Feature: Huawei plants seeds so technology can blossom through youngsters in Bangladesh

Being selected for Huawei's global flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) program "Seeds for the Future" in Bangladesh was a dream come true for Tasfia Seuti.

A couple of months before being selected, Seuti's life was full of stress and tension as with hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi students who had no idea what to do after graduating.

In a country like Bangladesh, the pursuit of a career is often compared with "chasing a golden deer," but Seuti, a final year student at Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, is no longer worried about her future.

This is because the Huawei program has planted positive, visionary seeds in her mind.

"As an undergraduate student, I know how difficult the corporate world can be. I'm in my final year and I had no idea what to do after my graduation," Seuti said.

"When Huawei gives us this opportunity, we came to understand a lot more about the corporate world," said Seuti, who was made representative of the 10 students selected for the Seeds for the Future-2019 program.

She went on to explain that Seeds for the Future is one of Huawei's global programs that invites capable students from different countries to their headquarters in China's Shenzen and provides them with training about the corporate world.

For students this program is extremely beneficial because Huawei is a company that is very advanced in areas of research. I am very much looking forward to putting this experience to good use, said Seuti.

"I think my experience with Huawei will be a huge help in my future career," said Seuti, who passed a series of selection rounds to qualify for the program last month.

Seuti and her peers made a video presentation in front of an audience of hundreds including senior officials and a Bangladeshi minister in a gala round recently.

Her team's confident performance earned them a big round of applause, and Huawei, the organizer, was lauded by the guests for providing the opportunity for Bangladesh people to use high-end products at reasonable prices, which is greatly benefiting the nation.

"People here are benefiting so much because such products usually come with a price tag that most people cannot afford," said Seuti.

"We are very grateful to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. for that," she added.

When we talk about China we obviously talk about technology and how it has improved over the years, and while I have never been to China before, I am very excited, said Seuti.

"I have been looking forward to this program since I was selected and I am now planning for the future," said the girl, who along with her peers are set to visit China later this month.

Zhang Zhengjun, chief executive officer of Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Ltd., said they selected 10 students from five top Bangladesh engineering and technological universities.

"We arrange for them to visit China where they will learn about Huawei's cutting-edge technologies at our headquarters in Shenzhen. They will also visit Beijing, will have a chance to learn about Chinese culture," he said.

Our CSR program is not only for Bangladesh but is being applied all over the world. As a leading company we undertake this kind of responsibility, explained Zhang.

Bangladesh has a huge population of more than 160 million people and the key to advancing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is talent, he said.

"In Bangladesh we are committed to helping young people develop their individual talents, so they can, in turn, help their country to grow as a whole. This is our intention," Zhang said.

He went on to say that this is the fifth time this year that Huawei has carried out the Seeds for the Future program in Bangladesh.

"Huawei is a leading telecommunications provider all over the world. We are also a leading telecom partner in Bangladesh as an ICT provider," said Zhang.

Bangladeshi Post, Telecommunications and ICT Minister, Mustafa Jabbar, said this is an age of bringing young people into the mainstream.

"Huawei's Seeds for the Future program is so beneficial to encouraging and supporting young people from all over the world. They have supported around 350 universities so far, and making such an investment in young people is commendable," the minister said.

"I am really happy about China's rapid developments in innovation and emerging technologies for the future," he added.

Everybody knows that we are at the precipice of a digital revolution and new technologies being spearheaded by China, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence, robotics and the general Internet of Things, will not only benefit China, but the rest of the world, said Mustafa.

"We receive total support from China and I'm so grateful that the Chinese companies that are working in Bangladesh are committed to helping us grow digitally and generally," the minister added.

The fifth edition of Huawei's Seeds for the Future program was launched in Bangladesh on Feb. 18.

Huawei officials said the program has been designed to cultivate more ICT talent in Bangladesh and provide an opportunity for students to expand their technological skills sets and knowledge base during their training at Huawei's headquarters.

"Young people here make a significant contribution to the country's ICT development. So, we are keen to take responsibility for and to nurture their talent," the minister said.

"We always feel proud when our young people do something good or make a positive contribution to society," he said, with reference to Bangladesh's moves towards its "Vision 2021" concept of utilizing modern technology and innovation to help myriad aspects in society.

He said for the last few years Huawei has been doing a noble job in igniting the digital imagination of young minds across Bangladesh and the world.

Huawei believes young people are the main engine of development as well as digital advancement, according to Zhang, who added that this ICT talent hunt Seeds for the Future program will help students develop new ideas and help their society become fully connected and intelligent.

"With this project, we aim to plant a visionary seed in the minds of young people so that in the coming years they can actualize their own ideas to make society a better place to live," said Zhang.

Launched globally in 2008, Seeds for the Future has been implemented in 108 countries and international organizations worldwide, benefiting over 30,000 students from 350 universities.

Among them, more than 3,600 university students have been invited to study and learn at Huawei's headquarters in China.
Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com

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