Students introduced to Chinese culture, language

PIC: Students also visited the Great Wall of China. (Credit: PPU)

TRAINING | LANGAUGE

On arrival in  China, the 10 Ugandan ICT students who are on a two-weeks technological study trip in China under the Huawei “Seeds for the Future” programme 2018, have been introduced to culture, including  language and painting.

The students, whose ICT-related proposals were chosen as the best from the 35 presented by students from the public universities in Uganda, were recently flagged off by the First Lady and education minister Mrs. Janet Museveni.

The students include Hilda Abigaba from Lira University, Cosmas Karasira from Busitema University, Robert Kasumba, Cleopatra Mangeni Ajambo, Belinda Nanyonga and Peter Obbo from Makerere University. Others are Andrew Kirembwe, Mugisha Samuel, Nakate Annet and Gerald Oola from Muni University.

While in Beijing, China Huawei has enabled the Ugandan students to be trained by the Beijing Language and Culture University’s School of Continuing Education for a week in speaking and writing the Chinese language.

They toured the Forbidden City Palace Museum in Beijing 

The students are also being exposed to the Chinese painting and culture. A test will be administered after the one week and certificates credited to the successful ones.

Gerard Oola, who is studying computer science in information technology at Muni University, said it is a great opportunity for him and his colleagues to learn the Chinese language. He said learning the language will give him an advantage over others when competing for relevancy and employment in the global world.

“I am going further to learn more Chinese when I go back to Uganda. We thank Huawei Uganda for this initiative,” he said.

Belinda Nanyonga, a student of software engineering from Makerere University urged her peers back home to learn other foreign languages in addition to their professional courses in order to compete favourably in the global world.

“There are many businesses in Uganda owned by the Chinese, but since most people cannot communicate in the Chinese language, they are failing to benefit from these business, for instance, getting employment,” she said.

The Chinese lecturer Xíng Xiăoyan, lauded the Ugandan students, saying they are interested and keen to learn the language.

Students displaying their works after practising Chinese calligraphy

While in China, the students also visited the Great Wall in Beijing, an historical site traced back to 2,000 years ago and which attracts about 80,000 tourists; both Chinese and foreigners, every day.

They were also taken on a guided tour of the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, found in Beijing. The Forbidden City was built on 72 hectares and is the biggest preserved palace in the world.

The Ugandan students will relocate to Shenzhen on Friday, where they will have a week of a hands-on training in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, LTE and cloud computing at the Huawei Technologies Headquarters.

Lina Cao, the public relations officer at Huawei Technologies, Uganda, accompanied the students to China. He urged the trainees to effectively utilise their time in China, take advantage of the ICT expertise and experience and ensure knowledge transfer to their universities.

This is the third group of students to visit China under the Huawei's “Seeds for the Future” global Corporate Social Responsibility flagship programme. Thirty Ugandans have so far benefitted from the programme since President Yoweri Museveni flagged it off in 2016.