Kenya registers the highest number of qualifiers from region to global ICT contest

By Evans Ongwae

Eighteen talented Kenyan students will participate in the global final of the Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024 set for Shenzhen, China, this May. This is after they won at the national and regional levels, and were feted on Friday March 15, 2024 in Nairobi.

Kenya is sending the largest contingent of competitors to the finals, more than its 15 neighbours in the Southern Africa region. The 18 students, who received cash prizes and Huawei products for their excellent performance, pledged to work hard to win at the global finals and make Kenya proud.

In his speech, Top Student Huawei ICT Competition 2023-2024, Mr Luis Kinyua, thanked the Huawei instructors, university lecturers and Huawei Technologies for making the competition possible.

He added: “You helped us embrace the important ICT field, and this served as a stepping stone to those of us who are interested in becoming Network and Cloud experts. Huawei always ensures that it updates all its course materials in line with the latest trends in technology.”

Kenya’s Education Cabinet Secretary, Dr Ezekiel Machogu, the chief guest at the award ceremony, congratulated the winning students, and urged them and other learners to grab opportunities available in the global digital space. “You can earn while learning,” the CS told the students while reminding them that the digital space allows them to work from anywhere.

The award ceremony took place as part of a National ICT Talent Summit of university and ICT industry stakeholders. Officials from Safaricom and Unesco, among others, were present to discuss ways of enhancing the teaching and use of emerging ICT technologies in higher education. Various institutions such as Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kibabii University and Africa Nazarene University, shared successful cases of how they have incorporated industry certification learning into their existing undergraduate programmes to equip students with the right skills for the digital economy.

Dr Machogu lauded Huwaei Kenya for organising the ICT competition and helping address the skills gap in the digital economy.

Said the CS: “The Ministry of Education is fully aware of the importance of using technology in teaching and in producing a workforce with high technology skills.”

He added: “We are pleased to see the outcomes of partnerships with industry such as Huawei and Safaricom, as well as international organisations such as Unesco, to support training of lecturers and students in the high-end ICT skills such as internet of things (IOT), artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, to address the skills gap in the ICT sector.”

Dr Machogu described the Huawei ICT Competition as, “a noble initiative that brings the latest curriculum and knowledge to our students and then also gives them opportunities to gain more international exposure and internships – both of which are very important and very complementary to what the students get at university. I appreciate Huawei for this, and acknowledge the great achievement of the competition in attracting 5,800 Kenyans from over 40 universities nationwide to take part.”

The Huawei ICT Competition, initiated in 2015 as part of the Huawei ICT Academy, is a collaborative effort to enrich the ICT talent pool by transferring the latest knowledge from a global technology leader. The 2023-2024 edition featured four distinct tracks: Cloud, computing, network, and innovation, reflecting Huawei's dedication to diverse technological fields.

Huawei Kenya Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Gavin Gao, said: “I extend my deepest gratitude to the Ministry of Education for working with us to ensure the success of this ICT competition, enabling young people to build their skills and promote innovation. We all need to continue this important work to ensure we create value from the Digital Superhighway, paving the path for youth around the country to have a brighter future

Mr Alexandros Makarigakis, Director and Representative of Unesco Multi-Sectoral Regional Office for Eastern Africa, pointed out the value of ICT in education.  

Three weeks ago, the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa officially declared 2024 as the “Year of Education”.

Mr Makarigakis noted that this commitment was timely, “as the continent faces a severe education crisis: Africa has the world’s largest out-of-school population. Even those in school are not learning; and there is a huge shortage of qualified teachers.”

He went on: “Overcoming these challenges requires a transformative approach to education that harnesses digital technology to unlock learning opportunities. At the heart of Unesco’s strategy lay three fundamental pillars, or what we call the three Cs to unlock digital learning: Content, capacity, and connectivity.”

Safaricom’s IT Business and Government and Women in Technology (WIT) Lead, Ms Donna Rege, noted that: “In matters capability development, WIT and Huawei have had several collaborations: Self learning, Mentorship and Coaching, and Training. I congratulate and appreciate Huawei for the intentionality and consistency in the capacity building agenda of this country and moreover, around women as reflected in this year’s cohort where women students grew from 13 percent last year to 21 percent this year. As Safaricom, we commit to continue working together, and we call upon more industry players – private and public, and the academia, to come on board.”

In Kenya, Huawei has established ICT academies in over 50 universities and colleges, providing access to cutting-edge technology training in networking, cloud computing, 5G, and AI. Annually, these academies train over 4,000 students, contributing significantly to the ICT skills landscape.

The Huawei hardware installation base in Kenya has been recognised by the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, playing a pivotal role in nurturing Kenya's ICT talent pool and supporting national development initiatives.

University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor, Prof Stephen Kiama, who spoke at the award ceremony, encouraged more students taking science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses at local universities to participate in future Huawei ICT competitions.

“It is an opportunity for students to showcase their ICT skills,” he said, adding that the benefits are extensive, and they include training and certification; internship; and job placement opportunities.

Twenty-one students who participated in this year’s competition secured internship and job offers.

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