Huawei Ethiopia, in partnership with Addis Ababa University (AAU), hosted its annual hand-shaking forum and talent show today at the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT), with the goal of increasing internship and recruitment prospects for graduate students.
The agreement, which intends to increase collaboration between the two institutions in talent and skill cultivation, is also signed.
It will also enable students to intern at Huawei and gain more practical ICT experience.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Liu Jifan, CEO of Huawei Ethiopia, said that “we gather here to celebrate the convergence of academia and industry, where the brightest minds meet the leading innovators in the field of technology.”
Mr. Liu emphasized that Huawei’s commitment to Ethiopia is in Ethiopia for Ethiopia; that’s why the company is thriving to provide such recruitment and internships to young graduates. He added, “In response to “digital Ethiopia 2025,” we are contributing all we have just to be a part of this great journey.
5G, mobile money, broadband, all the things you can think of when it comes to ICT and digitalization have our humble but proud footprints.
We are also pleased to collaborate with the oldest university in Ethiopia to cultivate young talents.”
Bikila Teklu (Dr.), Chief Executive Director of AAiT, said in his part that AAU has recently embarked on a new path as the first autonomous university in the country.
Hence, strategic partnerships and collaborations with key industry stakeholders, such as Huawei Technologies, are one of the key areas in the new strategic plan of AAiT. Such partnerships are crucial for providing industry exposure and capacity building for our faculty and students, and eventually for producing graduates that the labor market needs.
He added AAU has Huawei’s ICT practice center, which was established with the support of Huawei Ethiopia.
The academy serves as a training center for technicians for telecom infrastructure installation and configuration by providing practical hands-on training on microwave, wireless technology, and networking HCIA.
So far, hundreds of technicians have been trained at this facility and deployed to various telecom projects in the country.
“In addition, many of our students and graduates have benefited from the professional training and career opportunities offered by Huawei.
He also promised to further strengthen the collaboration between the two companies for the benefit of the students.”
Mr. Zerihun Alemayehu, from the Ministry of Labor and Skills, also mentioned that one of the major sectors identified to create jobs is the ICT sector.
He added, “This information and communication sector has a vital role in shaping digital Ethiopia.
There is a high demand for digitalization in both the private and public sectors.
The university-industry linkage to develop trained and qualified men is of great importance.
This experience is an example and needs to be strengthened and scaled up to all stakeholders, all industries, and institutions.”
Mr. Zerihun also elaborated that such job fairs create favorable conditions for both graduates and hiring institutions.
He added that since job creation or recruitment is a challenging and complex process, it needs endurance, problem-solving ability, new idea creation, peeking opportunities in the middle of problems, and continuous learning.
He also appreciated the collaboration of the two companies for job creation, talent identification, and skill development.
During this event, Huawei senior specialists shared their company expertise with the students and demonstrated them about current technology breakthroughs such as cyber security.
Currently, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Huawei in Ethiopia is implementing a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including Seeds for the Future, Digi Truck Ethiopia, ICT competitions, and ICT Academies.
