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Herald Reporter
The three Zimbabwean students who represented the country at the Huawei Global ICT Competition held in Shenzhen, China, recently, scooped the third prize in a competition participated by over 2 000 universities from across the world.
The universities were drawn from 74 countries.
This was the second time Zimbabwe was represented at the prestigious Huawei competition, after emerging number one in the Sub-Saharan semi-finals held in February.
Huawei director of public relations under the Southern Region, Jane Zhang, said the Zimbabwean team displayed exceptional capabilities in the network category during the semi-finals.
An instructor from the University of Zimbabwe who accompanied the students, Mr Benard Mapako, said participation at the global level was a clear testimony that Zimbabwe can be developed by its people (Nyika inovakwa nevena vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo).
Zimbabwe can leverage Huawei’s active participation in the open source community and take advantage of the free operating system, Open Euler, and free applications such as OpenGaus.
The Huawei ICT Competition aims to provide students with a platform to compete healthily and exchange ideas, thus enhancing their ICT knowledge and practical skills as well as increasing their ability to innovate by using new technologies and platforms.
Panashe Marisa, a student from the TelOne Centre for Learning who participated in the global competition, thanked Huawei for the opportunity.
He said it was a great chance to broaden his horizons and gain new perspectives.
Marisa was also excited about learning new culture, customs and traditions.
“The trip to China was a dream come true,” said Marisa.
Vimbai Matonhodze, a student from University of Zimbabwe said: “I was a bit nervous since I was the only girl who managed to participate in the global competition and travelling to a foreign country, but I am so excited to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself.
“I believe this competition helped me to grow both personally and professionally.”
Team Zimbabwe had a chance to visit the Huawei Research and Development Centre in Beijing, where the closing ceremony was held.
The ceremony was graced by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Ambassador Frederick Shava, who saluted Huawei for the work it is doing of capacitating students.
He called for more investments in research and development and encouraged the students to consider pursuing careers in technology.
Online Reporter