NAIROBI, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan students who excelled in the 2020 Huawei ICT competition global finals were on Thursday presented with medals, certificates and mobile phones at a ceremony graced by senior government officials and business executives.
Simon Nabukwesi, principal secretary in the State Department of University Education and Research, hailed the Huawei-sponsored ICT competition, saying it has boosted digital literacy in the country.
"The ICT Competition is a unique contribution that the private sector can provide that significantly enhances the quality of our ICT education," said Nabukwesi.
He said that improving digital skills among Kenyan youth is key to address unemployment while positioning the country as a regional knowledge economy hub.
Three Kenyan teams that included students and their tutors who were shortlisted for the Huawei ICT competition global finals, competed under the Network and Innovation tracks.
The 2019-2020 digital literacy contest attracted more than 6,400 applicants while 100 proceeded to the national finals, five teams qualified for the regional finals and three teams were shortlisted to represent the country at the global finals.
Participants at the Huawei sponsored digital skills contest were evaluated on their knowledge of emerging technologies like Internet of Things (IOT), big data and artificial intelligence.
Frank Yang, vice president of Huawei Southern Africa region, said the Chinese telecommunications company has leveraged on partnership with governments and academic institutions to boost digital literacy in African countries.
"Huawei has played an important role 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," said Yang.
"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 added. Enditem
