JOHANNESBURG, Oct.12 (Xinhua) -- Ten South African students regarded as Future Seeds were seen off by Chinese and South African officials on Thursday. They will soon start two-week ICT training in China.
These students studied various subjects in the ICT sector and were selected from universities across the country including Tshwane University of Technology, North-West University, Durban University of Technology, Central University of Technology and the Nelson Mandela University.
During the two-week study and cultural exchange trip to China, they will receive training in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, LTE and cloud computing in Huawei, which sponsors the program. Besides, they will be given the opportunity to explore the local Chinese culture and sites such as the Great Wall.
This project is a part of Huawei's global Seeds Program which to date runs in 96 countries, benefitting over 30,000 students.
Siyabonga Cwele, Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services(DTPS) of South Africa, said at the farewell ceremony that most of these students are from poor background. He hopes this study will encourage them come back and do much greater thing.
"We must make effective use of the ICT to broaden and deepen our participation in the digital society. We must improve our creativity and always be ready to innovate," he said.
Chinese Ambassador Lin Songtian said, "Our business community is a key force in our mutually beneficial cooperation. We hope that both Chinese and South African companies, enterprises, private sectors will seize the great opportunity that we are facing. We are fully confident that getting by the principle of planning together, building together and sharing together, our business community will enjoy greater unity and solidarity."
Steven Wu, CEO of Huawei South Africa, stated that "Our relationship with DTPS stems from a joint commitment to bridging the digital divide in South Africa. In the spirit of Ubuntu - students embarking on this program have a responsibility not only to apply, but also to share the knowledge and skills acquired during these two weeks with their peers and colleagues, contributing to the development of an agile ICT sector in South Africa."
This is the second year that Huawei partnered with the DTPS. Last year's first 10 seeds are now either furthering their studies or have secured employment in the ICT sector.
