Telecommunications firm Huawei will once again be accommodating students from both the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology (UTech) for its fifth annual staging of the ‘Seeds of the Future’ programme.

In a statement, Huawei Jamaica said it has partnered with the two tertiary institutions since 2017, providing the opportunity for students to learn about Huawei’s international business culture at the company’s headquarters in China.

“This trip has continuously benefitted students as the course of the programme focuses on information communication technology (ICT), preparing them for their venture into the ICT industry,” Huawei said.

“Last year, due to unforeseen circumstances, the programme was forced to be held online and while the programme would normally take two weeks in China, the online programme had only lasted five days. Because the programme was held online, it gave more students the opportunity to participate.”

This year, Huawei said, the same will apply as the company is determined to “not allow distance to hinder this great learning opportunity for students”.

The programme is scheduled to start October 25 and end November 1, lasting a total of eight days this time around.

The company said it planned to accommodate 10 persons from The UWI, but was still in the process of hosting interviews for the UTech students.

“The programme will offer undergraduate students a rich experience involving technology courses (including 5G, cloud, AI, etc.), leadership course, Chinese culture experiences, tech exhibition hall live visit, participation in ‘Tech4Good’ group project and culture exchanges with outstanding peers around the world,” the company said.

“We also welcome students from different faculty or majors to join, allowing them to understand technology and digitalisation within a cross-discipline context.”

Huawei launched its programme in 2008 as its global corporate social responsibility project, which has allowed
it to partner with more than 400 universities and, as a result, transform the lives of more than 30,000 students around the world.

Huawei said it plans to increase these numbers as it shares its ICT expertise and experiences in the global business environment, aiming to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge communication between countries and cultures.