Central Asia on the global IT stage: how the Huawei ICT Competition is shaping a new generation of technological leaders

At the international finals venue in Shenzhen, The Tech editorial team spoke personally with finalists from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan about the opportunities international competitions open up, how IT education is changing in the region, and what role young specialists will play in the technological future of their countries.

Mirvokhid Azimov, student at Inha University in Tashkent

Zhaksylyk Abdymutalipov, student at Kazakh-British Technical University.

Ayan Ismailova, student at French-Azerbaijani University

Islam Khayitmukhammedov, student at Yagshigeldy Kakayev International University of Oil and Gas 

Participation and preparation for Huawei ICT Competition

Mirvokhid. The Huawei ICT Competition is one of the most prestigious international competitions in the ICT field, bringing together thousands of talented students from around the world. For me, it was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge and skills on an international stage, as well as to enhance my expertise in cloud technologies, which currently play a key role in the modern IT industry.

Ayan. The Huawei ICT Academy has been operating at our university for several years, and we wanted to make the most of the opportunities it offers students. Participating in the Huawei ICT Competition became a logical continuation of this path—an opportunity to test my knowledge at an international level and gain experience that is difficult to acquire in a classroom.

Islam. I decided to participate in the Huawei ICT Competition to test my skills and knowledge level, understand which direction to move in next, and identify my weaknesses so I could strengthen them in the future.

Zhaksylyk. The most interesting part of the preparation was the moment when, after many hours of work in eNSP, you begin to understand the internal logic of the technologies. For example, the case with VRRP IP-owner: at some point, you start to understand why the master is determined by the device whose real IP matches the virtual one. Another important discovery was realizing that the ability to work with documentation often yields more than simply memorizing commands. 

Mirvokhid. During the preparation, I became more familiar with the Huawei Cloud platform. Previously, I had experience working with cloud services like Google Cloud and AWS, but preparing for the Huawei ICT Competition allowed me to dive deeper into the architecture of cloud infrastructures and brought me closer to the role of a cloud solutions developer. Another interesting aspect was making international connections with winners of last year's competition, from whom I learned about their preparation approaches and strategies.

What opportunities does the Huawei ICT Competition open up?

Mirvokhid. The Huawei ICT Competition gave me the opportunity to go beyond the local level and feel what real international competition in the field of cloud technologies looks like. Additionally, the contest provided access to a deeper understanding of Huawei Cloud, its architecture, services, and practical application in real-world infrastructure tasks. For me, this is not just a competition, but an opportunity to see which skills are truly in demand in the industry.

What I remember most is communicating with participants from different countries. Each had their own preparation path, their own technical background, and their own perspective on IT. It was especially interesting to meet people who had already participated in this competition before or had experience in similar international contests. Such acquaintances are motivating because you see people around you who are just as passionate about technology and development.

Ayan. During the preparation, I obtained Huawei international certifications, which are recognized in many countries and valued in the professional community. But the most important thing is practical experience. The laboratory assignments are as close to real-world work scenarios as possible, so preparing for the competition helped not only to perform successfully in the contest but also to gain skills that will be useful in my future career.

Zhaksylyk. The Huawei ICT Competition opened up access to direct interaction with Huawei engineers, the company's educational materials, and certification tracks HCIA, HCIP, and HCIE. Moreover, the competition allowed me to meet students from dozens of countries and expand my professional network.

I particularly remember meeting the team from Turkmenistan. After the exam, we exchanged approaches to completing laboratory assignments and discussed various methods for solving technical problems.

Islam. First of all, I would highlight the trip to China—one of the brightest opportunities, as I have long wanted to visit this country. Second, preparing for the competition helped me better understand how network technologies work, which we use in our daily lives. This significantly changes one's perspective on familiar things. Third, I met interesting people from my field, which expanded my professional network.

How one of the world's main tech hubs is structured — Shenzhen 

Ayan. Shenzhen made a very strong impression. Here, it is visible at every turn how much attention is paid to technology, innovation, and infrastructure development. This city clearly demonstrates how consistent investments in science and technology can transform a region into one of the world's centers of technological development. It is no surprise that many major technology companies grew up here.

Zhaksylyk. What in many countries requires long approvals and several years of implementation is brought to life here in just a few months. This is especially noticeable in the Huawei campus, which represents an entire city with a unified technological ecosystem.

Mirvokhid. Shenzhen impressed me with its scale and speed of development. It is hard to believe that in just a few decades, they were able to build such a colossal technological center. I am amazed at how China managed to gather the strongest companies, engineers, and talented people from all over the world and create a new Silicon Valley of Asia.

Advice for future participants

Ayan. To those planning to participate in the Huawei ICT Competition next year, I would advise starting preparation well in advance. It is important to pay attention not only to theory but also to practical work, as it helps consolidate knowledge and prepare for real-world tasks. It is no less important to choose the right team and learn to interact effectively with each other, because success in the competition largely depends on teamwork.

Zhaksylyk. I would advise future participants to start preparation significantly earlier than it might seem necessary. Achieving high results in two or three months is practically impossible, whereas a year of preparation allows you to approach the competition consciously and systematically. For the laboratory part, practice is especially important: no matter how much you read about configurations, knowledge will not be consolidated until you have performed them independently dozens of times in eNSP. Practical skills and motor memory play a key role here. It is also useful to study Huawei certification program materials, as they provide a broad understanding of network technologies.

Mirvokhid. I would advise not to postpone preparation and to start by understanding the basic principles of cloud computing: networks, virtualization, security, databases, and cloud service architecture. It is important not just to memorize materials but to try to understand how these technologies work in practice. I also recommend using official Huawei materials, completing laboratory assignments, and communicating with participants from previous years, as their experience can greatly help in building the right preparation strategy.

Plans and opportunities after Huawei ICT Competition

Zhaksylyk. Participation in the competition allowed me to better understand the scale and level of leading technology vendor companies, as well as see the tasks they are responsible for. This strengthened my desire to develop specifically in network engineering and designing infrastructure solutions. In the future, I plan to obtain HCIP and HCIE certifications to deepen my technical expertise. Additionally, the competition showed that I am capable of working effectively under pressure and interacting in an international team, so I am also interested in internship opportunities at Huawei and companies working in the field of network technologies.

Ayan. At the moment, I am seriously considering opportunities related to further education, international projects, and working in major technology companies. This experience showed me how important it is to be part of the global technology community and to constantly develop my skills.

Islam. I realized that China is a very interesting country, and now I want to return there and perhaps even live there. I plan to start learning the Chinese language and revise my approaches to learning, making them more effective. Upon returning home, I will tell my acquaintances that they should try themselves in the Huawei ICT Competition—one of the best competitions I have participated in so far.

Mirvokhid. Participation in the Huawei ICT Competition strengthened my interest in cloud engineering and cloud architecture. I realized that I want to develop more deeply in the direction of cloud infrastructures, DevOps, distributed systems, and enterprise solutions. This competition showed me that cloud is not just a separate set of services, but a fundamental part of the modern IT industry, and I want to build my further career specifically in this direction.