The Huawei ICT Competition 2024–2025 Global Final came to a triumphant close today in Shenzhen, China, marking the largest edition in the event’s nine-year history. With over 210,000 participants from over 2,000 institutions across 100+ countries and regions, this year’s competition showcased the growing global momentum for digital skills development—particularly from Southeast Asia.
From national qualifiers to regional knockouts, 179 elite teams representing 48 countries and regions made it to the Global Final, competing across three tracks: Practice, Innovation, and Programming. The event highlighted the vital role of cross-border collaboration in tackling the global ICT talent shortage while promoting industry-academia engagement.
South East Asia emerged as a strong contender on the global stage. Malaysia’s Universiti Sains Malaysia clinched First Prize in the prestigious Innovation Competition, while Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman earned a Third Prize in the Practice – Computing Track.
The Philippines also left an indelible mark, with teams from Bulacan State University and Cebu Institute of Technology – University winning Grand Prizes in the Innovation and Practice – Computing tracks, respectively. Another standout was iACADEMY, which secured top honours in the Practice – Cloud Track.
Singapore was not to be left behind—Singapore University of Social Sciences won a Grand Prize in the Practice – Cloud Track, reinforcing the city-state’s position as a regional tech leader.
During the closing ceremony, Ritchie Peng, director of Huawei’s ICT Strategy and Business Development Department, emphasised the transformative role of competition-based learning in bridging the digital skills gap.
“To achieve the goal of learning through competition and inspiring innovation through competition, we have continuously evolved the design of competition topics,” Ritchie said. “The Practice Competition aligns with our vision for an Intelligent World 2030 and encourages students to master cloud computing, big data, and AI to drive social progress.”
Huawei also hosted the AI Accelerating Education Transformation Summit during the finals, unveiling the AI capabilities of the Huawei ICT Academy Intelligent Platform. This upgrade is designed to streamline teaching and learning through enhanced automation and accessibility.
Special awards added a human-centric dimension to the competition. The Women in Tech Award celebrated four all-female teams from Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Kenya, promoting gender inclusion in ICT. Meanwhile, Ghana’s team received the Green Development Award for integrating sustainability in their innovation. The Most Valuable Instructor Award honoured 18 educators from 10 countries, recognising their impact on talent cultivation.
With rapid digitalisation sweeping across industries, demand for ICT professionals continues to outpace supply. The Huawei ICT Competition—alongside its curriculum development and collaborative programmes with higher education institutions—is helping to close this gap by equipping the next generation with job-ready skills in AI, big data, and cybersecurity.
As Southeast Asia positions itself as a digital economy powerhouse, regional talent’s success at the Huawei ICT Competition underscores the importance of investing in scalable, inclusive ICT education. It also highlights how initiatives rooted in international collaboration can deliver shared value in a rapidly evolving digital world. 