Huawei to invest $50m to groom up digital talents in Asia Pacific

Chinese multinational tech giant Huawei has declared to invest $50 million to develop five lakh digital talents in the Asia Pacific region under a five-year plan.

Huawei Asia Pacific Presdient Jeffery Liu came up with the announcement while delivering his keynote speech at the Asia Pacific Innovation Day – Digital Talent Summit 2021, held recently.

With a view to bridging the digital talent gap in this region, Huawei has also signed a memorundam of understanding (MoU) with the ASEAN Foundation at the summit, said a press release issued on Saturday.

“Together with our partners, Huawei will invest $50 million in the next 5 years to develop five lakh digital talents in the Asia Pacific region,” President of Huawei Asia Pacific Jeffery Liu announced in his keynote speech.

He also noted, “Cultivating innovative ICT talent ecosystem is fundamental to the digital transformation. Leveraging shared innovations with win-win outcomes, we can harness the power of ICT skills to fly us into a digital future.”

According to the release, the online summit brought together policymakers, researchers, and industry experts to share solutions and best practices in building a sustainable ecosystem that will help foster digital talents in the Asia Pacific.

The commitment to bridge the digital talent gap in the Asia Pacific, particularly ASEAN, was further strengthened with the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ASEAN Foundation and Huawei ASEAN Academy.

The agreement highlights both entities’ readiness to implement ASEAN Seeds for the Future, which is a scaled-up version of Seeds for the Future, Huawei’s global CSR flagship initiative that has been providing world-class digital skills training for young people across the globe since 2008.

The Asia Pacific Innovation Day – Digital Talent Summit 2021 started with a series of keynote speeches from governments’ leaders, including Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Chair of the ASEAN Digital Senior Official Meeting Mohammad Mentek, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia Dr Chea Vandeth, Chief of Presidential Staff of Indonesia \General TNI (Purn) Dr Moeldoko, Minister of Youth and Sports of Sri Lanka Namal Rajapaksa, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana, and Permanent Secretary of Thailand Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation Prof Sirirurg Songsivilai.

Their speeches underlined the importance of key stakeholders’ proactive participation in developing a solid foundation for the digital talent ecosystem in the region, added the release.

The importance of digital talent in sustainable development was emphasized in the virtual roundtable discussion involving notable speakers from UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Maxis.