On 14 October 2025, UNESCO IITE and Huawei jointly released a new series of insight reports on ICT skills development during the Smart Education Forum at GITEX GLOBAL 2025 in Dubai, UAE. The forum brought together leading educators, policymakers and technology innovators to explore the transformative role of AI in education.
The event opened with a welcome address by Mr. Peter Zhang, Vice President of Huawei Global Public Business Unit, followed by Mr. Alexander Michael, Vice President of Frost & Sullivan, who shared insights on the impact of AI in reshaping the education industry.
UNESCO IITE was represented by Ms. Ekaterina Pushkareva, Programme Specialist of the Unit of Digital Pedagogy and Learning Materials, who delivered a presentation “AI-driven Digital Transformation in Higher Education” and spoke about the UNESCO IITE – Huawei partnership initiatives in the Middle East and Central Asia aimed to support ICT talent development and enhancement of digital skills.
Mr. Mehedi Hasan Limon, Vice President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia Public Sector, presented “A New Blueprint for Intelligent Education”, envisioning a “digital education community” that brings together technology, services and stakeholders to build a more inclusive, efficient and sustainable learning ecosystem.
Closing the event, Mr. Cong Liang, Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, announced the launch of two Insight Reports with Recommendations “ICT Skills Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and “ICT Skills Development in the Republic of Uzbekistan”.
Two publications open a new series developed by UNESCO IITE in partnership with Huawei within the joint project “Al Capacity Building in Arabic-Speaking Countries and Promoting ICT Education in Central Asia”. The insight reports aim to support the digital transformation of national economies and strengthen the capacity of Central Asia countries through ICT talent cultivation towards the achievement of SDG 4, redesigning higher education and TVET in line with labour market demands and fostering the development of national ICT skills strategies.
At GITEX GLOBAL 2025, UNESCO IITE and Huawei also announced the launch of the 10th Huawei ICT Competition for the Middle East and Central Asia. The initiative is designed to enhance students’ ICT knowledge, practical skills and innovative capabilities. Since its inception, the competition has become one of the largest talent development platforms in the region, engaging over 140,000 students from more than 800 universities across 19 countries.
The publications “ICT Skills Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Insight Report with Recommendations” and “ICT Skills Development in the Republic of Uzbekistan: Insight Report with Recommendations” are available in English at the UNESCO IITE website.