Qatar

Future of ICT talent discussed at Huawei competition in Bahrain

By Ayman Adly/Manama, Bahrain Published on December 22, 2023 | 10:32 PM

On the sidelines of the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-24 regional final awards ceremony, the University of Bahrain hosted an exclusive forum on ICT talent cultivation featuring senior speakers from industry organisations and renowned regional universities.
The University of Bahrain, a partner for the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-24 regional final, hosted the official closing and awards ceremony for the programme this year. The forum panel discussion featured Dr Jassim Haji, president of the International Group of Artificial Intelligence; Dr Hessa Jassim al-Junaid, dean of the College of Information Technology, University of Bahrain; Dr Tilda Karkour Akiki, associate dean of the School of Engineering, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Lebanon; and Amr Hashem, policy director at GSMA MENA.
The discussion was moderated by Ammar Tobba, vice president of Public Affairs and Communications, Huawei Middle East and Central Asia Region.
The speakers discussed challenges and future opportunities in building the ICT talent ecosystem and the value of Public-Private partnerships in nurturing ICT talent innovations, supporting the university curriculum with practical skills and training, and driving the socio-economic growth of countries in the region.
Dr al-Junaid said annually, the Huawei ICT Talent competition attracts a growing number of registered students, indicating its increasing popularity.
"The College of IT students who participated in the Huawei ICT Talent competition have demonstrated high employability due to the provision of relevant skills, industry knowledge, problem-solving abilities, teamwork experience, and industry recognition. Additionally, the competition encourages students to pursue Huawei professional certifications that hold international recognition.”
Dr Haji explained how technology will impact undergraduate engineers. “AI tools are poised to transform the way talented students learn and create, offering a wealth of benefits such as guidelines to the job market, the course selection, and curriculum advisory. Furthermore, generative AI creates tests tailored to each student's learning preferences, interactive activities, or even life-like simulations.”
Dr Akiki shared her thoughts on how ICT students can contribute to today’s industrial digital transformation and the urgent need to narrow the ICT talent gap, especially to encourage more participation from women.
Hashem shared his remarks on cultivating young talent for the telecommunications industry, especially in light of the accelerated deployment of 5G. Tobba stressed that ICT talent development programmes like the Huawei ICT Competition contribute towards bridging the digital divide and narrowing the digital skills gap, nurturing young industry talents and strengthening the ICT talent ecosystem across the region."
Since its launch in 2017, Huawei's ICT Competition has become the largest and most influential initiative in the region. The competition has received support and endorsements from Unesco and more than 20 regional ministries, operators and industry partners.
This year, more than 27,500 students from over 600 universities across 21 Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries participated in the Middle East & Central Asia Huawei ICT Competition – marking the highest level of participation in the seven-year competition's history.
A total of 22 teams consisting of 66 national winners from 11 Middle Eastern & Central Asian countries, including Bahrain, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman, participated in the regional finals held in Bahrain from December 19-21.

By Ayman Adly/Manama, Bahrain

Last Edited December 22, 2023 | 10:33 PM

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura and Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida attend the “master of the art of Italian cuisine award” ceremony at Palazzo Chigi, in Rome, yesterday.

Italy’s govt, businesses warn of heavy impact of US tariffs

Thursday, April 03, 2025

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and its top business lobby warned yesterday that looming US tariffs would have a major impact on the country’s exports and already struggling economy.US President Donald Trump is expected to announce sweeping new tariffs on global trading partners later, upending decades of rules-based trade, risking cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides.“It is clear that the introduction of new tariffs would have heavy repercussions for Italian producers”, Meloni said while hosting a prize-giving ceremony for Italian cuisine in Rome.Meloni added that she did not rule out “adequate responses” to protect the exports of the euro zone’s third largest economy, though she did not elaborate.Italy posted a trade surplus with the US of 39bn euros ($42.14bn) in 2024, the third largest in the 20-nation euro area, Eurostat data shows.Earlier yesterday, business association Confindustria said Italy’s economy would grow by 0.6% this year, half the government’s official target and down from a 0.9% forecast made by the group in October. The economy expanded by a modest 0.7% in both 2024 and 2023.It eked out 0.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 from the previous three months, after stagnating in the third quarter. Most analysts expect no significant pick-up in the near term.Confindustria said that while its forecasts incorporated already-announced US tariffs on steel and aluminium and what it called “record levels of uncertainty” on trade policy, they did not factor in the effects of an escalating trade war.In a worst case scenario, with permanent 25% US tariffs on all imports, rising to 60% for China, and retaliatory measures against US exports, Italy’s growth would fall to around 0.2% this year, it said.“We cannot imagine that for an exporting nation like ours the tariffs won’t be a problem, they will be yet another setback for our companies,” Confindustria’s President Emanuele Orsini said at a conference where the forecasts were presented. The group said that businesses most reliant on sales to the US, and thus most vulnerable to new tariffs, included pharmaceuticals, autos, machinery, and the fashion and food and wine industries.Right-wing Meloni is a friend of Trump and she and her government have been more cautious than others in the 27-nation EU about how the bloc should react to the tariffs.Italy’s EU Affairs Minister Tommaso Foti echoed Meloni’s conciliatory tone at the Confindustria event, saying Europe should avoid a tit-for-tat response to Trump.“It must not be a gut reaction, but a reasoned one. There is a need for dialogue... The less we raise our voice the better,” he said.