Irish students shine in Huawei 2024 European Seeds for the future
24nd July 2024: Huawei Ireland is proud to announce the results and awards of the 2024 European Seeds for the Future project, following a week of activities held from 1st to 5th July in Rome. This year’s event marked a significant milestone as the first in-person gathering after online-only editions in recent years. Among the 145 top students from 23 European countries, Ireland’s delegation of 10 students from six universities achieved remarkable success.
The 10 successful students who represented Ireland have been granted €1,000 each to help with their STEM studies.
Team Anaphero, comprising five Irish students, emerged as the regional champion and will advance to the prestigious Tech4Good global final in China, which will take place early next year. Their innovative project focused on developing a wearable device that instantly alerts parents and caregivers when a child shows early signs of anaphylactic shock. Utilising sensors to detect allergic reaction symptoms, the device leverages 5G network and AI models for real-time analysis and connectivity.
Team Anaphero members included Tiarnan O'Rourke, University College Dublin; Ciara O'Reilly, Dublin City University; Dylan Hussain, Technological University of Dublin; Luke O'Sullivan, University College Cork and Eoin Creavin, University College Dublin.
Another notable Irish group, Team Upstream, secured a spot in the European region Top 10. Their project aims to provide residents with timely notifications about water supply quality. By using AI models, cloud technology, and 5G networks, along with sensors, they offer real-time water quality analysis and notify residents when the water needs to be boiled before consumption.
Luke McDonnell, Head of PR at Huawei Ireland, praised the students' achievements: “We are incredibly proud of our Irish students who have demonstrated exceptional talent and innovation. Their success at the European Seeds for the Future event highlights the importance of investing in STEM education and development of young professionals. By nurturing their skills and providing opportunities to engage with cutting-edge technologies, we can ensure that Ireland, and Europe, remain as leaders in the global digital landscape.”
The Seeds for the Future program featured workshops, panel discussions, and insights from industry experts and academia. Participants explored various tech career paths, deepened their understanding of innovation, digitalisation, sustainability and entrepreneurship, honed their digital skills, and contributed to building a strong, supportive community committed to a digital and intelligent Europe.
The Seeds for the Future program which aligns with Huawei’s commitment to cultivating ICT talent continues to be a vital initiative in preparing students for the challenges of the future, fostering innovation, and promoting sustainable technological advancement.
For more information about the Seeds for the Future program and the latest updates on the Tech4Good global final, please visit https://www.huawei.com/minisite/seeds-for-the-future/tech4good.html.
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Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – Huawei is committed to bringing digital to every person, home, and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei employs over 207,000 people in 170 countries across the globe.
Since its arrival in 2004, Huawei’s activities in Ireland have developed from supplying mobile phones, building Ireland’s first national fixed wireless network, providing fibre optic broadband technologies, to being at the forefront of the current 5G digital transformation. Huawei’s activities globally, and in Ireland, are underpinned by a core focus on R&D. Indeed, the EU ranks Huawei among the top five investors in R&D in the world3. Annually Huawei spends 10%-15% of its global sales revenue on R&D, in 2023 its total R&D spending reached €21.2 billion, representing 23.4% of total revenue. In Ireland, Huawei has invested over €250 million in its Irish R&D efforts between 2019-2023. Along with the positive impact of Huawei’s R&D activities, Ireland’s economy derives significant economic benefits from Huawei’s operational expenditure and exchequer contributions, with a total annualised economic contribution of over €800 million and will contribute €4.5 billion in economic value to Ireland between now and 2030 according to a recent Amárach report. Huawei’s Irish operations employ 543 individuals, and support the employment of a further 6,100 individuals through indirect and induced effects from its activities.
Huawei works with several Irish third-level institutions, including Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, University of Limerick, University College Dublin, and University College Cork, funding vital Irish research into video, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. The company also partners key Science Foundation Ireland centres such as Connect, Insight, Adapt and Lero.