RIYADH — The national winners in Saudi Arabia from this year’s Huawei Middle East ICT Competition, held in partnership with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), have now been announced as six students are selected to move on to the final stage of the competition. The six national winners from Saudi Arabia will form two teams to participate in the regional finals of this year’s event. The annual competition welcomes thousands of college and university students from Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, enhancing students’ future employment through knowledge sharing on the latest ICT developments. Due to social distancing rules, this year’s Huawei Middle East ICT Competition saw students participate virtually. All registered students took part in a preliminary competition and training enablement, followed by a national exam that was held in Huawei’s offices in Saudi Arabia. A total of 18 students made it through the preliminary round of the competition to compete in the national final. The six winners will move on to the third and final phase of the Huawei Middle East ICT Competition, forming two teams to represent Saudi Arabia against their peers from around the region. Each team will be joined by a tutor from a university in the Kingdom, who will instruct and guide them through the final exam, which will take place in designated Huawei labs in Saudi Arabia. In addition to moving onto the next stage, the national winners received honors such as a Huawei certification and other awards. Congratulating the winners, Terry He, CEO of Huawei KSA, said: “Our congratulations go out to the six national winners, as well as everyone who participated in this year’s competition, and our heartfelt thanks and appreciation go to our partners in this endeavor. “Building local ICT talent is an investment in the future of the country itself, and will ultimately equip the Kingdom to better pursue digital transformation, national development plans, and ambitious visions. This year’s competition was well-received amongst the local student community, who adapted to the virtual edition with great ease, demonstrating their flexibility and innovative spirit.” Eng. Faris AlSaqabi, assistant deputy minister for future skills & digital knowledge at MCIT, said: “The Huawei Middle East ICT Competition is an exceptional platform to foster an interest in this essential sector. We are proud to have supported this initiative once again, as we believe in the value of nurturing young talent who will represent a connected future for our country.” Zhao Liuqing, minister counselor for economic and commercial affairs at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, attended the national final. He said: “There is a long history of cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, and a great friendship between our people. We commend the work of the leadership, government, and Huawei to grow the ICT sector by investing in local talent development.” Huawei is committed to growing the global ICT talent ecosystem by investing in youth and providing development and training opportunities that will enable them to become leaders in the ICT field. Through this worldwide social responsibility initiative, Huawei seeks to enhance knowledge transfer, promote a greater understanding of and interest in the technology sector, and to encourage regional participation in the growth of the digital community and economy. In 2020 specifically, virtual activities such as skills-development training and roadshows have been conducted in coordination with Huawei’s state-of-the-art labs and leveraging Huawei’s global experts worldwide. The addition of an Innovation Competition in 2020 has also helped raise the bar in promoting local innovation, supporting participants in using cutting-edge ICT platforms to create valuable and meaningful applications for society. — SG