Huawei inaugurated the 2024-2025 Middle East and Central Asia (ME&CA) ICT Competition Regional Finals today at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Huawei’s ICT Academy in the region. The event, held in partnership with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) and supported by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), King Saud University (KSU), and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), has brought together over 300 participants from 19 countries across the ME&CA region.
Wang Shunli, Vice President of ME&CA at Huawei, stated, “Since its inception, the Huawei ICT Competition has been at the forefront of bridging the digital talent gap in the region, paving the way for the intelligent era. This year’s regional finals, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of our ICT Academy, reflect our ongoing commitment to nurturing the next generation of ICT professionals who will drive digital transformation and contribute to achieving national goals.”
Dr. Ibrahim Alwatban, Dean at the College of Telecom & Information at TVTC, emphasized the value of partnerships like those with Huawei, which have placed TVTC at the cutting edge of technological advancements. He also highlighted how Huawei’s innovative AI solutions help deliver modern education and prepare graduates to meet the demands of the evolving job market.
The event began with the Huawei ICT Instructor Contest, where educators showcased their teaching methods and ICT expertise through presentations and demonstrations. Parallel to this, the Innovation Competition featured student teams presenting cutting-edge projects across AI, computing, cloud, and network technologies.
This year’s competition saw record-breaking participation, with over 31,000 student registrations from 640 universities and colleges across 19 countries. The participants competed in various tracks, including Cloud, Network, Computing, and AI Innovation.
The three-day event will continue with an Innovation and Technology Tour, which includes an exclusive visit to Huawei’s Future Space and flagship store in Riyadh.
Huawei’s ME&CA ICT Academy, celebrating a decade of success, has trained over 300,000 students and certified more than 35,000 talents. The program has fostered a network of over 2,000 instructors and established 106 ICT academies across the region. Since its launch in 2017, the Huawei ME&CA ICT Competition has grown into the largest and most influential ICT talent initiative in the region, boosting the national competitiveness of ME and CA countries by nurturing future ICT leaders. The competition enjoys strong support from UNESCO IITE and more than 40 regional ministries, operators, and industry partners.
Huawei’s efforts underscore its vision of bringing digital technology to every person, home, and organization, working towards a fully connected, intelligent world.
