Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Techno Mind team, consisting of eight students from Uzbekistan, took first place in the Tech4Good competition, presenting the "Aquatibia" project. The final of the regional competition was held on 14 September in Dubai as part of the second stage of the flagship educational program Huawei Seeds For The Future.

On 14 September, 8 students from Uzbekistan won the regional competition for the best Tech4Good project as part of the second stage of the Huawei Seeds for the Future educational program. A team from Uzbekistan took part in the competition along with 6 teams from Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Mongolia and the UAE. The winners of the project were students from the Tashkent University of Information Technologies, Inha University in Tashkent, Amity University in Tashkent, Kimyo International University in Tashkent and the New Uzbekistan University. Students from the United Arab Emirates also won the competition, receiving the People's Choice Award, and students from Qatar for the Innovative Idea.

  The Aquatibia project, presented to the prestigious jury of the competition, is an integrated water filtration system with an innovative filter to reduce salt and heavy metals in water and soil, working using digital solutions for agriculture. The project was highly appreciated by the jury in both the first and second stages of the competition, which allowed the team from Uzbekistan to participate in the global Tech4Good competition and compete for a startup support fund of $100,000, as well as take part in the COP-28 climate summit , which will take place this November in Dubai.

“Participating in Seeds for the Future has been an incredible experience for me. Over the course of two weeks, we learned from experts and mentors, worked with a great team, and were able to make new friends from 15 countries in the region. It was a truly exciting and educational journey that made a deep impression on me,” shared the leader of Techno Mind, a student at Inha University in Tashkent, Nodira Otabekova. “Being entrusted with being the leader of our team allowed me to see the project preparation process from different perspectives, enriching my own understanding of project management and improving my leadership skills. Moreover, the opportunity to present not only our project, but also our wonderful country on stage to hundreds of people was an exciting experience in itself. Winning the regional tour in Dubai has added more excitement and motivation to our journey and we are determined to perform our best on the global stage.”

The second stage of the Seeds for the Future program took place from 10 to 16 September 2023. in Dubai as the Tech4Good acceleration program. Students participated in informational workshops on topics such as entrepreneurial leadership, strategic business management tools, presentation competence, identifying customer needs, and prototyping. Participants also had the opportunity to visit the TDRA office, the UN partner office at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) and the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP), where exclusive team sessions were organized with guest mentors.

During the awards ceremony, Mr. Liu Jiawei, Director of Huawei UAE, said: “We witnessed the best minds of the Middle East and Central Asia perform in Dubai and congratulate all the deserving champions for their outstanding efforts. We thank the UAE Ministry of Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence, the Telecommunications and Digital Authority (TDRA) and the ICT Foundation for their support in bringing the project to Dubai. Through ongoing, open collaboration, we can develop ICT talent that will drive the digital economy of the future in the Middle East and Central Asia region.”

In total, 175 students from Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, took part in the Seeds for the Future program for 15 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia region. Kyrgyzstan. With the support of the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, 15 students from 7 universities of Uzbekistan participated in the program. Along with students from Uzbekistan, Nodira Tillaeva, a graduate of Inha University in Tashkent and Global Seeds Ambassador, took part in the project.

The Seeds for the Future project is not the only educational initiative of Huawei. This year, students of Huawei ICT Academies in Uzbekistan can also take part in the ICT competition - ICT Competition. The competition provides participants with the opportunity not only to demonstrate their skills, but also to receive valuable prizes, including certificates from Huawei, as well as the opportunity to undergo training at Huawei ICT Academies. Registration for the competition is open until October 15, 2023.