The winners of the 8th Huawei ICT Competition Asia Pacific 2023-2024 were announced at an award ceremony jointly held by Huawei and the ASEAN Foundation at the ASEAN Headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. Under the theme "Connection, Glory, and Future", the regional competition drew enthusiastic participation from over 6,400 students from 14 countries and areas across Asia Pacific, including four teams from Thailand, two of which won top placements in the Network Track category and AI Track category, qualifying them to go on to the Global Final of the Huawei ICT Competition in Shenzhen, China, from 23-26 May 2024. The award ceremony was opened by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, and was attended by distinguished representatives from missions to ASEAN and international organisations.
Mr. Simon Lin, President of Huawei Asia Pacific, provided a retrospective on the competition: “Beginning in 2023, we added a new Computing Track, together with the Network, Cloud, and Innovation track. Moreover, we designed more interactive activities to enhance the students’ leadership and employment skills. Together with governments, industry, and academia partners, we hope to cultivate future leaders, practitioners, and innovators in this region.”
The grand prizes of this year’s Asia Pacific competition were awarded to the Philippines’ Cebu Institute of Technology for the Innovation Track, Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Bandung for the Network Track, Singapore Polytechnic for the Cloud Track, and the Philippines’ i-Academy for the newly added Computing Track. In addition, 16 other teams from across the region, including teams from Thailand’s King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Chiang Mai University, were awarded first, second, and third prizes, qualifying them to represent Asia Pacific at the Global Final of the Huawei ICT Competition.
Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Director and Representative, UNESCO Regional Office in Jakarta extended his appreciation to Huawei for being “a committed partner of UNESCO-GSA and for demonstrating its dedication to providing free online certification training for learners worldwide through the Huawei ICT Academy program, cultivating ICT Talents”.
Dr. Piti Srisangnam, Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation highlighted the essential role of digital literacy: “In ASEAN and across the Asia Pacific, digital literacy and proficiency are not just desirable skills; they are essential for economic growth, social development, and global competitiveness.”
The Huawei ICT Competition serves as a dynamic platform for students to engage in healthy competition and idea exchange while bolstering their ICT knowledge and practical skills. This year marks the 8th iteration of the competition in Asia Pacific since its launch in 2016, with the initiative not only boosting the innovative capacities of the participating students, but also playing a crucial role in narrowing the digital talent divide. Huawei is committed to further expanding its educational impact, with plans to establish 500 ICT Academies that aim to nurture over 200,000 students by 2025.
Thai team from Chiang Mai University who won an award at the Huawei ICT Competition Asia Pacific 2023-2024
The Thai teams from Thailand’s King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Chiang Mai University who won top three placements in the Network Track category and AI track, respectively, sealed their victories thanks to their innovative technology applications that seek to better the lives of others.
Initially, 317 Thai students from across 14 universities competed at the national round of the competition, from which four teams qualified to compete at the Asia Pacific round. Following the conclusion of the Asia Pacific award ceremony, the two winning Thai teams commented on their satisfaction at making it through to the global finals, expressing that the competition allowed them to gain a lot of experience and learn more technical skills related to their field as well as better ways to communicate within their team. Both teams also shared their plans to further develop their projects for the global competition with the aim of bringing back the top prizes.
Huawei is strongly committed to Thailand’s digital development in line with its commitment to ‘Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand’ and to ‘Lead Everyone Forward, Leave No One Behind’ for the ASEAN region. Looking forward, Huawei will continue providing cutting-edge solutions and talent cultivation initiatives and programs that foster growth, efficiency, competitiveness, as well as local collaborations with the aim of advancing technology, facilitating digital transformation, and contributing to Thailand’s economic growth, helping drive Thailand to become a future digital hub of ASEAN.