The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the world’s top annual trade fair in the mobile communications sector, organised in Barcelona, Spain, for 18 consecutive years.
This year’s edition is expected to host more than 95,000 visitors, who can enjoy the latest technological innovations from a large number of companies.
Brought together by GSMA, the organization that unites more than 1,000 mobile operators and companies from across the ecosystem and related industries to promote innovation, standards and best practices, this annual congress allows numerous professionals, innovators, creators and leaders to be up to date on the most cutting-edge technological advances and highlights of the ICT industry.
With the accelerated technological advancements in telecom networks, smart consumer devices, cloud, AI, blockchain, big data, fintech and more, long-term commitment for ICT talent cultivation is crucial to fill the talent gap, bridge the digital divide and drive the future development of technological innovations. In order to push the boundaries of national and regional developments of the digital economy, the world needs strong ecosystem for talent training.
As a leading industry event, MWC 2024 provides a unique opportunity for global companies to review their talent cultivation strategy in collaboration with wide range of partners and players in the same field. Talent Arena is one of MWC 2024’s key areas. It revolves around talent and digital skills, offering a platform for both competition and collaboration.
Developing talent
Huawei, a leading global ICT vendor with talent ecosystem as key pillar of its business strategy, held its Talent Summit during MWC 2024. The summit brought representatives from governments, international organisations and universities, as well as journalists and students. It featured governmental views on talent ecosystem development, projects and best practices of Huawei and its partners in recent years. Creative innovations and leadership scenarios from young generation, with special focus on outstanding achievements by women in the technology field, were also discussed.
At the summit, Huawei made announcements relevant to several talent development initiatives. These included the launch of the applications for the global ITU-Huawei Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme; the announcement that the joint project between Huawei and UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) will be implemented in Morocco; and Huawei Cloud’s startups programme.
The theme of the event was “I C Talent: Nurturing Excellence in a Digital World”. Attendees included representatives from international organizations like ITU and UNESCO. Government officials from Greece, Kenya, and Mexico, female industry leaders, entrepreneurs participating in the Huawei Cloud Startup Program, and participants in Seeds for the Future and several top competitions, also attended.
Speaking on behalf of Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Mario Maniewicz, Director of the ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau, launched the ITU Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme in partnership with Huawei. “Youth aged 18 to 28 can submit their ideas for community projects addressing the digital divide and receive funding, mentoring, and training for implementation.”
Huawei joined UNESCO’s Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) as an associate member last year, and signed a partnership agreement with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL). Vicky Zhang, Vice President of Huawei’s Corporate Communications Dept, said, “Huawei has long been committed to cultivating digital talent around the world. I’m happy to see that our joint projects with partners are going on smoothly. I hope more people can participate in these projects. Stay connected and be role models for others, we become more than the sum of our individual parts. This is how an inclusive digital future will be shaped.”
Middle East in focus
In the Middle East region, Huawei implements many talent training programs and initiatives, including its flagship CSR program Seeds For The Future. The program offers a unique platform where young minds can exchange ideas, network with international peers, and gain valuable insights into the ICT sector that will shape their future and promote their participation in the digital community. Since its launch in 2008, more than 15,000 students have participated from 139 countries worldwide. The program has been endorsed by more than 450 senior officials and heads of states.
Since its launch in 2017, Huawei’s Middle East & Central Asia ICT Competition has become one of the largest and most influential initiative in the region. It is a powerful program for cultivating ICT talent and supporting the optimization of countries’ national competitiveness with ICT future leaders. The competition has received support and endorsements from UNESCO and more than 20 regional ministries, operators, and industry partners. More than 27,500 students from over 600 universities across 21 countries participated in 2023 edition of the Middle East & Central Asia Huawei ICT Competition. Twenty-two teams consisting of 66 national winners from 11 Middle Eastern & Central Asian countries, including Bahrain, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman, participated in the regional finals held in the Kingdom of Bahrain from December 19 to 21, 2023.
Young talents shine at Huawei ICT Competition’s ME&CA finals
Strong academy network
As a global leading ICT solution provider, Huawei advocates for an open, shared, ICT talent ecosystem that benefits all parties. In 2013, Huawei launched its ICT Academy, a school-enterprise cooperation project that involves higher education institutions, to help build that talent ecosystem. Today, Huawei operates 2,600 ICT academies in 110 countries, utilizing more than 11,000 instructors to train over 200,000 students yearly. The Huawei ICT Academy program is a partnership between Huawei and universities that aims to share Huawei’s cutting-edge ICT technologies with universities worldwide and cultivate new ICT talent.
As the ICT industry transforms, the key to maintaining rapid development, seizing opportunities, and making progress in the new era is treating talent as the industry’s most important resource. To date, Huawei’s talent training and education projects have been implemented in more than 150 countries and have benefited more than 2.83 million people.
