DHAKA -- Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited inaugurated its annual program of "Seeds for the Future 2020 in Bangladesh" on Monday to develop local information and communications technology (ICT) talents and thorough transfer of knowledge.

The program mainly focuses on bridging the gap between academic and industry knowledge. Selected participants can get insights into the latest developments in the global ICT industry and get the opportunity to enhance their ICT expertise and skills.

The program is also a long-term corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity dedicated to the top STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and ICT students worldwide.

In Bangladesh, students from a number of top leading universities will be participating in the program this year.

The selected students will be attending a five-day online program of cultural and technological training from the Huawei Headquarters of China (Beijing and Shenzhen).

Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony, Bangladeshi Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, "Youth are the force of any development. Driving them with a positive spirit is very important."

He said this will aid them in helping the country to achieve the Vision of Digital Bangladesh 2021. "We can be very sure that such initiatives will spark their innovative mind, and they can mitigate future shocks or pandemics like COVID-19 in a better way."

Zhang Zhengjun, CEO of Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited, said, "The most important mechanism for a country is how its new generation is growing up with access to knowledge and increased capacity so that they can contribute to the country in the long run."

He said students of different universities are getting the opportunity to get training at our Huawei University and research and development centers situated in China for the last five years.

"This project is facilitating the students to have knowledge of the world's future technologies like 5G, cloud, and AI era, etc. We want our students to get the best skills so they can innovate and create local solutions that will serve the local needs," he added.

Starting in 2008 globally, the program has been implemented in 126 countries and international organizations worldwide, benefitting over 30,000 students from 500 universities.