China’s Huawei and Addis Ababa University (AAU) on Tuesday inaugurated an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) practice center in AAU's Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT).
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The project aims to deliver a hands-on practical experience for students and professionals, targeting to train more than 2,000 engineers including students and teachers to boost Ethiopia's talent ecosystem in the coming three years.
It is implemented with an investment amounting to US$2.1 million, including a donation of equipment worth about US$1.9 million for training and demonstration.
Huawei installed the demo equipment on the premises of the AAU Pharmacy Campus and will operate it for three years period, after which, Addis Ababa University will fully take over the ownership of the practice center. Huawei also handed over a US$30,000 scholarship fund to Addis Ababa University for 10 postgraduate students annually within 3 years.
Huawei is currently implementing multiple projects benefiting thousands of students and industrial practitioners with a view of building ICT capacity and improving ICT development in Ethiopia. These projects include the flagship program Huawei ICT Academy, Huawei ICT Competition, Seeds for the Future exchange program, as well as ICT Handshaking forum - a job fair connecting the industry and ICT talents.
Since the first ICT academy launched in 2018, Huawei has partnered with 36 universities on educational activities. It also aligned with Jobs Creation Commission in talent cultivation and hiring projects.
"Building a long-term relation and platform for resource sharing, joint development efforts, and mutual benefits is the responsibility for us all. I firmly believe Huawei-AUU ICT Practice Center, together with Huawei ICT Academy will be the cornerstone in achieving this common target," said Philippe Wang, Executive Vice-President of Huawei Northern Africa.