Nigerian university students have recorded an outstanding achievement on the global technology stage after securing multiple awards at the 10th Huawei ICT Competition Global Finals held in Shenzhen, China, further highlighting the country’s growing reputation as a hub for digital innovation and emerging technology talent.
The competition, regarded as one of the world’s largest technology talent platforms, attracted more than 201,000 students from over 100 countries. From over 6,000 Nigerian participants, five teams made up of 15 students successfully navigated national and regional qualifying rounds to earn places at the global finals. The students represented leading institutions, including Ahmadu Bello University, University of Port Harcourt, University of Lagos, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Igbinedion University, and Nasarawa State University.
The Nigerian contingent delivered an impressive performance across several categories, winning Grand Prizes in both the Innovation and Network tracks, while two teams secured First Prizes in the Cloud category. Another team clinched a Second Prize in the Computing track. One of the competition’s standout projects was Paravision, an artificial intelligence driven solution developed to support the diagnosis and treatment of malaria and intestinal parasites. The innovation drew praise from judges for combining advanced technology with practical healthcare applications capable of addressing pressing public health challenges.
Beyond the awards, Nigeria also made history by becoming the first country to produce two all female teams that both emerged as Grand Prize winners at the global competition. The feat has been widely celebrated as a significant milestone for gender inclusion in technology and a reflection of the increasing participation of young Nigerian women in science, technology, engineering and innovation. The success of the students is expected to boost interest in digital skills development, artificial intelligence research and problem solving innovation across the nation’s higher institutions.