Huawei concluded the 2024-2025 Middle East and Central Asia (ME&CA) ICT Competition with a prestigious Regional Finals Awards Ceremony in Riyadh, marking the 10th anniversary of Huawei’s ICT Academy in the region. The event recognized outstanding performances across Cloud, Network, Computing tracks, and an Innovation competition, celebrating the achievements of students and instructors from top regional institutions.
The ceremony was attended by distinguished guests, including Mr. Ibrahem AlNasser, Deputy Minister for Future Jobs and Capabilities at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology; His Excellency Mr. Chang Hua, Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; His Excellency Dr. Adel Al-Zunaidi, Deputy Governor of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC); His Excellency Mr. Zhan Tao, Director of UNESCO IITE; His Excellency Mr. Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan; and Dr. Suliman Almazroua, CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program.
This year, a team from Jordan won the grand prize for the Network track, while two student teams from Lebanon secured the grand prize in the Cloud and Computing Tracks. In the Innovation Competition, a team from Qatar emerged victorious with their project ‘Be My Sense.’ First prizes were awarded to a Saudi team for their project ‘NABEEH,’ an Uzbekistan team for ‘Volta,’ and a Pakistani team for ‘PRISM.’ Second prizes went to teams from Kazakhstan, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, while the ‘Most Popular Team’ award went to the Saudi team behind ‘NABEEH.’
Muhammad Zubair, Consultant at the Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science, was awarded the inaugural Grand Prize for Instructors, a new category introduced this year.
Zhan Tao, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), praised the region’s passion for innovation, stating, “The Huawei ICT Academy and ICT competition have become a regional flagship, helping cultivate young digital talent and contributing to our shared goal of quality education and a prosperous world.”
Dr. Adel Al-Zunaidi, Deputy Governor of TVTC, congratulated the winning teams and emphasized the importance of partnerships with the private sector in training young talents for the digital age, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030.
H.E. Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, noted, “Digital talents are crucial to driving the digital economy. The Huawei ICT Academy program offers young ICT visionaries valuable experience, helping them contribute to a brighter digital future.”
Steven Yi, President of Huawei Middle East & Central Asia, highlighted the importance of nurturing ICT talents for digital transformation, stating, “Through initiatives like the ICT Competition, we support the development of digital talent that will drive innovation in their countries.”
Steven Yi also announced the launch of the “T.H.E. Gold Talent” program in 2025, which will focus on advanced AI courses and industry applications, using technologies like 5G, AI, and cloud in transforming higher education.
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the ICT Academy, Huawei presented a series of awards to partners, instructors, and students. King Saud University, the University of Bahrain, Bahrain Polytechnic, and Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Science & Technology received the ‘Best Partner Award.’
The competition has seen remarkable growth, with over 31,000 student registrations from 640 universities and colleges across 19 countries. It included 290 participants in the Innovation Track and 30,900 in Practice Competitions, with assessments involving written exams and hands-on lab work. The competition also received endorsement from UNESCO and more than 40 regional ministries, operators, and industry partners.
Huawei’s commitment to ICT talent development in the region is evident in its extensive network of ICT academies, which have trained over 300,000 students and certified over 35,000 professionals. This growing network continues to play a vital role in advancing the region’s technological progress.
The regional winners will now compete in the global finals of the Huawei ICT Competition in May 2025 in Shenzhen, China.
