The 5th installment of the Huawei ICT Competition 2020 in Pakistan is underway with roadshows having just been concluded all over the country. The competition is being held in partnership with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Due to the restrictions placed by Covid-19, what were once traditional roadshows were substituted with virtual roadshows and awareness sessions.
Virtual roadshows and awareness sessions were conducted at over 30 universities all around Pakistan by Huawei’s Talent Ecosystem Development team and its authorized learning partners like Al-KICS and Corvit. More than 10,000 students registered for the international competitive and communication-based platform hoping to increase their ICT knowledge, improve their practice and application skills, as well as spread innovation awareness.
During this week, all of the registered participants will sit for the next stage of the competition, known as the preliminary exam. So far, 20 on-site locations have been finalized, while the rest of the exams will take place virtually. All government-issued SOP’s will be followed during the on-site examinations. The results of the preliminary exam will come out next week and the top students will make it to the next stage of the competition; enablement training and certification exam.
The top students from preliminary exams will attend the enablement training in the coming weeks and the Huawei certification exams by the end of the training at different locations on-site or virtually all across Pakistan including the Mehran University Of Engineering And Technology Jamshoro (MUET), Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences(BUITEM), National University Of Science And Technology(NUST), University Of Engineering And Technology Lahore, University Of Engineering And Technology Taxila amongst other key universities of Pakistan. In this round students will attend different training sessions related to different ICT Technologies. After these training sessions, the students will participate in the HCIA Certification Exam.
The top students from the Enablement training and certification exam will qualify for Labs and interview session, known as the National Final Round. The top 6 students will be selected and will represent Pakistan in the Middle East Regional finals by the end of December.
Winners of the regional competitions will receive a certification, future learning opportunities, a USD$20,000 cash prize, exam vouchers, Huawei mobile, and more. This version of the competition was first conceived in 2016 and was designed for the betterment of students, not just domestic, but globally.
Last year, 12,000+ students from across Pakistan 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 Pakistan’s top-ranking universities. Two teams traveled to China to compete at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China, where they came in second and third places in the Global Final; a great accomplishment on an international scale.
The current aim is to provide an internationally competitive and communication-based platform for Huawei ICT Academy and college students who wish to become a part of these ICT academies; this would enable an increase in students’ ICT knowledge, improve their practice, and application skills, as well as spread innovation awareness. While all these things are being achieved, the competition has become an international talent exchange and cooperation platform alongside these successes. The future of a Digital Pakistan remains within reach.