Huawei and the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) at the University of the Pretoria (UP), have announced the launch of the Huawei Authorised Information and Network Academy (HAINA). 

The HAINA initiative is a global ICT technology education programme, which authorises universities and tertiary education institutions to deliver Huawei certification courses to their students. This will be the fourth accreditation in South Africa, following established programmes with Tshwane University of Technology, the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand. The ICT Academy at UP will be the first to offer Storage Technology training (HCNA/P-Storage). UP is also considering the possibility of offering training in LTE (HCNA/P-LTE) and Access Technologies (HCNA/P-Access).

The programme adopts the increasingly popular university-enterprise cooperation model and includes training and industry certification in popular ICT technologies, such as WLAN, security, storage and cloud computing.

HAINA students will acquire knowledge of cutting-edge ICT technology and gain elaborate hands-on practical training experiences. Students going through HAINA labs may obtain the following certification paths: HCNA/P-R&S, HCNA/P-WLAN, HCNA/P-Security, HCNA/P-Storage and HCNA/P-Cloud Computing, thus boosting their ICT skills to increase their chances of employability. Furthermore, HAINA-trained graduates will be given first priority for internships and employment opportunities at Huawei and its partner companies.

Huawei provides a certification service by leveraging its years of experience in developing ICT talent. Its certification is created to match the career development life cycle of talent for the ICT industry, meeting the needs of various roles, from college students to workplace beginners, associates, professionals, and experts. The certification covers 10 fields and 12 technical directions. It offers the only certification programme of its kind in the industry that covers all ICT technical fields.

UP’s Dean of EBIT, Prof Sunil Maharaj  said the University “is proud to partner with a global leader like Huawei to bring about competitive ICT skills for our students. We look forward to facilitating a closer interaction between academia and the industry to help strengthen and provide highly demanded human resources for the IT and Telecom fields in the region.”

Michael Meng, Vice-President of the Southern Africa Enterprise Business Service Department, said the company is committed to the continuous knowledge-sharing efforts and development of the technical workforce for the sustainable growth of the ICT ecosystem.  

"As an international ICT innovator, Huawei actively works with partners on joint projects dedicated to up- skilling educational environments and providing the youth with more opportunities to meet the ICT ecosystem’s long-term need for talent," he said.

With its aim to support local ICT education around the world, Huawei has now extended its HAINA programme to more than 15% of the leading universities worldwide.

Huawei is offering bursaries to EBIT honours and master's students. Visit office 1-55 in the Graduate Centre, Hatfield campus. The closing date is Friday, 12 October. Go to  www.up.ac.za/funding or https://www.up.ac.za/en/funding/2723113/huawei-2019-scholarship-honours-and-masters