Huawei ICT Competition 2024–2025 Global Final Concludes: Malaysian Universities Shine Amidst Global ICT Talent Development

TL;DR:

• The Huawei ICT Competition 2024–2025 Global Final, a record-breaking event, has concluded in Shenzhen.
• The competition attracted over 210,000 participants from over 100 countries, with 179 teams reaching the Global Final.
• Malaysian universities, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), secured First Prize and Third Prize respectively in key categories.
• The event emphasized the pivotal role of AI in education transformation and addressing the global ICT talent shortage through practical skills development.

The eagerly anticipated Closing & Awards Ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition 2024–2025 Global Final was successfully orchestrated today in Shenzhen, China. Now in its ninth iteration, this year’s event has achieved an unprecedented scale, drawing the participation of over 210,000 students and dedicated instructors from more than 2,000 colleges and universities spanning over 100 countries and regions. Following rigorous national and regional competitions, a formidable contingent of 179 teams from 48 diverse countries and regions earned their coveted spots in the Global Final.

Through an intense and highly competitive series of challenges across three pivotal tracks—Practice, Innovation, and Programming—top honors were conferred upon 18 truly outstanding teams hailing from nine distinct nations: China, Algeria, Brazil, the Philippines, Morocco, Nigeria, Serbia, Tanzania, and Singapore. Notably, Malaysian institutions demonstrated significant prowess on the global stage.

Malaysian Universities Achieve Recognition in Global Competition

The Huawei ICT Competition serves as a crucial platform for cultivating and recognizing talent in critical technology domains. Malaysian universities showcased their capabilities prominently during this year’s Global Final:

• Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) achieved a remarkable First Prize in the highly competitive Innovation Competition. This recognition underscores USM’s commitment to fostering groundbreaking technological solutions and aligns with the competition’s focus on green development and digital inclusion.
• Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) secured a commendable Third Prize in the Practice Competition – Computing Track. This achievement highlights UTAR’s strong foundation in practical computing skills, essential for navigating the complexities of an increasingly intelligent and digital world.

These accolades for Malaysian institutions reflect the nation’s growing emphasis on developing high-caliber ICT professionals, capable of competing and innovating on a global scale.

Innovation and Practice: Addressing Real-World Challenges

The Grand Prize winners of the Innovation Competition included distinguished teams from the Bulacan State University in the Philippines, Beijing University of Technology in China, Faculty of Technical Sciences Čačak of the University of Kragujevac in Serbia, and the Faculty of Sciences and Technics of Errachidia – Moulay Ismail University in Morocco. These projects focused on leveraging ICT to solve tangible challenges in various sectors.

In the Practice Competition, which tests students’ mastery of practical ICT skills, Grand Prizes were awarded across multiple tracks:

• Network Track: Grand Prizes were conferred upon teams from the Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology in China, Instituto Federal do Tocantins in Brazil, Federal University of Technology Minna in Nigeria, and a joint team representing Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, University of Dar es Salaam, and University of Dodoma in Tanzania.
• Cloud Track: Grand Prize winners included teams from iACADEMY in the Philippines, University of Batna 2 and the Higher National School of Computer Science Algiers in Algeria, Tianjin University of Technology and Education in China, and Singapore University of Social Sciences.
• Computing Track: The Grand Prizes in this category went to teams from Guilin University of Electronic Technology in China, Federal University of Technology Minna in Nigeria, University of Bejaia and Higher National School of Computer Science SBA in Algeria, and Cebu Institute of Technology – University in the Philippines.

The Grand Prize in the Programming Competition was awarded to a team from Shenzhen Polytechnic University in China, acknowledging their exceptional coding prowess.

Recognizing Broader Contributions to ICT Excellence

Beyond purely technical achievements, the Huawei ICT Competition 2024–2025 Global Final also celebrated outstanding contributions through special honors. The prestigious Women in Tech Award was granted to four exemplary all-female teams hailing from Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Kenya, recognizing their significant achievements and encouraging greater female participation in technology. The Green Development Award was bestowed upon a team from Ghana, highlighting innovative solutions for sustainable development. Furthermore, the Most Valuable Instructor Award recognized 18 distinguished instructors from 10 countries—China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Hungary, and Türkiye—for their profound contributions to nurturing the next generation of ICT talent.

Ritchie Peng, Director of the ICT Strategy & Business Development Dept at Huawei, emphasized the evolution of the competition’s design in his opening speech: “To achieve the goal of learning through competition and inspiring innovation through competition, we have continuously evolved the design of competition topics. The Practice Competition aligns with our vision for an Intelligent World 2030 and encourages students to master cloud computing, big data, and AI to drive social progress. The Innovation Competition focuses on green development and digital inclusion, motivating participants to solve real-world challenges in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education through ICT.”

AI’s Role in Education Transformation and Talent Development

As digital transformation accelerates globally, the demand for highly skilled professionals in critical fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, and cybersecurity continues to escalate. However, a noticeable shortage of talent in these crucial areas is becoming increasingly evident across industries. To proactively address this pervasive challenge, the Huawei ICT Competition incorporates multiple tracks—including Practice, Innovation, and Programming—alongside strategic initiatives such as robust industry-academia collaboration and the development of tailored curricula. These concerted efforts are designed to equip students with highly in-demand skills and to foster the emergence of the next-generation tech talent who will undeniably excel in an increasingly intelligent and digital world.

During this year’s competition, Huawei also hosted the “AI Accelerating Education Transformation Summit,” where leading experts engaged in profound discussions exploring the pivotal role of AI in shaping smart education paradigms. Concurrently, Huawei officially announced the AI Capability of the Huawei ICT Academy Intelligent Platform, an initiative poised to render ICT education more accessible and efficient for both educators and students alike. This significant announcement marks another substantial step forward in advancing educational digitalization globally.

For more comprehensive details about the Huawei ICT Competition, interested parties are encouraged to visit Huawei’s official mini-site: https://www.huawei.com/minisite/ict-competition-2024-2025-global/en/index.html.