Kenyan students awarded first prize in global ICT competition

Three Kenyan teams who excelled at the Huawei ICT Competition Global Finals were on Monday awarded in Nairobi.

The event was held at the Serena Hotel and officiated by Amb. Simon Nabukwesi, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for University Education and Research in the Ministry of Education.

“The ICT Competition is a unique contribution that the private sector can provide that significantly enhances the quality of our ICT education. We recognize the need for different formats that are practical and hands-on to complement the theory,” the PS said.

He congratulated the students and lecturers for winning these awards and outstandingly representing Kenya at the international level.

Amb. Nabukwesi also thanked Huawei for commitment and support to building capacity amongst Kenyan students and institutions in ICT saying this will go a long way in creating jobs and digital solutions.

The 2019-2020 ICT Competition received over 6,400 student applications out of which 100 students proceeded to the national finals.

Five teams later proceeded to the regional finals and eventually three teams represented Kenya at the global stage.

The teams competed under the network and innovation tracks. They were awarded 1st and 3rd place while Team Mazingira was awarded 3rd place under the innovation track.

In addition to the medals and certificates, the winners also received variety of Huawei products and Huawei exam voucher as rewards.

Mr. Frank Yang, Vice President of Huawei Southern Africa Region, said synergies with academic partners are key and have contributed to Huawei broadening its areas of collaboration.

“Huawei has played an important in the development of ICT Talent in these countries for many years now, and we are seeing the efforts from us as well as from governments and other partners pay off. Investing in education is not only our social responsibility, but also our business priority to help grow the ICT sector and to help grow the economies of the countries in which we work,” he said.

UNESCO Head of Natural Sciences Jaya Ramasamy emphasised the importance of ICT saying: “Technology is rapidly changing the employment landscape generating jobs that demand a range of digital skills; the World Bank has estimated that digital transformation will increase growth in Africa by 2% a year and reduce poverty by 1% in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Other key guests at the Tuesday award ceremony included Prof. Joseph Rotich (Laikipia University VC); Prof. Robert Kinyua Wambui Ngumi (Deputy Vice Chancellor JKUAT) and Mr. Johnson Kinyua (Dean of Students University of Nairobi).

Huawei has partnered with 42 institutions of higher learning including the University of Nairobi; Kenyatta University; Laikipia University; Oshwal College; Catholic University and Multi Media University of Kenya.

The tech company intends to drive the digital inclusion agenda in its efforts to bridge the digital divide reaching over 5000 students and 100 lectures since 2018.