Huawei trains 122 SA students in AI

Huawei South Africa CEO Spawn Fan, speaking in August at the virtual opening ceremony of the 2020 Seeds for the Future training programme, announced that the company was providing free online training in artificial intelligence (AI) to 122 university and technical and vocational educational and training (TVET) college students in Gauteng and Limpopo.

THE TRAINING will enable the 122 students to design, develop and innovate AI products and solutions.

The initiative forms part of the company’s commitment to providing training in 4IR technologies such as 5G and cloud computing which Huawei South Africa kicked-off last year.

“To function in the emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution, ICT skills will be indispensable – for organisations, for individuals, and for society,” said Fan.

Seeds for the Future is Huawei’s global flagship CSR programme, designed to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge communication between countries and cultures. In South Africa the programme is run in partnership with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. Every year, a group of outstanding students are given the chance to study new technologies and experience Chinese culture on a study trip to Beijing and Shenzhen.

This year’s edition of the programme, which is being held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will see 50 course participants follow live-streamed lectures and online course material. The course includes modules on 5G broadband, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, as well as virtual tours of the Huawei campus in Dongguan, China; interactions with other course participants from around the world and access to Chinese cultural resources.

The launch was attended by South Africa’s Minster of Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who endorsed Huawei’s investment in youth ICT development and highlighted the importance of tech skills in the new economy. She said the government was committed to working with progressive partners that invest in the people of South Africa so they too can participate effectively and meaningfully in the digital future.

“Initiatives like Seeds of the Future give hope to South Africa,” the minister said, issuing a challenge to this year’s students. “You represent a new brigade, which will drive the Fourth Industrial Revolution we are committed to. We can’t do it without you.”

Fan said that Huawei was conscious of the need to enhance South Africa’s ICT ecosystem on every front, and that Seeds for the Future programme was part of its commitment to doing this. “We believe it is critical to unleash the potential of South Africa’s young people – especially women – so they can become agents of their own digital empowerment,” he said. ai