Nine Kenyan students battle for top prize at Huawei's ICT Competition global final

A group of nine Kenyan students are among the top contestants at this year’s 10^th Huawei ICT competition global final.

The nine include Robert Wambua from Kenyatta University, Joy Wairimu from the Co-operative University of Kenya, Denzel Ninga from Multimedia University of Kenya, Melane Minayo, Joan Kinoti, and Faith Chepkoech, all from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Others are Salem Lumumba from Machakos University, Catherine Atieno from JKUAT and Brian Kamau from Mt Kenya University.

They are among 131 teams from more than 40 countries gathered in Shenzhen, China, for a practice competition.

This year's ICT Competition features six parts: Practice, Innovation, Programming, Teaching, Challenge, and Entrepreneur.

The Practice Competition attracted more than 210,000 student participants worldwide, setting a new record high.

Following multiple rounds of national and regional competitions, 131 teams advanced to the Global Final and gathered in Shenzhen to compete for glory.

The Practice Competition covers four technology tracks: Network, Cloud, Computing, and Ascend AI. They are designed to assess students' ICT knowledge, hands-on technical skills, and teamwork.

While the Network Track focuses on data communication, data centre network (DCN), security and wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, the Cloud Track evaluates expertise in cloud services, cloud-native technologies, and AI.

The Computing Track covers openEuler, openGauss, and Kunpeng application development, as the Ascend AI Track spans AI fundamentals, the full-stack Ascend AI platform, model training and tuning, and model inference and application development.

Participants will complete an intensive eight-hour lab exam, demonstrating both theoretical knowledge and real-world problem-solving skills.

At the opening ceremony of each track, leaders from Huawei's data communication, cloud, computing, and software services shared their perspectives on emerging technology trends. They encouraged students to strengthen their practical skills, innovative thinking, and ability to solve complex industry challenges.

"AI is changing fast and breaking new ground. As AI scales rapidly, networks are increasingly connecting massive computing resources with a vast ecosystem of intelligent applications and endpoints. They play a decisive role in shaping the security and accessibility of AI, and have become a critical infrastructure for the intelligent world," said Wuger Xue, Vice President, Strategy and Industry Development of Huawei Data Communication Product Line.

He said Huawei is committed to developing the next generation of data communication talent through a comprehensive approach that combines professional certification, industry-academia collaboration, and hands-on, real-world practice.

His remarks were echoed by Tang Guojun, General Manager of Huawei Cloud Academy, who said Cloud-native technologies, foundation models, and generative AI are spreading rapidly.

“The world is facing a growing shortage of skilled ICT professionals and experienced developers. To address this, Huawei is expanding its developer ecosystem, helping young talent build skills for innovation and growth, and working with developers around the world to strengthen the technology base and shape a shared digital future,” said Guojun.

In addition to the Practice, Innovation, and Programming Competitions, the Global Final will also host the Huawei Most Valuable Instructor Forum 2026 and the AI Accelerating Education Transformation Summit.

Here, industry experts, university educators, media representatives, and Huawei leaders will share best practices in industry-academia collaboration and explore new approaches to talent development in the intelligent world.

The final results of the competitions will be announced at the Closing & Awards Ceremony on June 5.