The opening ceremony of the 3rd Huawei ICT Competition in Pakistan. (Photo: Ding Xuezhen)

Islamabad (People’s Daily) – More than 10,000 Pakistani university students are expected to join an annual competition for information and communication technology (ICT) co-created by Chinese tech giant Huawei – which aims to improve interest in IT support for the country.

Shafqat Mahmood, federal minister for Education and Professional Training, praised the competition during its opening ceremony on Thursday in Islamabad. The event is co-organized by Huawei and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan.

“ICT competition is a great initiative to train students in this ever growing IT world,” Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said.

Yao also highlighted the role of the government in improving education and creating interest in IT, health, and the social sector.

Tariq Banuri, chairman for Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission, said the goals of the competition should be replicated by other organizations to encourage more students to become involved in information technology.

“Pakistan is home to unlimited potential with its core being the youth,” Saif Chi, Huawei Pakistan CEO, said. “With HEC’s support together we will be able to tap youth’s ICT talent which will contribute in the development of Pakistan’s ICT industry.”

In 2017, more than 7,000 Pakistani students from more than 30 universities registered for the competition. Six final winners were chosen for the competition’s finals, held in China, on behalf of the Middle East region.

Three of those finalists were also admitted to a six-month scholarship program at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China due to their excellent competition performance.