Future of the ICT Industry in Safe Hands as Huawei Announces the Winners in its ICT Skill Competition in Western Europe

READING, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Huawei celebrated the 1^st annual ICT Skill Competition in Western Europe 2017-2018 at a ceremony held at Henley Business School, University of Reading on 30^th April. The competition is sponsored by Huawei and aims to promote vital ICT skills in the next generation of technology professionals.

“Henley Business School is honoured to work with Huawei in various fronts over the years, particularly in hosting this competition.”

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A wide range of key industry areas are covered by this competition and students gain expertise in big data, cloud computing technologies, IT storage systems, data centre management, computer networks, Huawei technologies, and much more. Use of Huawei technologies in the industry is rapidly increasing, and with big data and network hacking being such hot topics, this collaboration is ideally timed to support the industry in furthering practitioner knowledge and dealing with these complex matters.

Over 1,200 students from more than 75 institutions across Western Europe took part in the regional heat of this year’s competition. Students were tested in subject areas including WLAN Security, Routing & Switching, Security and Cloud Computing. The award ceremony was opened with a welcome given by Mr Robert Yang, Vice President of Huawei Western Europe Enterprise Business Group, followed by a speech given by Professor John Board, Dean of Henley Business School, highlighting the importance of the collaboration between Henley and Huawei.

Professor Zhili Sun, Vice-Chair Academia of the Huawei ICT Academy Advisory Board, introduced the Huawei ICT Academy Programme, and Professor Yinshan Tang, Vice Dean (China) of Henley Business School, presented the success of Huawei ICT Academy at Henley, including its engagement with students.

The first prize in the Western Europe stage of the competition went to Mattia Silvestrini from Marche Polytechnic University, Italy. Six of the best performers in the regional heat now have the opportunity to compete at the competition’s global final which will take place in May 2018 at Huawei’s international headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

In addition to the student competition, the Outstanding University Award was presented to Henley Business School, UK and the University of Alicante in Spain, in recognition of their outstanding performance in ICT talent development. The Award was received by Professor Keiichi Nakata, Head of Business Informatic Systems & Accounting, at Henley Business School.

Mr. Robert Yang, Vice President of Huawei Western Europe Enterprise Business Group, said: “In entering the competition, students have learned essential skills required for today’s ICT industry and passed tough challenges that we set along the way.”

Professor Zhili Sun, Professor of Communication Networking at the University of Surrey, said: “I believe Huawei Academy Advisory Board, together with Huawei Technology, can benefit academia and our students.”

Professor Kecheng Liu, Henley Business School’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, Director of HAINA at Reading, sent his warm congratulations to all the winners, and said: “Henley Business School is honoured to work with Huawei in various fronts over the years, particularly in hosting this competition.”

Huawei ICT Academy organises the competition to develop the ICT professionals of the future, building a talent ecosystem with relevant skills and experience to power the entire industry and drive digital transformation. Huawei also works with governments, offers globally recognised certifications, graduate programs and joint R&D projects to help build a sustainable ICT ecosystem.