Harare (New Ziana) -Chinese multinational technology corporation Huawei has rewarded eight University of Zimbabwe students who excelled in a global computer networking competition held in the Asian country in June this year.
The students who are studying Information Communication Technology, received certificates and some Huawei mobile phones at a brief ceremony which was presided over by Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Tatenda Mavetera in the capital on Wednesday.
The program comprises select seeds who represent a network of over 15 000 alumni from 139 countries, where they share their experiences from the program, foster a connected alumni community and drive conversations related to digitalization, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.
Top 3 winning project teams will receive a US$100 000 start-up fund and the opportunity to attend the Start-up Sprint in China, to gain real-world business experience.
Speaking at the event, Mavetera challenged the students to commercialise their work so that they realise more economic benefits from their efforts.
“Indeed, let me applaud you and say you have done a very good thing, what you now need to do is continuously acquire more knowledge so that you can then be able to visualise what you are doing. We are also working with a plan that we want to do as a Ministry to make sure that we commercialise any programme that you are able to do,” she said.
“Yes you have got all prototypes that you are also able to design and come up with, but also there is that aspect whereby you now need to make it grow, make it visible so that everyone sees it, and for us as the Ministry of ICT, we are very much willing to make sure that we see you grow, we see you commercialise, so that it has great impact towards national security and also towards national development,” said Mavetera.
She also paid tribute to President Mnangagwa who is so passionate about ICTs saying the digital footprint being noticed throughout the country are testimony to that.
Mavetera said the huge gains recorded in the ICT sector so far have seen the set target of digital 2030 vision reduced to 2028, adding that the realisation of digital 2028 is only possible if all stakeholders work together.
In an interview with New Ziana, University of Zimbabwe ICT director Bernard Mapako said Huawei partnered with local universities in 2012 and formed ICT academies at the institutions of higher learning for the purpose of exchanging knowledge.
Through these academies, Mapako said students are exposed to different disciplines in terms of expertise such as data communication, artificial intelligence, data science as well as transmission among others.
“These are certifications which if our students managed to attain, they will be competitive at global level, they are recognised at global level, not only in Zimbabwe, so that is the importance of such an academy,” he said.
He said at the UZ, their aim is that upon graduating, their students would have acquired such skills so that they will be competitive on the job market.
