The winners of Huawei's first global Tech4Good competition were announced on January 20, with team Thailand "Are u OK?" taking the gold for their solution that helps patients in Thailand receive faster emergency treatment. They achieved this through advanced route planning and real-time communications enabled by 5G, AI, and cloud technologies, shortening the time patients spend traveling to medical centers and improving their chance of survival.
The Tech4Good Competition is a new project started in 2021 under Huawei's flagship Seeds for the Future digital skill training program. Tech4Good asks students to identify a social issue and propose a technical solution for it based on the ICT skills they learn throughout the program. This competition is also designed to cultivate leadership and team work through practice and group competition.
Seeds for the Future was launched in 2008 in Thailand to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge communication gaps between countries and cultures. In it, young people from around the world study advanced ICT technologies and build real-world expertise and skills. The 2021 program had more than 3,500 participants from over 117 countries, bringing the total number of participants over the past 13 years to 120,000 students representing 139 countries and regions. In Thailand, this program has benefited over 215 students from leading universities.
During her opening remarks at the award ceremony, Catherine Chen, Huawei's Senior Vice President, Director of the Board, explained how this year's program was a particular success, saying "The participation of Seeds for the Future program was record-breaking in 2021. Your feedback and love for this program have been truly heartwarming. Your generation's passion and drive to learn never fail to impress me." Chen also spoke at length during the event about the program's aim to foster inclusiveness, unity and cooperation in a contentious international environment along with other social goals.
The winners will have private consultation or coaching sessions with Huawei executives and managers, and be shortlisted to speak at international forums and other events. The first place winners will also get the chance to meet with an investor to pitch their idea.
"Are u OK?" gold award winner team from Thailand proposed a "Turning Green" solution to improve patient transportation process for Thailand and every other countries in the world. Turning Green will utilize map kit, Huawei cloud, and power cube 500 technologies from Huawei to support emergency patients to reach the hospital faster, help medical personnel to transport patients with more convenience, and also help support smart city initiative of the government in the future. The Turning Green platform's goal is to decrease patients' death rate during transportation due to traffic jams and help reducing the number of accidents. The solution will provide an application mainly for hospitals with smart ambulances and will have a subscription-based business model.
At the award ceremony, Mr. Ekapong Rimcharone Deputy Secretary-General, Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission congratulated on Thailand team's winning, and said "Thank all the students for your effort and hard working for the great idea project. I also would like to Thank Huawei for arranging the good CSR program which contributing to Thailand's ICT talent cultivation."
Digital talent development has long been a strategic focus for Huawei. In November 2021, Thailand has arranged to host its 13th Seeds for the Future program. 15 outstanding students from 30 applications were selected, who come from Chulalongkorn University, Thammasat University, KMITL, KMUTT, Rangsit University, and Khon Kaen University. In Thailand, the students have joined a total of 8-day intensive programs both online and offline. For offline they were introduced to basic knowledge of 5G, Cloud & AI, Chinese traditional culture, Seeds alumni talk, and visited 5G Ecosystem Innovation Center.
In Thailand, the digital economy is expected to account for 30% of GDP by 2030, and Thailand is rapidly becoming a leader in ASEAN for 5G infrastructure and industry applications. By the fourth quarter of 2021, Thailand has deployed over 20,000 5G base stations, with 4.2 million 5G users, the 5G coverage rate in EEC and Bangkok exceeds 70%. Bangkok is ranked as the top 10 5G City in the world by GSMA. Meanwhile, Huawei has worked with partners to accelerate the application of 5G in Thailand's pillar industry like agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing.
Under the mission of "Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand". Huawei has been working with different stakeholders to increase Thailand's digital competitiveness and ICT talents preparation for a digital Thailand. In 2019, Huawei ASEAN Academy (Thailand) was established with an investment around 180M THB, aimed to cultivate 100,000 ICT talents for Thailand in 5 years. Until now, Huawei has provided digital training for over 41,000 ICT professionals and 1,300 SMEs.
For more info on the Seeds for the Future program, please check the website below:
https://www.huawei.com/minisite/seeds-for-the-future/index.html