ABU students shine at ICT competition in China

By Al-Mustapha A. Mustapha

Students of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, have won two major prizes at the 10th Huawei ICT Skills Competition Global Finals held in Shenzhen, China.

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The competition took place from June 2 to June 5 and brought together 177 teams from 40 countries, competing in networking, cloud computing, computing, and artificial intelligence categories.

At the award ceremony on June 5, the ABU team emerged first in the Cloud category and second in the Computing category.

In addition, three female members of the team received the Women in Tech Award, alongside Nigeria’s Network Team.

Team ABU 2026 also presented a project known as ParaVision during the Artificial Intelligence and Innovation segment of the competition. The project is an AI-powered diagnostic system built on Huawei technology. It can carry out laboratory tests and generate reports in under three minutes. It also supports multiple languages, including Arabic, French, Chinese, and Swahili.

Speaking at the global finals, UNESCO Director for Technology and AI Education, Dr Shafika Isaacs, said the participants were already contributing to shaping the future of technology.

“You have already won something far more valuable than a trophy. You have won the right to be called the problem solvers of tomorrow,” she said.

She added that artificial intelligence is changing how people live and learn but stressed that it must remain human-centred.

“Technologies, including AI, must serve people, not the other way around,” she said.

Dr Isaacs also encouraged students to develop ethical reasoning, creativity, and critical thinking alongside technical skills.

“Machines can take us only so far. We absolutely need human capability, human agency, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and creativity,” she said.

The networking, cloud, and computing finals involved an eight-hour laboratory exercise in which participants solved real-world technical tasks.

The competition began in October 2025 and attracted more than 220,000 students globally. The ABU team progressed through the national finals in December 2025 and the Southern Africa regional finals in March 2026 before reaching the global stage.

Members of Team ABU 2026 include Kumba-Banna Tekanyi, Yakubu Musa Yakubu, Adekunle Abdulroqeeb Oladimeji, Wakili Sefiu Bolaji, Yunus Muhammad, Ruqayyah Hassan Labo, Khadija Khalid, and Grace Temitayo Olorunfemi. They are students of computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and electronics and telecommunications engineering.

The team participated under the guidance of Dr Bashir Halliru Sani and Dr Zaharaddeen Haruna.

The vice-chancellor of ABU, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, attended the event alongside other university officials, including the deputy vice-chancellor (academic), Prof. Raymond Bako; director of the Distance Learning Centre, Prof. Muhammed Bashir Mu’azu; and director of the Institute of Agricultural and ICT Innovation, Prof. Emmanuel Adewale Adedokun.