With digital technologies becoming the building blocks of the Jordanian intelligent society—and increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery—Huawei is once again touching on an important driver of the digital transformation journey; nurturing ICT talent. The company runs the 4th edition of its flagship annual Middle East ICT Competition in Jordan to support preparing the next generation of leaders for an intelligent world, in line with the government national plans and strategies. The initiative underpins technology utilization and aims to support the socio-economic development by bolstering the overall ICT ecosystem through nurturing local talent; individuals who will be Jordan’s assets for achieving national development plans and ambitious visions for more sustainable knowledge-based economies. This year’s competition is being held in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) and China’s Embassy in Jordan.
From October to December, Hundreds of undergraduate students from 15 leading universities in Jordan are expected to participate in the competition, which is being held virtually for the first time due to physical distancing measures.
Dr. Nael Adwan, Director of Investment and Promotions Department at the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, noted: “The ICT sector is a significant national industry promoting Jordan’s global competitiveness and economic strength. Private sector programs like the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition are highly valued in supporting these ambitions, developing indigenous innovation overall while nurturing a supportive environment for the ICT sector in particular.”
Paul Feng, CEO of Huawei Levant, said: “Empowering Jordanian youth with global knowledge and new skills plays a key role in the future of socio-economic growth. Huawei is committed to the growing ICT value chain in Jordan through local talent nurturing and open ecosystems building. We believe in openness, collaboration and shared success and put forward our best efforts to support the sustainable development of ambitious countries like Jordan. We are dedicated to fostering innovative interdisciplinary talent by knowledge and experience sharing. Moreover, by offering participants access to online exchanges and learning, we can create more equal opportunities for quality education, enabling more people to benefit from the digital economy.”
The competition promotes creativity amongst students by acting as a bridge between the classroom and the workforce, enhancing students’ future employment opportunities. The training and competition tracks for this year—held under the theme “Connection, Glory, Future”—focus on advanced technologies such as 5G, AI, cloud computing, and data storage, facilitating connections between international talent. In addition to sharpening student’s own knowledge of these domains, the competition assists government authorities, colleges, and universities to identify and support the future leaders of ICT.
This year will also see the introduction of the Huawei Innovation Competition, held in parallel to the ICT Competition. It focuses on supporting undergraduate students and teachers in using innovative technologies such as AI, cloud computing, and big data to create valuable and meaningful applications for society. Huawei has invited universities and colleges across the Middle East to participate in the new Innovation Competition, with a total of ten teams to be selected for the regional final this year.
Winners of the regional competitions will receive a certification, future learning opportunities, a USD$20,000 cash prize, and more.
Last year, 760 students from across Jordan applied for the Middle East ICT Competition from leading colleges and universities. The competition was supported by ministries, various ambassadors, and academic chancellors from some of Jordan’s top-ranking universities. The team who participated from Jordan, won third place in the ICT Competition regional finals that was held at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China with the participation of 13 teams from 10 Middle East countries.
Registration for the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition 2020 is now open through this microsite
