How Huawei is transforming lives across the globe

Ismailova Zukhra has just finished weeks of training on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the headquarters of Huawei Technologies in China.

What impressed the college student from Uzbekistan was the 5G network she saw in the Huawei labs, which was so fast that it only took a few seconds to download a movie of 1GB size.

She said the internet speed in her country was still quite slow and it takes a long time to download a film online, adding that she was looking forward to use of 5G technology in Uzbekistan in the future.

Huawei has been doing business in Uzbekistan since 1999 and is now providing telecom and internet service for 60 percent of residents in the Central Asian country. But this is not the only way how this communication technology giant of China is transforming the life of people in that nation.

In 2014, Huawei signed a five-year agreement with Tashkent University of Information Technologies, one of the largest universities in Uzbekistan, inviting 10 students to undergo short-term training and internships in China.

This is part of the company's global, most heavily invested corporate social responsibility program, called Telecom Seeds for the Future. It was initiated in 2008 to help nurture ICT talent, enhance knowledge transfer and promote an in-depth understanding of and greater interest in the ICT sector.

It also aims to "improve and encourage regional building and participation in the digital community," as Huawei describes the program on its website.

The study trip to China, which lasts a few weeks, is intensive and includes various activities, such as learning innovative ICT technologies, having hands-on practice in labs, visiting Huawei to see global corporation operations, and taking part in various cross-cultural exchanges.

As of last year, the program has been spread to 96 countries and regions of the world's five continents, enabling 2,700 students from more than 280 higher education institutions across the globe to visit and study at the company's headquarters in China.

The year of 2016 alone saw 1,200 students come to China under this program. Huawei said it would continue investment on the program globally in the long run.