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Nigerian Students Hopeful in Huawei’s Global ICT Competition Finals
Emma Okonji in Shenzhen, China
Twelve Nigerian students that are studying in various Nigerian universities, and participating in the ongoing Huawei Global ICT Competition Finals, are hopeful they will make Nigeria proud in the final competition that is holding in Shenzhen, China.
A total of 48 students from sub-Saharan Region, are part of the several students from across the globe that are competing in the finals.
One of the Nigerian students from Federal University of Technology, Mina, Victor Akande, who is on the Computing Track Team, yesterday, spoke of Nigerian students’ readiness to excel in the global competition.
According to him, “Nigerian students representing various groups in the competition, are in high spirit to win in the Competition.”
The competition, which began on Tuesday, will end on Saturday this week May 24, 2025, with an awards ceremony. This year’s competition includes four tracks: Network, Cloud, Computing and AI Innovation, giving students a chance to showcase their expertise across a variety of technical areas.
In its ninth edition, the Huawei ICT Competition 2024-2025 with the theme, “Connection, Glory and Future,” has had an overwhelming response, attracting over 210,000 students and teachers from more than 2,000 colleges and universities in upwards of 100 countries and regions.
Skill gaps are categorically considered the biggest barrier to business transformation according to the WEF’s Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63 per cent of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025- 2030 period. The gap spans critical areas such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Huawei is helping to prepare students to be the workforce of the future through its ICT Academy and ICT competitions.
Speaking about the initiative, President of Huawei’s ICT Strategy & Business Development Department, Ritchie Peng, said: “Digital transformation is reshaping industries faster than ever, and the biggest barrier to growth today is the shortage of skilled ICT professionals. By training the next generation through programs like the Huawei ICT Competition and our ICT Academy, we’re fostering innovation and ensuring that talent development keeps pace with the rapid technological advances we are seeing today.”
“At Huawei, we firmly believe that investing in talent is the most powerful way to shape the digital future. By empowering students with cutting-edge ICT knowledge and hands-on experience, we’re not only supporting individual careers but also accelerating the digital transformation of industries and helping societies worldwide,” Peng further said.
As part of the competition, Huawei, yesterday, held the ‘Huawei Most Valuable Instructor Forum 2025’, where instructors and facilitators drawn from various universities of the world, gave insight into the Huawei ICT Academy and the Global ICT Competition.
The training facilitators spoke more on how to foster collaboration between the academia and the industry, as well as on experimental and flexible learning models, including innovative approaches to improving learning outcomes.
At a panel session yesterday, which was moderated by Executive Manager, ICT Talent Partner Development Department at Huawei Technologies, Tamara Tavsultanova, the panelists discussed ‘Innovative Approaches to Improving Learning Outcomes’. Panelists drawn from various universities of the world, stressed more on new technologies and their impacts on learners.
Mr. Knimi Bakna Musa from the Federal University of Technology, Mina, Nigeria, stressed the need for trainees and students to be well prepared for today’s digital industry jobs.
According to him, onboarding of technologies in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics, are fast driving tech innovation among trainees and students. He advised Huawei to concentrate more on Integrating the strategies that would further boost tech innovation across the globe.
Dr. Martin Abdullah Anwer from Sainaddin University in Iraq, spoke about how students that graduated from Huawei ICT Academy are doing well in various organisations globally, where they have been employed.
Dr. Tamer Saleh EISayed Mostafa from Egyptian-Russian University in Egypt, spoke about the ripple effect of training students, who in turn train other students on skills learnt. Other panelists said the training from Huawei ICT Academy had made a great impact in preparing trainees and students for global tech jobs.
The global Huawei ICT Competition is open to students in higher education institutions around the world that partner with the Huawei ICT Academy.
Through the competition, Huawei aims to provide students with a platform to compete healthily and exchange ideas, enhancing their ICT knowledge, improving practical skills, and fostering innovation using the latest technologies and platforms.
Students take part in hands-on labs, workshops, and real-world scenarios, guided by Huawei-certified instructors, as they learn about Huawei technologies in domains such Networking, Cloud Computing and AI.
