Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula has flagged off 18 students to participate in the Huawei ICT Competition Global Final.
The competition attracted more than 120,000 students from 2,000 universities and colleges, from 74 countries and regions worldwide.
Six teams will compete at the global final in the Cloud, Computing, and Network tracks.
Each team will be accompanied by one lecturer from their University who has been helping prepare the students for the final, along with Huawei experts.
Wetang'ula was accompanied by the chair of the Communication Information and Innovation Committee (CII) of the National Assembly John Kiarie.
The ICT competition began in 2015 as a collaborative effort under Huawei ICT Academy.
It is an initiative that partners with more than 50 Tertiary education institutes to enrich the ICT talent pool and grow the ICT industry.
The ICT Competition is part of “LEAP”, a talent ecosystem development program launched by Huawei in sub-Saharan Africa.
This program aims to cultivate more than 100,000 ICT talents for the region within three years.
"I want to congratulate Huawei for the advanced technology and for being a champion of innovation all across Africa," Wetang'ula said.
He mentioned that he has been to Huawei Headquarters in China while he was Foreign Affairs Minister and he was impressed by the technology and work being done at the Huawei Campus
The speaker congratulated the students and wished them all the best in the competition while in China.
He further invited the students for lunch at Parliament upon their return from China.
Wetang'ula said the government through the Ministry of Education continues to create initiatives and programs that target the youth.
"These programs done both independently and in collaboration with the private sector, have not only aided in bridging the digital divide but also built a skilled workforce."
Huawei Kenya CEO Gavin Gao said Huawei is committed to building the talent of the Kenyan Youth.
"The talent ecosystem is the foundation of our business strategy. Talent is the most important factor to ensure the vitality and continuous growth of the industry. Huawei has made many efforts to train Kenyan ICT talent by sharing our knowledge and best practices. We team up with educational institutions, industry associations, and partners to build a platform to foster the ICT talent ecosystem."
Kiarie said the country is commissioning them to go and win at the Huawei Global ICT competition.
"We are counting on you to come back better skilled and equipped for the new world. We take you to be the generation of IT thinkers and doers that will ensure that Africa does not sleep through the fourth Industrial Revolution. Go win! Win for you, for your families, for your schools, for your communities, Go win for Kenya!"
In Kenya, Huawei has set up ICT Academies in over 50 Universities and Vocational Colleges to provide access to the latest technology training in Networking, Cloud, 5G and AI, annually training over 4,000 students.
The Huawei ICT skills competition attracts over 6,000 students every year in Kenya alone providing students with a platform to compete, win awards and exchange ideas, thus enhancing their ICT knowledge and practical skills as well as increasing their ability to innovate by using new technologies and platforms.
Through organising digital skills training, and encouraging students to participate in relevant skills competitions, LEAP is committed to improving the digital skills of young people in the region and promoting employment competitiveness.
It helps meet the huge demand for digital talent in business and society.
