Huawei launches Seeds for the Future in Nepal– its global flagship CSR program for ICT students

KATHMANDU: As part of its Digital Talent Development Ecosystem, Huawei launched Seeds for the Future– its global flagship CSR program for undergraduate level students from all ICT-related disciplines in Nepal amidst a press meet held in Lalitpur today.

This year marks the first year that Huawei is introducing the program in Nepal. The program was first launched in 2008 in Thailand. Since then over 9,000 students from 130 countries and regions have participated in the program. This year, 20 students from Nepal selected from a competitive application process will get to participate in the international program. At the event, Huawei introduced the selection committee for the program composed of Prof. Dr. Shashishar Ram Joshi, Prof. Dr. SubarnaShakya and Prof. TimilaYami – all distinguished professors of ICT.

The program will offer students an 8-day interactive online experience and first-hand insights into the ICT industry in Nepal. During the online program, students will receive entry level and advanced courses on key technologies, including 5G, cloud computing and AI; experience China through virtual tours; hear from experts who will share perspectives on a wide range of topics from cybersecurity to aerospace industry; immerse in an interactive and dynamic classroom that allows for cross-cultural exchanges with fellows from other countries; participate in “Tech4Good” group project; and get a glimpse at Huawei’s history and technological developments.

The students will also get first-hand insight into the ICT industry in Nepal via a visit to Huawei Nepal officewhere they will get introduced to Huawei’s rich experience in the ICT industry in Nepal; classes from industry experts; and an overnight trip to a Huawei-built base station at a scenic location to be held in December. Upon completion of the program, students will join the alumni community where exclusive webinars, round table dialogue, celebration event etc. will be held all year round to strengthen the sense of belonging.

The program is open to undergraduate students from any ICT discipline with excellent academic background. Students can directly apply to the program at www.seedsnepal.com with their latest transcript or recommendation letter from their institution and a 600-word motivation letter. The selection committee will then shortlist and choose the 20 finalists from a final interview.

At the press meet, Prof. TimilaYami expressed enthusiastic support for the company and the program. She said, “My colleagues and I will work very hard to make this very valuable program a success.” Speaking about Huawei, she encouraged Nepalese media to focus on the history of Huawei’s beginnings as Huawei’s story was a role model story for the world. “Huawei has become a globally influential company while coming from humble beginnings.” She was confident that backed by talented students, Seeds for the Future would be very successful and the program would, in turn, encourage innovation among students which will be of great value to Nepal.

Prof. Dr. Shashidhar Ram Joshi highlighted the importance of Academia-industry collaboration. He said “Huawei’s Seeds for the Future program may be a very good step towards academia-industry collaboration which is why I want to thank Huawei for this.” He also made a request all media persons to spread the news about this program so that every ICT student would know about the program.

Prof. Dr. Subarna Shakya praised Huawei’s work in Nepal. He said “Huawei’s hard work in Nepal for the past 21 years has already been appreciated by the Government of Nepal as Huawei was awarded the National ICT Award (Private Sector) in 2021.” Regarding Seeds for the Future Nepal, he praised the program as a very good initiation by Huawei. He said, “Huawei is providing a very good opportunity for talented ICT students in Nepal. Academia and industry relations are very important. I wish success for Seeds for the Future.”

CEO of Huawei Technologies Nepal Pvt. Ltd., William Zhang ended the program with his closing remarks. He hoped that students from Nepal will enthusiastically participate in the program. He said, “As part of our Digital Talent Development ecosystem, we have a goal of developing 10,000 ICT talents in the next 5 years in Nepal. Digital talents are the foundation of digital development. We hope to launch other programs for the development of digital talents in Nepal in the coming year”. As for Huawei’s work in Nepal, he said, “Huawei hopes to help Nepal build the foundation for the Nepalese digital economy by partnering with all ICT stakeholders, through broadband connectivity, data centers, cloud and computing and other latest technologies. We have been in Nepal for 21 years. With our telecom, enterprise and public cloud service and solutions, Huawei is assisting the government, the public sector private businesses and all industry domains in their digital transformation. Huawei is “In Nepal, For Nepal.” With programs like Seeds for the Future, Huawei will continue to fulfill our responsibility as a corporate citizen.”