STORY: Huawei strengthens partnership with Ethiopian university to enhance ICT development
SHOOTING TIME: April 5, 2024
DATELINE: April 7, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:38
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
CATEGORY: EDUCATION

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the signing ceremony
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BIKILA TEKLU, Chief executive director of Addis Ababa Institute of Technology
3. various of the signing ceremony
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZERIHUN ALEMAYEHU, Official from the Ethiopian Ministry of Labor and Skills
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): LIU JIFAN, Chief executive officer of Huawei Ethiopia
6. various of the signing ceremony

STORYLINE:

Ethiopia's Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company, on Friday signed a cooperation agreement that will boost Ethiopian students' access to industry experience on information and communication technologies (ICT).
   
As part of the signed Memorandum of Understanding, Huawei Ethiopia and the AAU will increase collaboration in talent and skill cultivation in the ICT sector. It will also enable AAU students to intern at Huawei Ethiopia and gain more practical ICT experience.
   
Bikila Teklu, chief executive director of Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, said during the signing ceremony that the partnership agreement is expected to contribute to AAU's recent endeavor.
   
He said strategic partnerships and collaborations with key industry stakeholders, such as Huawei, is one of the key focus areas of the AAU as part of its new strategic plan.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BIKILA TEKLU, Chief executive director of Addis Ababa Institute of Technology
"Such partnerships are crucial for providing industry exposures and capacity building for our faculty and students, and eventually to produce graduates that are fit for the labor market needs.
We dearly value our partnership with Huawei technologies, a global powerhouse in the telecom and ICT sector, and our vision is to further strengthen our partnership by building on the existing platform." 

Zerihun Alemayehu, an official from the Ethiopian Ministry of Labor and Skills, on his part commended Huawei's commitment in nurturing young Ethiopian talents in the telecom and ICT sector.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZERIHUN ALEMAYEHU, Official from the Ethiopian Ministry of Labor and Skills
"There is a high demand for digitization, both in the private and public sectors. The university and the industry's engagement to develop trained and qualified manpower is of great importance. This experience is exemplary and needs to be strengthened and scaled up to all sectors and training institutions."

Liu Jifan, chief executive officer of Huawei Ethiopia, on his part expressed the company's keen commitment to further strengthening its collaboration with the AAU in particular and Ethiopia's digitization ambitions in general.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): LIU JIFAN, Chief executive officer of Huawei Ethiopia
"Huawei, as a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and devices, is proud to be a partner with the Addis Ababa University, a renowned institution of higher learning, to bring you the exceptional opportunity today.
Talent is the driving force of digitization and transformation. You are the future ICT leaders that consist of the pillars in improving our digital development. You are the dream, you are the power, and you are the future."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Addis Ababa.
(XHTV)