Luanda – Angola’s Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MESCTI) signed Monday an agreement with China’s technology company Huawei, for the award of internal scholarships in the Engineering and Technology fields.
The agreement stems from a memorandum that the two institutions signed in September 2020 that covers, among other issues, training and scholarships that include students and teachers.
Maria do Rosário Bragança Sambo, minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, said the agreement aims to create conditions to improve capacity building in information and communication technologies (ICT), providing higher education institutions with better resources.
Without mentioning how many scholarships will be awarded per year, the Angolan minister said the Angolan government unequivocally recognizes that ICT is fundamental for the country's social development and economic prosperity.
In the last five decades, all over the world, the minister said, the higher education systems have grown exponentially.
The CEO of Huawei Angola Edric Chu (Chu Xiaoxin) said the company first entered the Angolan market in 2002 and this year is Huawei's 20th year of operations in Angola.
Huawei Angola has provided basic communications services to over 30 million Angolans.
In 2021 it helped local partners to launch mobile financial services.
Huawei says it expects to provide connectivity to as many people as possible, promote inclusive development of Angolan society and improve access to educational resources for all through the power of technology.
Huawei's representative in Angola said the company has been implementing the "ICT Academy" Programme since 2018, working with local university partners to cultivate ICT talent and selecting the best students through the "Seeds of the Future" programme.
More than 1,000 students have participated in Huawei's training programme and about 600 ICT talents have been certified by Huawei.
