Team Future Gadget Lab from Kuwait and Team Beyond Limits from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) won first and second place, respectively, in the regional semifinal of the fourth annual Tech4Good Competition that was held concurrently with the Seeds for the Future 2024 Programme in Tashkent.

Huawei, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, celebrated the culmination of the regional finals of the Seeds for the Future 2024 programme with a grand awards ceremony in Tashkent.

The teams were recognised by judges for their innovative use of technology to assist stroke patients with limited hand mobility. They will go on to compete in the finals in China alongside qualifying teams from around the world and explore ICT’s huge potential to drive sustainable development.

Similarly, Team Nabeeh from Saudi Arabia, Team Sufun from Oman, and Team AquaLucens from Bahrain were recognised for their outstanding projects. Amanzhan Sabyrgali, representing Kazakhstan, and Zainab Al Zaimoor, part of the Bahraini contingent, were chosen as the Mentors’ Favourites in recognition of their skills, team spirit, and positive influence on their teams during the competition.

The closing ceremony was also attended by Rustam Karimjonov, Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Nausheen Adnan, Member of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Advisor to the Chief Minister on Educational Reforms.

Shunli Wang, Vice President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, said, “The 2024 edition of the Huawei Seeds for the Future programme is particularly significant as it marks both the 10th anniversary of the programme in Uzbekistan and the 25th anniversary of Huawei’s operations in this nation. We are grateful to our sponsor, the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, for their fervent support and for enabling us to celebrate this momentous occasion in Uzbekistan. We are confident this gathering was instrumental in nurturing the region’s burgeoning ICT talent and empowering the youth to lead digital innovation and shape the region’s sustainable future.”

Rustam Karimjonov, Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, stated, “Huawei is significantly contributing to Uzbekistan’s digital transformation story. We are delighted to host the Seeds for the Future 2024 programme, as we strongly believe skill-based development and industry exposure are essential for students to drive innovation in the digital economy. We are grateful to Huawei for organising such competitions and allowing students in our region to challenge themselves and learn from industry leaders. Initiatives like Seeds for the Future are pivotal in equipping our youth with industry knowledge and strengthening the ICT talent ecosystem in our region.”

Nausheen Adnan, Member of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Advisor to the Chief Minister on Educational Reforms, said, “It is truly inspiring to witness the talent and enthusiasm of these young minds representing their countries at the closing ceremony of the Seeds for the Future programme. I would like to express my appreciation to Huawei for providing a platform for our students to develop their ICT skills at a global stage. Programmes like these are crucial to equip students, develop the region’s talent, and mark a giant leap towards the digital era.”

This year’s edition of the Seeds for the Future programme brought together 150 university students from 14 countries across the Middle East and Central Asia, representing leading universities from countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Uzbekistan. The week-long event saw participants develop their Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) skills and work towards global digital inclusion while enhancing their cultural understanding through a series of sessions, classes, competitions, and cultural programmes.

The Tech4Good competition aims to empower and engage the youth in driving positive change within their communities. This unique platform encourages young minds to address pressing social issues by harnessing the immense potential of the latest ICT technologies.

As part of the programme, the students participated in five days of intensive training sessions and workshops in Tashkent, covering cutting-edge ICT technologies, scientific and technological leadership, discussions on global topics, Tech4Good group projects, etc. Through learning and mutual exchange, participants gained a better understanding of 5G, AI, and cloud technologies, built more strengths for future growth, and improved their competitiveness in the job market. Students were also provided the opportunity to visit and connect with professionals at Huawei and Artel, Central Asia’s leading electronics manufacturer and one of Uzbekistan’s largest companies.

Huawei’s Seeds for the Future programme is the company’s flagship CSR initiative that aims to develop ICT talents globally. Since its launch in 2008, more than 18,000 students from 141 countries have participated. With endorsements from more than 360 senior officials and heads of state, the programme has collaborated with over 500 universities and colleges to cultivate a new generation of ICT leaders and innovators.

Netcracker Technology  announced today that its long-standing customer Swisscom has deployed Netcracker’s Network Domain
Orchestration (NDO) solution to modernize the IT landscape of the operator’s new terabit IP transport aggregation network (TITAN). This initiative is part of a large-scale OSS transformation program at Swisscom to create a more flexible, future-proof and automated modern digital architecture with lower operational costs. Netcracker NDO provides a unifying automation solution incorporating real-time and federated inventory for end-to-end visibility and a single source of truth. It also provides efficient network planning and design that speeds up network rollouts and a DevOps-based design studio to rapidly
onboard new devices using vendor-agnostic resource modelling. The solution enables highly automated processes, from device onboarding to rollout planning, physical and logical discovery and reconciliation, and works with any mix of transport network vendors. The cloud-native solution allows Swisscom to share TITAN inventory data in real-time – using open APIs – with multiple external systems using state-of-the-art communication techniques. The deployment of NDO will give Swisscom the ability to go to market more quickly, reduce costs for network rollout, development and operations and improve the autonomy of its teams.
“We have worked very closely with Netcracker over the years and value our partnership, which has led to business success in different areas,” said Bram Van der Zwet, Lead Architect, Networks & Infrastructure at Swisscom. “The automation of our new IP transport network is a major undertaking that will result in a number of improvements across the network and IT, and
we are happy to have Netcracker alongside us once again.” “Swisscom is one of the most innovative operators in Europe, and we are very proud of the confidence they have placed in us to be part of their new IP transport network,” said Benedetto
Spaziani, GM at Netcracker. “With our NDO solution, we look forward to helping Swisscom deliver positive outcomes for the business as it continues to revolutionize the market.”

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia
UAE), has launched the 4th cycle of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award. With total prizes of
USD 1 million, the Award aims to recognise organisations, research centres, and innovators who develop innovative
technologies and prototypes to produce, distribute, desalinate, and purify water using renewable energy. The aim is to
find solutions to the water scarcity challenge facing underprivileged and afflicted communities around the world.
In his speech during an event held by Suqia UAE at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)’s stand at COP28.
Al Tayer said that the Award enhances the UAE’s efforts in global humanitarian work by encouraging and recognising
organisations, individuals, and innovators who develop practical and sustainable solutions for the challenges of water
scarcity using renewable energy. This follows the UAE’s approach of actively contributing to providing solutions to the
challenges facing the world and helping less developed societies to confront challenges and achieve sustainable
development.
Al Tayer commended the level of interest and great turnout that the Award garnered, as well as the quality of
innovations presented by companies, research centres, institutions, and innovators. The previous cycle received entries
from 56 countries around the world. Over the past 3 cycles of the award, 31 winners from 22 countries were rewarded for
their innovative projects in water desalination and purification using renewable energy sources, including solar, wind,
biomass, hydropower, osmotic power, and geothermal technologies.
The Award has four categories: the Innovative Projects Award, which includes the Large Projects Award and the Small
Projects Award; the Innovative Research and Development Award, which includes the National Institutions Award and
the International Institutions Award; the Innovative Individual Award, which includes the Distinguished Research Award
and the Youth Award; and the Innovative Crisis Solutions Award.
=Suqia UAE has urged organisations, companies, research centres, innovators, and youth worldwide to participate in the
4th cycle of the Award. Applications will be received until 30 April 2024 at www.mbrwateraward.ae/awards