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Eight of the kingdom’s brightest information and communications technology (ICT) university students have embarked on an educational journey through China as part of Huawei Bahrain’s Seeds for the Future initiative.
Since 2008, the global ICT solutions provider has been sending Bahrain’s aspiring top techies on all-expense paid trips around the world with the aim of further developing their talents, enhancing their knowledge in the field, promoting a greater interest in the sector and encouraging their participation in the digital community.
This corporate social responsibility programme has benefited more than 20,000 students from 200 universities and has been implemented in 78 countries across five continents.
Fengnan Paul, Huawei Bahrain’s country manager, said: “What makes this programme unique is that it offers first-hand learning opportunities through interactions with our staff and visits to our laboratories where the students can witness live demonstrations of the latest ICT technology up close.”
This year, selected students from University of Bahrain, Bahrain Polytechnic and Ahlia University spent two-weeks touring through Beijing and Shenzhen.
Fengnan said: “Our aim was to hone the e-skills of Bahrain’s most promising students and helping them stay up- to-date with the latest developments in ICT, as well as giving them a broader, international perspective. “We collaborated with governments, higher education institutes and other organisations to select the top students and give them the opportunity to study and gain work experience at Huawei’s headquarters in China. “This trip enabled students to gain exposure to Chinese culture and cross-cultural work experience in a globalized
business environment. “This experience of working in a multinational company and environment would, without a doubt, raise their value in today’s competitive job market and prepare them for leadership roles in the future.”
During the first week, they were hosted at Huawei’s Baicao Garden headquarters in Shenzhen where they gained knowledge and insight into the latest technology innovations as well as direct access to hands-on mentorship and training led by the company’s experts.
The students then completed the second week at the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) to promote cultural exchange between the countries as well as gain a better understanding of China’s rich history, art and civilisation through accredited courses and city tours.
Ahlia Univeristy IT major, Haitham Alhaddad, 22, from Muharraq, said: “Our schedule was packed with activities! At the headquarters, we learned about Huawei’s telecommunication technology as well as about their cloud technology, smartphones, security and more.
In Beijing, we focused on China’s amazing culture and language. I have learned a lot throughout this trip andalso met with delegates from different countries such as Ukraine and Senegal.
“Programmes like this are integral to our development as individuals and to the development of Bahrain as a whole. The leaders of tomorrow are the active and hardworking youth of today.
“I would like to give my sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire faculty of Huawei. I hope that I can use my new knowledge to help the growth of our youth communities in Bahrain as well as contributing to the development of technologies in our generation.”
