Huawei Qatar hosted the 'Innovation in Education and Talent Excellence Awards', an event dedicated to honouring the accomplishments of students from Qatar in the global ICT Competition and presenting the latest advancements in educational technology.
The event brought together prominent figures from Qatar's academic and government sectors, including Dr Salem al-Naemi, president of the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST); Dr Btool Hashim al-Sayed, director of The Higher Education Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education; partners, deans and faculty members from Qatar University (QU), UDST, Community college of Qatar (CCQ), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and Lusail University.
In his welcome address, Alex Dai, executive vice-president of Huawei Gulf North, said: “At Huawei, we believe investing in human potential is the nation's most strategic investment. We are proud to partner with Qatar to nurture its next generation of digital leaders, equipping them with cutting-edge skills and platforms to innovate—like the brilliant UDST students who recently made the nation proud. Together, we are building the ICT talent that will lead Qatar’s digital future."
Dr al-Sayed stressed the importance of such collaborations by describing that the student accomplishments embody the very essence of Qatar National Vision 2030, which places innovation and knowledge at the heart of sustainable development.
"This success was made possible through strong collaboration between our academic institutions, government, and industry partners—a model that fosters the innovation ecosystem Qatar is building. Our leadership encourages applying knowledge in real-world contexts, transforming ideas into solutions that drive progress and diversify our economy for a prosperous future."
Dr Rachid Benlamri, vice president - academics of UDST, highlighted the value of industry-academia synergy. "Events such as the Huawei ICT skills Competition-Innovation track provide our students with a global platform to showcase their talents while demonstrating the powerful results of academia-industry collaboration in building Qatar's knowledge-based economy."
Huawei's experts led sessions on the latest emerging trends shaping the future of education. The presentations highlighted Huawei's advanced education technologies and innovative approaches to creating next-generation learning environments, emphasising the critical role of robust digital infrastructure in enabling transformative educational experiences. The discussions focused on building technology-enabled learning ecosystems that support innovation and enhance educational outcomes.
The ceremony also recognised students from Qatar who excelled in the National and Regional competition and celebrated the outstanding achievements of UDST students’ team who has secured second place in the Innovation Track of the Huawei ICT Competition 2024–2025 Global Final, held in Shenzhen, China in May 2025. Competing against over 40 teams from around the world, the UDST team represented Qatar on the global stage, making the nation proud through their groundbreaking project titled 'Be My Sense'.
The Huawei ICT Competition is one of the world’s largest and most competitive technology contests, celebrating its 10th edition this year. The 2024–2025 event attracted more than 210,000 students from over 80 countries, culminating in a highly selective Global Final where 179 teams from 48 countries competed in various tracks including Network, Cloud, Computing, and Innovation.
Additional highlights featured insights on the synergy between academia and industry. Prof Mohamed Abdallah, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies and Quality Assurance at the College of Science and Engineering at HBKU, underscored that while basic science forms the essential 'brain' of education—providing the critical thinking and foundational knowledge—integrating industry-certified courses on the latest technologies is crucial for ensuring graduates are career-ready.
Academic leaders from QU and CCQ emphasised on the importance of modernising curricula through strategic partnerships to include applied learning modules that keep pace with the digital economy.
This was complemented by a presentation from AI department at Al Jazeera Media Network, which detailed their recent AI Hackathon, delivered in collaboration with Huawei Cloud. The media leader highlighted the hackathon's immense success not just as a competition, but as a vital talent pipeline and a practical model for innovation.
