Huawei cultivates ICT talent in Africa
(People's Daily Online) Phoebe Huang 2016-02-23 05:17
Zimbabwe Students at the Huawei Training Center in China
It looks like African students are set to benefit as Huawei has announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2015 that over the next five years 1,000 students across Africa will take part in its technical training program dubbed “Seeds for the Future,” which seeks to strengthen ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) capabilities in Africa.
Charles Ding, senior vice president of Huawei, announced the training plan for Africa during a panel discussion entitled “Africa Mobile Technology.”
“Governments in Africa need to develop a vision for boosting connections. They need to invest or facilitate investment into national broadband plans and train technical talents. This will create jobs, boost economic growth and secure Africa’s future.”
According to the telecommunication giant, it will work globally with local governments and universities to send students overseas to acquire training and work experience with the world’s best ICT equipment. To date, more than 10,000 students worldwide have benefited from the Seeds for the Future program.
The program has already been implemented in Zimbabwe, where 10 Zimbabwe ICT students from different provinces and universities including the Zimbabwe Open University, Harare Institute of Technology and Midlands State University traveled in October to Beijing and Shenzhen to receive ICT training under the program.
The corporation was honored for its efforts when it received the Special Ministerial Award at the 2015 ICT Achiever’s Awards last month for its contribution to ICT growth and ICT talent cultivation in Zimbabwe. Speaking during the ICT Achievers Awards, Dr Sam Kundishora, permanent secretary of Zimbabwe’s Information & Communication Technology Department, expressed his hope that students will use their training to contribute to the future development of the nation. “Seeds are a symbol of life, future and hope. Huawei will continue to assist Zimbabweans to learn ICT technologies and promote comprehensive development in the ICT sector,” Kundishora said.
By the end of 2015, ICT students from over 15 African countries, including Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Zimbabwe, have participated in the program. This year, Huawei plans to roll out the program in more African countries such as Uganda and South Africa.
(The story was originally published on Business Day on January, 29th, 2016.)
