Malawi in Huawei ICT Southern Africa Region finals
Malawi recently competed in the Huawei ICT Southern Africa Regional Finals competition alongside 14 other countries in the region.
A release from Huawei highlights that the competition aims to promote a healthy development of the information communication technology (ICT) ecosystem and support the integration of the industry and education.
About 400 Malawian students registered from over 12 tertiary institutions between September and November last year, with national examinations held in December. From the national examinations, six students advanced to the regional finals.
The release indicated that Malawi’s network track team consisted of Foster Kalema from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must), Kondwani Chikaonda and Godbless Mlenga from the University of Malawi (Unima) while Unima’s Mariana Pachanya, Lexah Mbale and Mzuzu University’s James Kamwendo represented the country in the cloud track. Each regional finalist team was also awarded 10 000 yuan (about K2 340 000).
The annual competition provides young Malawians from all academic backgrounds knowledge to improve their ICT skills as well as gain valuable practical experience. The skills and capabilities can be applied to solve problems faced within the country as ICT is the backbone of development in this new digital age.
According to Yanqing Andrew Zhang, director of Huawei Southern African Region strategy and marketing, the tech company plans to provide 100 jobs for fresh graduates and more than 200 internships within the region. Most of these positions will be filled by students who have participated in the ICT competition, including those from Malawi, Zhang confirms.
Meanwhile, Huawei Technologies Limited has also been identified as a top employer for 2024 by the Top Employers Institute, with certification in two fields: Information technology and telecommunications.
Besides Malawi, Huawei Technologies has been certified in 21 other African countries, including South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Mauritius, Ghana, Botswana and Tanzania,” reads the release.
The Top Employers Institute is a global certification company that recognises companies excelling in terms of employee development, company culture and people management.
Through the institute’s annual certification programme, participating companies are assessed, surveyed and accredited as leading employers in respect of their human resources and people practices.
The institute’s chief executive officer David Plunk said: “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organisations and we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year. These employers have always shown that they care for the development and well-being of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work.”
The Top Employers Institute certified approximately 2 300 organisations across 121 countries worldwide.
Huawei Technologies Malawi Managing Director Gu Mu said the company prides itself on being a top employer in Malawi as 70 percent of the Malawi office staff comprises local employees.
“Furthermore, in 2023, Huawei introduced its campus recruitment programme in Malawi. The programme, which was launched at Must and Unima, aims to expand to more universities over the years. It seeks to recruit talented final year students and recent graduates. This top employer award will contribute to the success of our campus recruitment programme as students can rest assured that they are starting their careers with a leading company,” he said.
