Huawei opens call for students for Seeds for the Future programme

Huawei will soon open the call for the sixth annual staging of its Seeds for the Future programme, the company’s flagship global corporate social responsibility initiative.

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students from UWI and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) will be invited to apply for the programme which will be online for the second time owing to covid19.

Non-STEM students with a keen interest in technology can also apply and special emphasis will be placed on ensuring there is an uptake in the female participation rate.

Since 2016, Huawei, UWI and UTT have worked jointly to build a stronger ICT ecosystem by promoting ICT skills training and capacity building through the programme in TT, helping ICT students fill the gaps between theory learned in the classroom and practice in the industry, and so master the required skills needed for the new digital economy.

The programme seeks to develop local ICT talent, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve young people's understanding of and interest in the ICT sector.

Over the last five years, 50 students have participated in the Seeds for the Future programme and of those, 30 have travelled to China for two weeks of hands-on instruction on Chinese culture and the latest technological innovations at the Huawei international headquarters.

In 2020, 20 outstanding students took part in the first edition of the virtual programme, giving more students the chance to participate and interact with experts from across the globe on subjects such as the latest in 5G, cloud and AI technology, leadership and business, just to name a few.

Additionally, Huawei has so far provided direct employment to three of its outstanding Seeds for the Future graduates, with a pledge to increase future training opportunities at the company through internships.

This year, 20 more local students will join with others from over 500 universities around the world to participate in an immersive and interactive eight-day online programme, with both livestream and pre-recorded courses available on Huawei’s free online learning platform iLearningX.

The session will give students exposure to cutting-edge technology, exclusive thought-provoking sessions with global visionary industry leaders, history of Huawei and its technological developments, and exploration of Asian culture.

Participants will also receive an official programme graduation certificate, with the top student receiving a special award.

Additionally, this year students will participate in the newly launched Tech4Good project. This project will challenge participants to examine how to leverage technology to address the country’s most pressing social and environmental issues.

“Today, ICT infrastructure and networks are as vital to the prosperity and competitiveness of countries and industries as electricity and transportation,” a release from the company said. “Over the years, Huawei has led industry development with its cutting-edge technologies while investing heavily into cultivating ICT professionals. Alongside its partners, Huawei is dedicated to promoting communication technologies and knowledge, developing ICT talent, and increasing access to education.

“The ICT industry is growing rapidly, resulting in significantly changed business models and customer needs. As a result, the ICT industry urgently needs a large number of technical talent in order to address the challenges posed by this transformation.

"However, in many countries there is a huge gap between what is taught in classrooms and the skills that are needed in the real world. Therefore, professionals should be given opportunities to learn about and apply the latest technologies in their domains.”

Huawei will host a virtual information session for students to learn more about the programme, after which the students will have the chance to apply.

The Seeds for the Future programme will run in TT from October 25-November 1.

For more information on the Seeds for the Future programme, visit: https://www.huawei.com/minisite/seeds-for-the-future/program.html.