Huawei Nepal has concluded its popular Seeds for the Future program. Launched back in October, the program ended at an event in Kathmandu today (Dec. 22). The program had 19 students from 8 universities and 13 educational institutions from 9 different ICT backgrounds.
Seeds for the Future is the Chinese tech giant’s global flagship CSR campaign that aims to enrich ICT aspirants’ experience with the recent technological development in the world. Although implemented in various countries in Asia and other regions, it was the first time the Seeds was launched in Nepal.
The ‘Seeds’ were awarded a certificate of completion by the Guest of Honor, Hon’ble Minister Devendra Poudel, Minister of Education, Science and Technology.
Huawei’s Seeds Nepal Background
Huawei Nepal had launched the program back in October and on the 6th and 7th. The tech giant received 136 applications from across Nepal which was available for undergraduate students. The applicants went through a competitive selection process to win their chance to enlist in the program.
The Selection Committee had chosen 19 undergraduate students including 4 from outside the valley. The attendees took part in 8- day online training sessions with international peers. Further, they visited a Huawei-built 4G base station in Ghandruk and attended classes from industry experts from Dish Home and Ncell.
Students visited a Huawei-built 4G base station in Ghandruk:
The final participants will also take part in the Tech4Good global competition where they will discuss how we can leverage technology to solve social/environmental issues. If they win the contest, they will receive up to 20,000 USD in prize money.
Do read: F1 Soft ICT Awards 2021 Winners Honored: Find All The Detail
Chinese Ambassador Congratulates Huawei Nepal’s Seeds Finalists
The guest of the honor for the opening ceremony was Her Excellency Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, and Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Devendra Paudel.
Meanwhile, ambassador Hou congratulated all 19 students on the successful completion of the training. Her Excellency stressed that states must comply with innovation-driven development to benefit the Asia-Pacific region. Likewise, she said technologies could help drive a digital economy and reinforce digital technologies.
After congratulating the participants, she expressed her hope that they would aspire to pioneer in ICT. She wished the ICT career pursuant could bring China and Nepal even closer.
Ambassador Hou praised Huawei for its 21-year cooperation in Nepal and its role in building Nepal’s information network. Hou said the efforts have helped Nepal for a digital transformation.
Education Minister Hopes for More
Meanwhile, Hon’ble Minister Paudel thanked China for supporting Nepal in the ICT sector. He expressed the belief that the 2 neighboring countries could ward off newer challenges of the 21st century.
MoE also reserved his praise for Huawei Nepal’s Seeds and hoped for more of such programs in Nepal. He promised that the Ministry would do everything to make it feasible for legal procedures for such programs.
He shared, “I hope that Huawei, which has been progressing globally in the ICT sector, can work to make Nepalese youth more tech-friendly”.
Huawei Nepal’s Seeds Selection Committee has been involved since the beginning and shared their praise for the program and Huawei. Professor Timilar Yami Thapa admired industry experts. She wished they would add more input in the ICT sector for students, especially girls in rural areas.
Later, she said that the government should also take note of how Huawei functions and learn. She said, “Such knowledge is very important for us so that we can give correct advice to ministries”.
Check out: Creating a foundation for Nepal’s Digital Economy: Huawei’s Initiative
Seeds Shares Their Tech4Good Projects
At the event, the Seeds unveiled their Tech4Good projects. This included 2 mobile applications. Students Ankit Khanal and Yunika Bajracharya also shared their projects – Grower’ Point and Saathi respectively.
Growers’ Point provides farmers direct access to customers to sell their products ridding of the middlemen. Meanwhile, Saathi seeks to help type-I diabetes patients track their glucometer readings and alert them for the insulin dosage.
Huawei Nepal CEO William Zhang delivered his closing remarks at the event. Zhang congratulated the finalists and expressed his pride in Nepal’s 100% graduation rate. He also hoped the current attendees would encourage their peers to apply for the program in the future.
The CEO also thanked Huawei partners Dish Home and Ncell for offering students input into their respective services.
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Seeds for the Future was first launched in 2008 in Thailand. Since then over 9,000 students from 130 countries and regions have participated in the program. This was Nepal’s first experience with the program and Huawei intends to launch this again next year.
Huawei is a long and major presence in Nepal’s ICT sectors. From sponsoring to launching services and setting up technology infrastructure, it is ubiquitous. What can Huawei further do to reinforce Nepal’s digital transformation? Do present your views in our comments below.
