Students from Sri Lanka Discover Huawei Headquarters in China

The importance of cutting-edge technology and cultural understanding cannot be overstated in an increasingly interconnected world. Recognizing this, and with the goal of providing the opportunity to learn cutting-edge ICT technologies, Huawei’s Seeds for the Future Program 2023 selected a group of four undergraduates from Sri Lanka, who were chosen by the Ministry of Education, to embark on a study trip to Huawei Headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

The four students traveled to China as part of the Seeds for the Future tour, which included 91 Seeds from 19 Asia Pacific countries

What is Huawei’s mission?

Huawei’s flagship corporate CSR program is Seeds for the Future. It provides an important platform for understanding industry innovation, experiencing cross-cultural exchanges, and cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit by selecting young talents from Sri Lanka to participate in short-term trainings and global competitions. The program’s core values are national diversity and inclusivity, and it has committed to a participation rate of at least one-third for female students.

Sri Lanka’s Seeds for the Future program history

The ‘Seeds for the Future’ program was launched in Sri Lanka with the goal of developing local ICT talent and facilitating ICT knowledge transfer to assist Sri Lanka in becoming a digitally empowered nation. To select outstanding students for the program, Huawei worked closely with ministries, state departments, universities, and authorities.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, Huawei launched the program in 2016. At that time, Huawei fully funded ten Sri Lankan university students’ study trips to China.

Huawei is grateful that more than 80 promising young Sri Lankan students have already joined the program. The program sponsored selected candidates from Sri Lankan universities for the ICT training and cultural trip for seven years in a row.

The program recently welcomed its eighth batch, which included four students from the Universities of Kelaniya, Jaffna, and Colombo.

The study trip to China

The four students witnessed the most recent advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT), and they had the opportunity to interact with experts who explained the potential impact of these technologies on various industries, fostering students’ curiosity and inspiration.

A day of Inspiration at Huawei’s R&D Base and Beyond

The first day began with hope and excitement. The students first went to the EBG Descartes Exhibition Hall, then had a technical discussion with an ICT expert, then went to Xiliu Beipo Village – Huawei Dongguan R&D Base, Huawei South Factory – Solar PV, and finally Huawei University and the Library.

Tech Talk with Dr. Bo Bai on Information Theory

The tour began with an exciting tech talk with Dr. Bo Bai, Information Theory Scientist and Director of Theory Lab Huawei. Students learned about classic and post-Shannon information theory, B5G/6G mobile networking, and graph informatics.

Helani Seekkubadu, a University of Kelaniya student, shared her thoughts, stating that their visit to the Shenzhen EBG Exhibition Hall was eye-opening and that the tech talk with Dr. Bai was a fantastic opportunity for her to learn about information theory.

“As a Sri Lankan Software Engineering Undergraduate, I had no idea what the Information Theory was. I’d heard and seen it in books, but I didn’t have the necessary knowledge of what it was. I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend the lecture and learn about information theory. I learned that we put forward a coding method based on multilateral coupling graphs in the field of information theory,”

The students then visited the Xilliu Beipo Village – Huawei Dongguan R&D Base, the Huawei South Factory – Solar PV, and the Huawei University and Library. They saw how Huawei works actively with grid operators and other partners to provide safe and dependable energy solutions.