Above: From left to right: UTT student, Angsar Doolan; Dr. Marisha Rawlins, UTT Programme Leader for Bachelor’s ICT; UTT student, Nicholas Glasgow; UTT student, Alison Morris; Huawei Enterprise Director, Vincent Liu; UTT President, Prof Sarim Al-Zubaidy; Dr. Rodney Rambally, UTT Professor, ICT; UTT student, Varoon Doone; Huawei (T&T) Public Relations Manager, Tricia N. Henry. Photo courtesy Huawei.
ICT and Telecommunications students from Trinidad and Tobago who may have dreamt of gaining first-hand work experience in a dynamic, international ICT solutions company, are currently fulfilling that dream with Huawei.
Huawei, the leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider is hosting four students from the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) on a trip to China to participate in its Telecom Seeds for the Future programme. The programme gives the top ICT and Telecommunication studies students a two-week opportunity during which they will receive the latest in technology training at the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China.
The participating UTT students, who departed T&T for China on October 31, are Angsar Doolan, Varoon Doone, Alison Morris and Nicholas Glasgow.
This global program, which annually attracts over 350 students from universities around the world, is designed to help bridge the gap between what is learned in school and what is practiced in the work place. The “Seeds for the Future” will help develop ICT talent in Trinidad and Tobago, promote greater understanding of the telecommunications sector and encourage participation in the international ICT community.
During the two week stay in China, the students participating in the “Seeds for the Future” programme will visit Huawei’s headquarters to receive first-hand learning opportunities through interactions with Huawei staff and visits to Huawei laboratories. Apart from studying the theories of the latest in ICT technologies, the students will also receive specific hands-on, practical training in Huawei labs.
They will gain an understanding of the latest skills necessary to be successful in the ICT industry, while learning how to be effective in a multicultural business environment by interacting directly with employees of Huawei – a company which has global operations in over 170 countries.
Launched in T&T in 2016 with six students participating from this country, this is the second consecutive year the programme has been offered locally by Huawei, and the first time that the UTT has sent participating students.
Before leaving, the students met with the President of the UTT, Professor Sarim Al-Zubaidy, who was pleased about the beginning of a new chapter in The UTT’s collaboration with Huawei. “UTT is pleased to have four top ICT students involved in this excellent opportunity with Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider,” said Professor Al-Zubaidy.
“Huawei’s Telecom Seeds for the Future Program is an excellent and positive prospect for UTT’s students as it will undoubtedly contextualize what is taught in the classroom and give our students real-world application that they will need for industry.”
Huawei, which has operated in T&T for just over a decade, also expressed its excitement to continue the programme in this country: “This reflects Huawei’s commitment to this region and specifically to the development of T&T’s ICT industry as a viable economic earner,” said Mr. Vincent Liu, Enterprise Account Manager of Huawei (T&T) Ltd.
“Trinidad and Tobago continues to show its desire to develop its ICT and telecommunications infrastructure and to economically transform and diversify using ICT as the backbone of this transformation. As this happens, we expect that there will soon be new and exciting work opportunities for young people in the field of ICT and Telecommunications in this country. As a leading global ICT company, Huawei attaches great importance to ICT education.”
“As the students will see, there are many wonderful opportunities in the ICT and Telecoms industry and we hope that, through education, we can encourage them to grasp them. We hope Telecom Seeds for the Future inspires the students who participate to be the best that they can be and become a pool of skilled personnel who understand the latest technologies and make T&T more competitive in this rapidly developing information age.”
“We thank the University of Trinidad and Tobago for their support of this initiative.”
Huawei’s “Seeds for the Future” will also afford the UTT students the unique opportunity to visit the capital city, Beijing, for one week, where they will experience the country’s culture through engaging in Chinese language classes and visiting major cultural and historic attractions such as the Great Wall of China.
“Programmes like this not only allow overseas students and learn about China but it also helps the Chinese people learn about them and their cultures.
“It is our hope that this programme will additionally further strengthen the growing educational and cultural ties between this region and China,” said Mr. Liu.
