- 60 Kenyan university students from across the country virtually graduated from the programme on September 1.
- Its success is partly due to close collaboration with students, academia, the Ministry of ICT and various stakeholders
Image: HANDOUT
The Kenyan ICT sector has been vibrant in recent years. The enabling legal and policy environment has seen many innovations.
Rapid advancements in technologies such as mobile broadband, Wi-Fi connectivity and web-based applications have further enhanced demand for broadband in the country.
It is the fast advancement that prompted Huawei to introduce the Seeds for the Future program that seeks to develop local ICT talent, enhance knowledge sharing, and improve people's understanding and interest in the ICT industry.
Sixty Kenyan university students from across the country virtually graduated from the programme on September 1.
Paul Omondi Otieno a 4th year student at Kenyatta University majoring in Telecommunications and Information Technology is not shy to explain to us the vast knowledge he has acquired from the training. He joined the program because he was impressed by Huawei’s work in Kenya and their footprint on matters telecommunication.
“I have seen the outdoor unit, different ways you can implement a 4G, 3G and 2G network, different devices found within a communication network and how exactly it works. And also how to implement a fiber and microwave communication,” Otieno says.
The programme recognizes the skill gap that exists in the technology sector today across the globe and seeks to bridge the talent gap through training.
The programme’s success is partly due to close collaboration with students, academia, the Ministry of ICT and various stakeholders. It helps build a stronger and more sustainable ICT and talent ecosystem.
“As an industry leader, we are committed to promoting the development of ICT in the countries we operate in. We continuously seek to close the gap between knowledge learned in school and industry skills thereby enhancing knowledge transfer and building ICT capacity,” said Fiona Pan, Huawei Kenya deputy CEO.
Anne Mweru a 4th year student at Zetech University pursuing Bachelor of Science in Information Technology says Huawei has been her dream organization to work for and learn their various technologies.
“When I saw the Seeds for the Future opportunity, I applied to try and integrate theory learned in class with the practical in the outside world. I recommend the program to students in the same field to apply, meet new people, learn and network,” Mweru says.
Over the last seven years, the programme has taken over 120 interns through training at the Huawei offices in Nairobi and out of these 55 have traveled to China for further two-week training on Chinese culture and latest technological innovations at the Huawei headquarters.
Last year, 60 outstanding students went through the virtual program interacting with experts from across the globe on matters technology, leadership, business and others.
“It is for this reason that we as Huawei partnered with over 51 institutions of higher learning to become Huawei ICT Academies thereby enabling lecturers to offer courses on various emerging technologies including Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things among others,” said Fiona Pan.
“The program as part of Huawei’s flagship global CSR aims to develop local ICT talent, improve knowledge sharing, and enhance understanding and interest in the ICT industry and thus enable growth within the sector,” she added.