Over 220,000 university students attracted to Huawei ICT Competition

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, June 7:  This year's Huawei  ICT Competition attracted more than 220,000 university students and faculty members from over 2,000 tertiary institutions across more than 100 countries and regions, making it the largest edition in the competition's history.

Shenzhen played host to the Closing & Awards Ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition 2025-2026 Global Final, bringing a record-breaking edition of the talent showcase to an end,on June 5.

Huawei stated in its press release that "This year's ICT Competition attracted more than 220,000 university students and faculty members from over 2,000 tertiary institutions across more than 100 countries and regions, making it the largest edition in the competition's history. After progressing through national and regional rounds, 177 teams from 49 countries and regions advanced to the Global Final and received awards".

This year marked the 10th edition of the Huawei ICT Competition. Through intense competition across three major tracks (Practice, Innovation, and Programming), 18 outstanding teams from 8 countries were awarded the Grand Prize: China, Nigeria, Singapore, Algeria, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and Dominican Republic.

To recognize outstanding contributions that go beyond technical excellence, special awards were also presented during the ceremony. The Women in Tech Award went to seven all-female teams from Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Kenya, China, and Bahrain, while the Green Development Award was won by two team from Ghana and China. Ten students from China received Fast Passes to the Huawei Future Business Leader Track. The Most Valuable Instructor Award was conferred on 16 exceptional instructors from nine countries and regions, including Pakistan, China, Nigeria, Egypt, UAE, Brazil, Hong Kong SAR (China), Thailand, Türkiye. Six teams from Egypt, Brazil, Malaysia, Poland, Pakistan earned the ICT Competition Online Popularity Award, said the Huawei.

The awards ceremony attracted diplomatic representatives from 11 countries, including ambassadors, consuls general, and counselors, who attended in person to present awards to students from their home countries.

At the Closing & Awards Ceremony, Ritchie (Honghua) Peng, President of Huawei ICT Strategy & Business Development Dept, said the competition reflects the company's long-standing commitment to using technology for good and supporting sustainable social and environmental development. Peng added that the Innovation Competition demonstrated the value of learning through competition as a learning tool to address real-world challenges, and participants in the Practice and Programming Competitions stood out for their dedication, curiosity, and deep technical focus. He also announced the introduction of a new Ascend AI Operator Development Track in the Chinese mainland for the next edition. The track is designed to help young developers engage more directly with cutting-edge industry technologies through task-based challenges, according to Huawei.

Dr. Shafika Isaacs, Director a.i. of UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education and Chief of Section for Technology and AI in Education, praised the partnership between UNESCO and Huawei and commended the participants for their performance. She highlighted that the future of AI requires collaboration among governments, international organizations, academia, and industry. She also noted that UNESCO and Huawei have been working together through initiatives such as AI capacity building programs in Arab countries and ICT education cooperation projects in Central Asia & the Caucasus. These efforts aim to strengthen higher education and vocational training systems and develop future-ready talent.

Referring to the Huawei ICT Competition, she added that students in this year's competition demonstrated their ability to tackle real-world challenges across cultural boundaries by applying emerging technologies. She highlighted that they not only showed creativity, but also a responsible approach to technology that embodies the purpose of technology education.

During this year’s Global Final, Huawei also hosted the AI Accelerating Education Transformation Summit, bringing together educators and industry experts to discuss the role of AI in driving educational transformation and innovation and to share leading practices in industry-academia collaboration.

At the summit, Huawei unveiled its ICT Academy AI Course Solution, which is designed to provide universities with a comprehensive AI learning pathway and support the development of AI talent at scale. It also released the ICT Skills Development Insight Report with Recommendations for Nine Countries of Central Asia & the Caucasus, offering policymakers actionable insights to guide talent and industry development policies.

As digital transformation accelerates, demand for skilled professionals in AI, computing, big data, and cybersecurity continues to grow. However, a shortage of skilled talent in these areas remains a global challenge. To help address this gap, the Huawei ICT Competition has set up multiple tracks, including Practice, Innovation, Programming, Challenge, Entrepreneur, and Teaching. It provides participants with an international platform to hone their technical and hands-on skills to resolve real-world problems. Through partnerships with universities and the sharing of courses, this event focuses on strengthening practical skills and preparing students for the evolving demands of the digital economy. It also reflects Huawei's broader commitment to making technology more accessible and using it for good.