UR Network team prouly carries Rwandan flag as they pose with Amb. James Kimonyo (2nd Left)
A Rwanda university tech team has excelled at the Huawei ICT global finals competition in Shenzhen China scooping the second prize at the lucrative contest.
Huawei ICT Competition 2022-2023 Global Final in Shenzhen was successfully held in Shenzhen on 23rd to 28th May, 2023 following nine (9) months of heavy preparation that attracted 146 Teams from 36 Countries and Regions.
The Network team from University of Rwanda (UR) walked away with the award defeating over 30 countries and 130 teams to claim the second place, becoming the first university in the country to win the award despite competition from fellow countrymen.
over 650 students from eight Universities of Rwanda registered and participated in the earlier stage of the competition namely preliminary and national stage. These universities include: AUCA, INES, RP, UR, UOK, and ULK among others.
The competition covers the latest technologies such as cloud computing, AI, mobile networks, big data, that are pertinent to students’ competitiveness in the job market.
As a key project of Huawei’s Seeds for the Future 2.0 initiative, the Huawei ICT Competition aims to provide a platform for global college students to compete and communicate with each other in the ICT field.
As of the end of 2022, Huawei has cooperated with 2200 universities to build Huawei ICT Academies, helping to train more than 200,000 students each year. Since its initial launch in 2015, more than 580,000 students from 85 countries and regions around the world have participated in the competition.
The three students from UR Network team- Regis Minani, Magnifique Mugiraneza, Michael Fred Mugisha excelled above all competitors at the National finals stage and continued up to the Africa stage where they also took second prize and qualified for global competition stages in China.
‘‘The early stages of the competition arrived finally, and we were called for the preliminary stage of the competition. It was not easy, but with great effort, I passed. New stage, new rules, and of course new things,” said Regis Minani
Minani said that the next stage they had to prepare for was the regional stage but this time it was an uphill contest with different tests.
“We had to work in groups, and you guessed it right, new and advanced concepts were introduced to us. This time we had to learn to work collaboratively and with high speed and accuracy. It was no longer an individual competition; we were competing with countries,” Minani said.
“With great guidance and support from our instructor and everyone else involved. We prepared well until we sat for the regional competition.”
Mugiraneza said that the HUAWEI ICT competition provided them with a platform to showcase my technical skills and creativity in Networking and witnessed real-world networking tools and devices, providing them with valuable learning experiences.
Rwanda and Uganda University network team were among top winners this year
“HUAWEI ICT competitions also promote teamwork and collaboration and help to build soft skills such as communication, time management, and problem-solving. It is a rewarding experience that helped us develop valuable skills essential in today’s digital world,” Mugiraneza said.
Toni Yangshengwan the Huawei Rwanda Country Director congratulate and noted that the annual Huawei ICT Competition is a key piece of the ICT Academy Campaign launched in 2021 through an MoU signed between China and UR.
The MoU targets university and college students worldwide, aiming to facilitate communication between schools, enterprises, and governments while building a robust talent ecosystem.
Through this competition, Huawei aims to challenge the students’ ICT knowledge as well as the practical and application skills, and ultimately, inspire innovation with the theme of “connection, glory, future”.
Ambassador James Kimonyo, Rwanda’s envoy to China, who graced the ceremony commended Huawei for the nobble initiative that inspires and equips young ones with skills necessary for addressing development challenges.
Xiao Haijun, President of Global Partner Development and Sales at Huawei Enterprise Business Group noted the importance of digital talents and skills as the foundation for the digital economy and its future.
“Digital talent and digital skills will be the foundation for the digital economy development. In the future, Huawei will bring ICT education resources to more schools around the world,” Haijun said.
Haijun noted that Huawei projects to build 7000 Huawei ICT Academies in total by 2026, train more than 1 million students every year, greatly improving students’ digital literacy and skills for a more dynamic and inclusive digital world.
