The President House in Islamabad hosted an award distribution ceremony for Huawei’s ICT Middle East Competition, which was organized in partnership with Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
Dr. Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr. Sohail Rajput, Secretary Telecommunication and Information Technology, Mr. Wang Shun Li, CEO of Huawei Pakistan, Mr. Mark Meng, the winning Pakistani teams, and other officials from MoITT and Huawei Pakistan were all present at the event.
The competition is an annual Huawei ICT project aimed at developing global ICT talent. During the month of October, Huawei’s Talent Ecosystem team held various roadshows at over 134 colleges, resulting in a total of 10,150 candidates registering.
After regional training, 8 outstanding students were interviewed, and the top 6 qualified for the Regional Exam, which was set for December 21st – 23rd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the competition’s final round, 11 teams representing countries from around the Middle East region competed.
Pakistan’s team of Sateesh Kumar, Iqra Fatima, and Bhagchand Meghwar, as well as their tutor Dr. Faheem Khuhawar, received the first prize of 20,000 USD on December 23rd. Not only that, but Pakistan’s team two, comprised of Hafiz Rizwan, Adnan Ali, and Mukhtar Muhammad, as well as their instructor, took second place.
President Dr. Arif Alvi, speaking at the Huawei ICT competition’s concluding ceremony, said:
“I am aware of the cooperative arrangement of the Huawei Academy with about 80 different universities in Pakistan to develop and groom young talent. I also appreciated companies like Huawei for training a large number of students in the field of information technology, noting the international companies wanted to create an ecosystem for harnessing talent. I believe that ten million people would get jobs in information technology sector in future.”
Secretary Telecommunication and Information Technology Dr. Sohail Rajput reiterated the sentiment, saying,
“First of all, I congratulate all the Pakistan excellent talents won this ICT competition final. This shows we have the talents, the youths and energy which can bring a lot of things for Pakistan. If we want to increase our exports and reduce our trade deficit, the only way is invested to our youths because this is our biggest asset. And Formula investing in youth and talent is the IT. Under president’s leading and put more investment in ICT sector, we can easily get our target in short future.”
After everyone viewed a short video summary of the competition, Mr. Wang Shun Li stated at the ceremony,
“This is the super competitiveness that Pakistan will rely on the youths who are equipped with ICT technology most in the future. For this mission, I really hope to be able to count on this partnership with all of you, together we can drive digital transformation of Pakistan and help to develop the next generations of local ICT talents to boost Pakistan digital economy.”
Sateesh Kumar, a member of Pakistan’s winning team, expressed gratitude for the chance, adding,
“In my first attempt, I could not quality for the finals but that didn’t come in the way of my drive, I tried harder & pushed my limits, added more skills and gave a second attempt in which I made my nation proud. Huawei gave us a wide range of opportunities through which my team and I can revolutionize our world, starting with Pakistan.”
To read our blog on, Pakistani students win top spots in the Huawei ICT Middle East Competition 2021, click here.
