Minister Muyingo pledges govt support as this year’s Huawei ICT competition kicks off

The State Minister for High Education, John Chrysostom Muyingo has said government will continue supporting efforts aimed at equipping learners with the necessary skills in the employment world.

“Over the years, we have always made it a point to play an active role in the implementation of the digital upskilling initiatives in schools and universities across the country. The Covid pandemic has presented the sector with profound challenges.  Over 15 million learners have been left at home and we have been forced to rethink the delivery of education for our learners,”Muyingo said.

The minister was speaking during the launch of the third edition of the Huawei ICT competition at Serena hotel in Kampala.

According to Muyingo, the partnership that government has development with Huawei  will help in coming up with innovative solutions to the challenges caused by the pandemic and many more.

“I call upon you to begin exploring the possibilities for delivery of infrastructure that will bring our education sector up to speed with the dynamic changes and resulting challenges that have been presented by the 21st century,” he said.

He also applauded Huawei for coming up with the ICT competition which he said is a key platform for sharing the latest ICT technologies for the dynamic world of work.

“Government is committed to upscaling and mainstreaming ICT in the delivery of education as a measure to facilitate continued learning during this lockdown. “I thank Huawei for their commitment and look toward to even more partnerships of this kind (ICT Competition),” he said.

Yang Chen Frank, regional vice president for  Huawei Technologies in charge of  Southern Africa applauded the Ugandan government for putting in place an enabling environment that has ensured they operate in the country.

“More thanks  go to the Ministry of Education and ICT for their constant support which has enabled us achieve not only our vision of bringing digital to every person, home and organization but also train and upskill Ugandans,” Chen said.

He noted that through the competition, Huawei has been able to train over 2000 Ugandan youths as well as certifying many others through its ICT academics in the country.

“This is the result of aligning our local strategy with national strategies which is a very important principle that we stick to when it comes to business and skill and knowledge transfer,” he said.

The annual Huawei ICT competition targets university and college students worldwide, aiming to facilitate communication between schools, enterprises, and governments while building a robust talent ecosystem.

Through this competition, Huawei challenges the students’ ICT knowledge as well as the practical and application skills, and ultimately, inspire innovation with the theme of “connection, glory, future”.

The competition covers latest technologies such as cloud computing, AI, mobile networks, big data, that are pertinent to students’ competitiveness in the job market.

Over the years on the African continent, Huawei has signed cooperation agreements with over 250 universities in 14 Sub-Saharan countries on establishing ICT academies.

In Uganda, over 15 universities have signed which include, Makerere, Muni, MUBS, Soroti, Kabale, Kyambogo, Nkozi, Mbarara, KIU and IUIU.