Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy has commended some Nigerian tech students, who proved their mettle on the global stage, emerging as the most successful country outside of China at the prestigious Huawei Global ICT Competition finals held in China.
In his LinkedIn post, the Minister explained that the delegation of 15 outstanding students, drawn from six Nigerian universities, competed against peers from around the world across four technical tracks: Network, Cloud, Computing, and Innovation.
The students represented Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO), the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA), the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), and Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSU).
He said their journey to the global finals was the culmination of a rigorous, year-long effort that saw them progress through highly competitive national and regional stages of the Huawei ICT Academy programme.
“It is a powerful example of how young Nigerians are applying technology not only to compete globally, but also to solve some of our most pressing local challenges,” Dr. Tijani said.
Looking to the future, the Minister committed to ensuring that the students’ hard work translates into tangible opportunities. “I am looking forward to connecting these young innovators with the right support and exposure to ensure their passion and creativity can be further built on,” he added.
Team Nigeria delivered an exceptional performance at the global finals and secured top honours across multiple disciplines. The team won two Grand Prizes in the Network and Innovation tracks. They also earned two First Prizes in the Cloud track. Additionally, they walked away with a Second Prize in the Computing track.
This stellar outcome marks the third consecutive year that Nigeria has finished as the most successful participating nation in the competition outside of the host country, China.
Among the many highlights of the competition was a groundbreaking project developed by the Innovation Team from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU).
The team utilized Huawei’s advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud, and Ascend technologies to build a solar-powered medical diagnostic tool. Remarkably, the device is capable of testing for malaria and intestinal parasites in under three minutes entirely offline, without requiring internet connectivity. The solution directly addresses critical healthcare infrastructure gaps in rural and underserved African communities.