Huawei to Provide Elite ICT Training for 2000 European Students Over the Next Five Years

BRUSSELS, November 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

'Seeds for the Future': an investment in the next generation

Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, announced today that it will train 2000 European students from 2016 to 2020 through its elite ICT talent programme, Seeds for the Future. The commitment, announced by Huawei board director Chen Lifang, is Huawei's contribution to the European Pact for Youth and underlines the company's continued dedication to honing the e-skills of Europe's most promising students. The move marks an increase in activity surrounding Huawei's flagship skills initiative, which has been growing continuously since its European launch in 2011. 

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The announcement came as EU leaders, C-level executives and CSR experts gather in Brussels for the Enterprise 2020 Summit (16-17 November), organised by CSR Europe and supported by Huawei. The event examines how businesses can use innovation to achieve lasting benefits for society. The European Pact for Youth will drive this process by creating hands-on training opportunities that will help address the discrepancy between what is learned in the classroom and the skills required in a modern digital European economy. It aims to foster business-education partnerships to help prepare young people for a digitised business environment by equipping them with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly globalised, technology-driven job market.

"We are honoured to be a member of the European Pact for Youth. We will apply our ICT expertise to support the education and development of young people, and their scientific research," said Ms Chen while introducing a panel examining the challenges faced by young entrepreneurs. "We will help young people gain more skills. We will also create more jobs and opportunities for the next generation. This is vital to Europe and to the world at large."

Seeds for the Future, Huawei's global CSR programme, is a cornerstone of Huawei's efforts to address the e-skills challenge. This elite ICT talent programme selects gifted students for a study trip to China. Participants gain first-hand insights into the work of a multinational ICT company, receiving cross-cultural work experience as well as language training.

The programme currently spans 57 countries worldwide. In Europe alone, 23 countries are involved so far, and more than 500 young people have participated in the programme since its European launch in 2011. Over the next five years, 2000 European students will now study and gain experience at the company's headquarters in China, highlighting Huawei's commitment to taking this initiative to the next level. Today's announcement also reflects the company's overall approach to continuous investment in a thriving and digitised Europe - another example of this unerring commitment is the fixed investment of 10% of Huawei revenue in R&D every year.

Other Huawei initiatives promoting ICT education in Europe include the InnoApps competition, encouraging young Europeans to develop mobile applications, and the Huawei Innovation Research Programme (HIRP), through which Huawei has established partnerships with 120 universities as well as research and consulting institutes throughout Europe. In 2014, Huawei joined the European Commission's eSkills for Jobs campaign.

The Enterprise 2020 Summit follows the launch of CSR Europe's Enterprise 2020 Manifesto in June 2015, which called on European decision-makers to show leadership in fostering sustainable growth and creating an inclusive society. As a global ICT leader acting as a partner and a responsible corporate citizen of Europe, Huawei is in a leadership position to help drive this process.

About Huawei  

Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to build a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Huawei's 170 000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population.

Huawei currently has over 9 900 staff based in Europe, of whom 1200 are working in R&D. We run 18 R&D sites located in eight European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the UK) and operate numerous joint innovation centres in partnership with telecom and ICT partners.

Further information is available at http://www.huawei.eu

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This press release is available digitally at huawei.eu/seeds-for-the-future/