MCIT and Huawei announce finalists of ICT Skill Competition in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

 MCIT and Huawei has announced the end of the Saudi chapter of its ICT Competition 2018. Aimed at universities and students, the competition seeks to recognize and nurture the region’s finest ICT talent. The winners have earned a trip to China at the end of November, where they will compete with international finalists and receive knowledge training from top executives at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen. The announcement was made at an event in Riyadh attended by The Deputy Minister of MCIT Dr. Ahmed Althenayan, The Chinese ambassador in Saudi Arabia HE Li Huaxin and Huawei KSA CEO Mr. Dennis Zhang and many universities.
The ICT Skill Competition was made possible through the strong partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The generation of students involved is expected to lead Saudi’s ICT industry into the future by embracing the digital transformation. The ICT Competition is specifically designed to prepare this generation for such a responsibility.
Over 1900 students registered for the competition in Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, top 6 students from 5 universities and colleges were chosen for the international final.
Huawei grants the winners an exclusive fully paid trip to the company’s international headquarters in Shenzhen and the chance to meet with the brand’s leadership. They will gain unrivaled exposure to Huawei’s expertise in telecommunications, enterprise, and consumer business, not to mention a priceless cultural experience and knowledge exchange.
The Deputy Minister of MCIT Dr. Ahmed Althenayan said:“We are delighted that 6 Saudi students reached the Final in this prestigious national skills competition, it shows the quality of our technology students, this also highlights Saudi Arabia’s huge segment of talented young people and we are proud to announce our solidarity to empower these young people and give them the opportunity to sharpen their skills and help them become the leaders of tomorrow in the field of information and communication technology wit the help of Huawei, being the leading global technology player.”
Huawei KSA HR Director Mr. Faisal AlOtaibi commented: “Knowledge transfer and nurturing future ICT talent has always been a core pillar of the Huawei way, and we are thrilled to run the ICT Skill Competition in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with MCIT for that exact reason. The future of ICT progress lays in the hands of our students, and by developing platforms and programs that allow them to grow and mature into experts, we can better equip the next generation of technology leaders to go ahead with achieving Saudi Arabia national transformation program and Vision 2030 targets.”
The trip to China will conclude the 2018 ICT Competition, which so far has gone through two rounds of rigorous examination at the local and national level. In total, 14,748 students across the Middle East applied for the competition, from which 4,915 were selected to take part in the preliminary rounds. 214 students passed on to the final round, and 39 in total from 13 teams will be traveling to China to compete internationally. The ICT Competition was made possible through the cooperation of 17 ministries across the region. 226 colleges and universities took part in total, and 65 participated in Huawei’s roadshow. 950 students additionally passed the Huawei HCNA certification exam.
HE Li Huaxin, the Chinese ambassador in Saudi Arabia said: “We are happy to see such knowledge transfer initiatives between China and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, aimed at preparing the next generation of leaders expected to take advantage of advanced technologies to achieve their country national targets and people ambitions. China government is impressed by the progress and development made by the Saudi government under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi economic diversification is making a steady progress and social reforms have moved forward. We are please to witness these achievements and committed to growing ties with Saudi Arabia. We totally support good programs like Huawei’s ICT Skills competition and look forward to deepen the knowledge and cultural transfer between the 2 countries.”
The competition is part of Huawei’s longstanding effort to have a positive impact on the community of Saudi. Building upon the success of the first ICT Competition, the second round was designed to further address the needs of students to meet enterprises’ talent requirements and optimize development modes accordingly. Contestants are measured on their knowledge of cloud computing, switching, routing, and network security. It is a unique opportunity for young people to test their abilities in ICT’s most cutting-edge fields. To prepare for the challenge, Huawei offers students access to online training and tests and educational workshops ahead of the competition, as well as tailored tutoring led by university professors and Huawei experts.