Huawei has announced the winners of the Qatar edition of the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition 2019, held recently in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The longstanding competition, which falls under Huawei’s strategy to develop the global information and communications technology (ICT) talent ecosystem, aims to nurture local talent in the ICT field with a vision to bring digital benefits to every person, home and organisation for a fully-connected and intelligent world, the company said in a statement.
This year’s winning team, comprising three students and their professor, was chosen from a field of 253 finalists who competed following the preliminary round involving entries from four universities.
This year’s finalists from Qatar represent Qatar University and Community College of Qatar.
In addition to competing against other winners from the Middle East, the regional winners will be invited back to China to take part in a competition with global Huawei ICT Competition winners.
“The competition promotes innovation and creativity while serving as a bridge between the classroom and the workplace.
“By nurturing university students’ talent in Qatar, it also contributes to increasing national ICT competitiveness while supporting Qatar National Vision 2030,” the statement notes.
Having already received certificates and prizes as Qatar’s national winners, the local teams have now earned a trip to China this month, where they will compete with their fellow finalists from around the Middle East region to win the ICT Competition’s grand prize – $30,000.
Their visit will include a “once-in-a-lifetime chance to work among some of the world’s most renowned technology pioneers in Huawei’s facilities”.
Participants will conduct field experiments in Huawei’s specialised labs and research centres at its headquarters in Shenzhen, helping equip students with the tools needed to tackle complex challenges in areas such as cloud computing, IoT and network security.
The technical programme will be complemented by a number of cultural experiences and knowledge-exchange opportunities while in China.
In addition, students and their mentors will have the opportunity to meet their country’s ambassador to China during the Huawei-organised Ambassadors Summit Discussions event.
This will provide the participants with the chance to discuss with respected leaders and cultural envoys their future ambitions and anticipations for their national ICT sector.
Frank Fan, CEO of Huawei Technologies Qatar, said: “By investing in future talent and building a more robust ICT talent ecosystem in Qatar, we are investing in the future of the country.
I offer them (the winning teams) my congratulations and wish them the best of luck in the competition’s final stage.”
Farhan Khan, vice-president of Huawei Qatar, added: “Qatar has exceptional ICT talent, which we are proud to nurture through opportunities such as the Huawei ICT Competition.”
Throughout the Huawei ICT Competition stages, contestants receive the latest updates on emerging technologies that are reshaping Lebanon’s digital economy.
These include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and, most importantly, 5G broadband — seen as a crucial digital-service enabler.
The competition is an opportunity for students to test their abilities in these cutting-edge fields, and helps colleges and universities better understand the talent requirements of today’s top businesses and government leaders.
During the final, participants are equipped with an online guide and are supervised by university professors.
This year’s winning team, comprising three students and their professor, was chosen from a field of 253 finalists.
