- Kenyan universities earned international acclaim after three teams reached the Huawei Global ICT Competition finals in Shenzhen, China, winning top honours including the Grand Prize.
- The Cloud Track Team won the Grand Prize, the Network Track Team secured Second Prize, and an all‑women Computing Team from JKUAT won Second Prize plus the Women in Tech Award.
Kenya’s higher education institutions have earned international acclaim after students and lecturers posted outstanding results at the 2026 Huawei Global ICT Competition, a performance President William Ruto says underscores the country’s growing strength in digital skills and technology education.
At State House, Nairobi, the President hosted the winning teams and congratulated the students and their lecturers for flying Kenya’s flag high during the finals held in Shenzhen, China. He described their success as proof of the quality of training offered in local universities and the country’s rising capacity to produce graduates with globally competitive digital expertise.
Kenya emerged among the top‑performing nations after three teams reached the global finals and returned with major honours. The Cloud Track Team delivered the country’s biggest achievement by clinching the Grand Prize, which is the highest award in the competition and Kenya’s first since joining the Huawei ICT contest in 2019.
The Network Track Team secured Second Prize, while an all‑women Computing Team from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology also won Second Prize and received the prestigious Women in Tech Award. President Ruto singled out Franklin Mutisya, a lecturer at Machakos University, alongside students Denzel Nzinga of Multimedia University, Robert Wambua of Kenyatta University and Joy Wairimu of The Co‑operative University of Kenya for their exceptional performance in networking, cybersecurity and wireless technologies.
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Ruto said the achievements reflect sustained investment in digital infrastructure, innovation and skills development. He noted that Kenya now has the expertise to advance cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other emerging technologies.
The President pointed to the Government’s Digital Superhighway Programme, which has rolled out 37,000 kilometres of fibre‑optic cable, established hundreds of digital hubs and provided digital skills training to more than 1.9 million Kenyans. He added that the digitisation of 25,000 government services — up from just 350 in 2022 — has created greater opportunities for ICT graduates while accelerating the country’s digital transformation.
Ruto challenged universities and other institutions of higher learning to continue nurturing innovation, research and technology‑driven solutions that will prepare young Kenyans for the rapidly evolving global digital economy. He said education remains central to Kenya’s ambition of becoming a first‑world economy, and the achievements of the Huawei ICT champions demonstrate that the country is firmly on that path.
By Kithinji Njeru
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