Successful participants will progress through preliminary and national selection stages before representing Uganda at the African regional finals in South Africa, where they will compete against students from 17 other African countries.
Huawei Technologies Uganda, in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Office of the President, has launched the 2026–2027 Huawei ICT Competition, targeting university and college students across the country.
The competition seeks to strengthen Uganda’s ICT talent pool, bridge the gap between academic training and industry demands, and equip young people with practical technological skills to support the country’s digital transformation.
The launch was held on November 10 in Nakasero, Kampala, and presided over by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki. It attracted government officials, industry players, diplomats and representatives from various universities.
Now in its 11th edition, the annual competition provides students with an international platform to develop their theoretical knowledge and practical skills in networking, cloud computing, computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.
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Successful participants will progress through preliminary and national selection stages before representing Uganda at the African regional finals in South Africa, where they will compete against students from 17 other African countries.
The outstanding contestants will then have an opportunity to represent Africa at the global finals in Shenzhen, China.
Speaking at the launch, Akiiki said partnerships between government, universities and technology companies such as Huawei were essential in developing the skills needed to accelerate Uganda’s technological advancement.
He urged stakeholders to invest in young people by equipping them with digital knowledge, practical skills and technical expertise to compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
The minister also challenged young innovators to develop solutions addressing challenges within their communities rather than concentrating solely on theoretical knowledge.
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“I believe our young people have the talent and creativity to develop solutions that address local challenges while competing on the international stage. What is important is creating opportunities for them to learn, experiment, innovate and translate their knowledge into practical applications through initiatives such as this competition,” he said.
Huawei pledges continued support
Huawei Technologies Uganda Country Director Edward Zhang Hao said the competition was part of the company’s long-term commitment to supporting Uganda’s digital talent development.
He said the initiative goes beyond academic competition by exposing students to real-world technologies, internationally recognised Huawei certifications, as well as potential internship and employment opportunities in the technology sector.
Zhang encouraged students to take advantage of the competition, continuously improve their technical skills and utilise the Huawei Talent Platform to access learning and innovation opportunities.
He also urged participants to focus on solving real-world problems by engaging with communities, understanding their challenges and turning their ideas into practical innovations.
Ugandan universities celebrate global achievements
The launch also provided an opportunity to recognise students from Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) and Uganda Martyrs University (UMU), who excelled in the previous edition of the competition.
MMU secured the Global Second Prize in the Innovation Track, while UMU won the Global Third Prize in the Computing Track.
The university delegations were led by their respective vice-chancellors, Prof. Pius Coxwell Achanga of MMU and Prof. Patrick E. Kyamanywa of UMU.
Achanga congratulated Aaron Masendi, Elvis Oko and Wasswa Atibu, students from MMU’s Faculty of Science, Technology and Innovation, who won the Global Second Prize in the AI Innovation Track at the 2025–2026 competition finals.
The students developed an innovation dubbed AgriChain, which seeks to address financing challenges faced by smallholder farmers.
The solution combines artificial intelligence-based pre-harvest crop yield predictions with blockchain-backed crop tokens to enable farmers to use anticipated agricultural produce as verifiable collateral when seeking commercial bank loans.
Achanga encouraged more students and technology enthusiasts to participate in such initiatives and use their knowledge and creativity to develop innovations that address societal challenges.
The two vice-chancellors also emphasised the importance of partnerships between universities and technology companies in modernising education and preparing graduates for the changing demands of the labour market.
Registration opens
Following the launch, registration opened to eligible university and college students across Uganda.
Held under the theme Connection, Glory, Future, the Huawei ICT Competition is an international initiative designed to promote ICT skills development, technological innovation and collaboration between industry and academia.
Through the annual competition, Huawei seeks to provide students with opportunities to test their technical abilities, develop problem-solving skills and gain exposure to emerging technologies.
The company said it would continue working with the Government of Uganda and higher education institutions to strengthen the country’s ICT ecosystem and support its long-term digital transformation ambitions.
