HUAWEI – a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider – and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) have signed a new agreement in which Huawei will provide the university a host of ICT solutions to help mirror real-life working scenarios for students during their coursework. The state-of-the-art ICT solutions from Huawei will form part of the university's labs and will add value to the course material, thesis work and engineering projects for nearly 1,200 students in undergraduate and Master's programs by providing them access to advanced wireless, telecommunication and computer network equipment. “Teaching and research are the core functions of KFUPM as we prepare students for global competitiveness, requiring graduates to be prepared with cutting-edge skills trainings that can only be achieved through partnership efforts between the private sector and education providers,” said Dr. Khaled S. Al-Sultan, Rector at KFUPM. “We are delighted to closely work with Huawei as a fast growing global technology company for the benefit of both parties and we hope this will be beneficial for KFUPM research and academic programs.” Among the new technologies being provided to the university is the world's most powerful eLTE broadband trunking solution, used by organizations in the government, oil & gas, utilities and transportation sectors, to name a few. The innovations featured within the Huawei solution are actually several years ahead of comparative vendor solutions, and is seen as an essential component in delivering the full benefits of 4G LTE broadband services to businesses across the Kingdom. Additional contributions to the university will include world leading virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution where students can learn to enhance the efficiency of enterprise IT by reducing the workload and complexity of IT system design. The university will also start working with Huawei Micro Data Center technology, the first all-in-one data center providing both large and medium-sized businesses with unified management tools in an ever more complex big data environment. “The programs being developed by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals are of an incredibly high standard and play an essential role in the advancement of the region's overall information and communication technology industry,” noted Shi Yaohong, President of Huawei Middle East. “Collaborating with renowned institutions like KFUPM is a privilege for Huawei as we are able to share our global expertise and provide knowledge transfer and professional training to local students, while in turn identifying valuable insights into the future requirements of the Kingdom's ICT sector. Saudi Arabia is home to a rapidly developing digital economy, and we are committed to investing in these kinds of initiatives and supporting the Kingdom to achieve its ambitious Vision 2020 goals.” — SG
