Students of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, have brought pride to Nigeria after securing two major awards at the 10th Huawei ICT Skills Competition Global Finals held in Shenzhen, China.
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The prestigious global competition, which took place from June 2 to June 5, 2026, attracted 177 teams from 40 countries, making it one of the world’s largest technology and innovation contests for students.
At the grand award ceremony in Shenzhen, the ABU team emerged among the top performers, winning a Grand Prize in the Cloud Track and a Second Grand Prize in the Computing Track. The students also earned international recognition through the prestigious “Women in Tech” Award, presented to three members of TeamABU2026 alongside the Nigeria Network Team.
The competition began in October 2025 and attracted more than 220,000 students from around the world. Participants advanced through a series of highly competitive stages, including national and regional qualifiers, before reaching the global finals.
ABU’s journey to China followed outstanding performances at the Nigerian national finals in December 2025 and the Southern Africa regional finals in March 2026, where the students secured their place among the world’s best ICT talents.
The Network, Cloud, and Computing tracks featured an intensive eight-hour practical laboratory challenge that required participants to solve real-world technology problems using advanced ICT solutions. The final phase tested competitors’ technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, and practical industry knowledge.
One of the highlights of the competition was the AI and Innovation category, where students were tasked with designing and developing innovative artificial intelligence solutions using Huawei technologies.
TeamABU2026 impressed judges with its groundbreaking project, “ParaVision,” an AI-powered healthcare solution developed using the Orange Pi AIPro platform built around the Huawei Ascend 310B4 chip.
The innovative system is designed to conduct multiple diagnostic tests either independently or simultaneously while generating laboratory reports in less than three minutes. The solution also features a multilingual interface capable of operating in several languages, including French, Arabic, Chinese, and Swahili, making it suitable for deployment across diverse regions.
The students who represented Ahmadu Bello University at the global finals included Kumba-Banna Tekanyi of Computer Engineering, Yakubu Musa Yakubu of Computer Science, Adekunle Abdulroqeeb Oladimeji of Electrical Engineering, Wakili Sefiu Bolaji of Computer Engineering, Yunus Muhammad of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering, Ruqayyah Hassan Labo of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering, Khadija Khalid of Computer Engineering, and Grace Temitayo Olorunfemi of Computer Engineering.
The team competed under the guidance of two technical instructors, Dr. Bashir Halliru Sani of the Institute of Agriculture and Information Communication Technology (IAIICT) and Dr. Zaharaddeen Haruna of the Department of Computer Engineering.
Senior officials of the university were also present at the event to support the students. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, attended the global finals alongside the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Raymond B. Bako.
Other university representatives at the competition included the Director of the Distance Learning Centre, Prof. Muhammed Bashir Mu’azu, and the Director of IAIICT, Prof. Emmanuel Adewale Adedokun.
The students’ remarkable performance has been widely celebrated within the university community, with many describing the achievement as a testament to the quality of talent, innovation, and research emerging from Nigerian higher institutions.
Their success further reinforces Nigeria’s growing reputation in information and communication technology and highlights the increasing competitiveness of Nigerian students on the global technology stage.
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