Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful with some of the beneficiaries. Also in the picture are officials from Huawei, the Chinese Embassy and the Ministry of Communications

15 ICT students to attend 2017 Huawei Seed for the Future in China

Severious Kale Dery Education May - 22 - 2017 , 07:33

Fifteen students selected from some of the tertiary institutions in the country will join other students from 95 countries in the world for this year’s “Huawei Seeds for the Future” in China for a 10-day educational programme.

The students, who are expected to leave Ghana on May 29, 2017, and return on June 10, 2017, are from the University of Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Ghana Technology University College and the Ashesi University College.

Seed for the Future

The Huawei Seed for the Future is Huawei Technologies’ global corporate social responsibility flagship programme initiated in 2008 to develop local information and communications technology (ICT) talents and enhance knowledge transfer.

It also seeks to promote a greater understanding of and interest in the telecommunications sector and improve as well as encourage regional building and participation in the digital community.

The beneficiaries, who will be hosted at the headquarters of Huawei Technologies in Shenzhen and also in Beijing will be equipped with ICT skills and future trends in technology.

Be good ambassadors

Addressing the beneficiaries at a brief ceremony in Accra last Friday, the Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, charged the students to be good ambassadors of Ghana and build international alliance with like-minded counterparts.

She reminded them that they were privileged to have been chosen and urged them to see it as an opportunity to learn and “plant a seed in you for your future in this area”.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful challenged the beneficiaries to justify the investment being made in them, reminding them that they would be leading lights in ICT in the country in the near future and urged them to make the most of it.

Gratitude to Huawei

She commended Huawei for its contribution in the country’s ICT, recalling its role in the building of the country’s data centre, the e-government project and the security communication network among others.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful thanked the government and the people of China and expressed the confidence that the programme would further cement the relationship between the two countries.

ICT talents

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Huawei Ghana, Mr Richard Liu Kang, explained that through the programme, the company sought to collaborate with the government, universities and other tertiary institutions to select top Ghanaian university students and young professionals from ICT-related departments, to offer them opportunities to study and gain work experience in a global business environment.

He said the 2017 version was the third in Ghana since it was launched in 2015 and so far, 25 Ghanaian students made up of 15 in 2015 and 10 in 2016 had benefitted from the programme.

China’s development miracle

The Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy to Ghana, Mr Jiang Zhouteng, said the programme would not only offer them an opportunity to learn and experience the latest ICT technologies, but also enable them to know more about China.

He said one of the most important reasons for China’s development miracle was that “China highly values the spirit of innovation, which is extremely important in the ICT industry”.

Mr Zhouteng said Huawei was a shining example of success stories among the Chinese high-tech companies, which put emphasis on innovation, adding: “So dear students, your study and training at the Huawei headquarters will not only help you acquire the latest ICT technologies, but you will also feel how the spirit of innovation works.”

Build bridges

Ghana’s Ambassador designate to China, Mr Edward Boateng, advised them to be good ambassadors, make good use of the opportunity, and urged them “to learn and build bridges” while there. He said he was confident that they would forever cherish the opportunity.

One of the beneficiaries who spoke on behalf of the other students, Ms Mina Pokuaa Agyemang, from the University of Ghana, expressed gratitude to Huawei and the Ministry of Communications for giving them the opportunity to be part of the programme and said they were looking forward to acquiring knowledge which they would use to impact on society when they return.