerian and Kenyan teams won first place in the regional final out of 48 competing teams. The second place was won by teams from Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
“Huawei’s ICT Competition has provided students like me with a network of industry trainers, instructors, and learning tools, allowing us to obtain a competitive advantage and engage with other students on a global stage,” said Ashtone Onyango, a member of the winning Kenyan team.
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“This is crucial for students as it not only helps them enhance their abilities but also increases their job market competitiveness.”
Real African Solutions to African Problems
A Top Performance Prize was awarded to the South African team that finished in the top ten of the 2021 Huawei Global Tech4Good Competition for designing an intrusion detection system that uses wireless and cloud technologies to combat rhino poaching.
According to Huawei, the Huawei ICT competition has grown into the largest of its kind in Africa and around the world.
It provides a global platform for students to demonstrate and practice their ICT knowledge and skills.
Over the last five years, 80,000 African university students have registered for the competition, and more than 20 teams have advanced to the global finals.
The LEAP program will be implemented as a result of the company’s investment in the region, with over 1,200 instructors facilitating 3,000 ICT courses.
It will also provide funding for a variety of facilities such as training centers, hardware installation bases, innovation hubs, mirror labs, and ICT academies.
Huawei currently operates ICT academies at over 300 universities and colleges throughout the region.
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KU Best In Global ICT Competition
