A ceremony at Kenya's embassy in Beijing officially kicked off two weeks of training in China for nine students from Kenya who will study information and communications technology (ICT) in a program sponsored by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

Reuben Augut, the officer in charge of education at the embassy, spoke on behalf of the Kenyan ambassador to China, and commended Huawei for taking steps to develop the students. He also praised China for being in the lead in ICT, and urged the students to export and implement the skills learned back to Kenya.

ICT focuses primarily on communication technologies, including the internet, wireless networks, cell phones and other communication mediums.

The students will have language and culture training at the Beijing Culture and Language University (BCLU). They also will visit the Great Wall of China and other places to experience Chinese history and culture.

After completing that training, the students will go to the Huawei University in Shenzhen to receive training in cutting edge technology on 5G, LTE and cloud computing and also visit Huawei labs.

The training will be done alongside peers from Singapore and South Africa. Huawei's "Seeds for the Future Program" is running in 22 countries across Africa with the aim to expand to more countries.

According to Huawei's website about the program, it is "designed to bridge the gap between ICT instruction at universities and the practical knowledge and skills needed in the workplace. The program combines hands-on training and the opportunity to learn from veterans in the field."

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn