Jamaican students showing their skills in Huawei tech competition

Nine Jamaicans are among 132 students from 16 Latin America and Caribbean countries currently in San Salvador, El Salvador participating in the Huawei Seeds for The Future, Tech for Good competition.

The Jamaican students are from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech Ja) and The University of the West Indies (UWI). The competition is part of Huawei's wider Seeds for The Future programme, which is designed to reduce the digital gap and promote technological education in the region and the world. Throughout the programme, the students will have the opportunity to learn about trending topics and learn from experts in the educational technology industry valuable information that will support the digital transformation in their countries.

In the competition aspect, the students make presentations on how tech can improve their respective countries in various sectors. Serene Shirley, who attends The UWI, said she and her teammates are optimpistic about their project.

"We did a whole lot of work over the past few days and I think it is enough to get us to China [where the finals of the event will be held]. Our project is very sustainable and I think it can solve a lot of our problems," she said. The students have created an electromat which harnesses energy from mechanical stress.

"We are aiming to aid with non-renewable resources and this could mean lower electricity costs for Jamaicans. It will also aid in limiting the use of fossil fuels because global warming and harmful gases are a big problem and we are hoping to combat that," she said.

Kahreem Webb, an electrical engineering student at UTech Ja, is also upbeat about their KETCH project.

"It surrounds inefficient transportation. In Jamaica, when you are waiting on a bus, you have no idea when it will arrive, if it has left, or if there is another on the route. That decreases productivity for persons who depend on public transportation for movement," he said. His teammate Angel Pinnock said they use artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise bus scheduling through the use of GPS tracking in the buses.

On Thursday, both Jamaican teams made it to the top 10 of the competition. Jamaica is the only Caribbean country in the final 10 placements since the competition was created. The groups with the top-two presentations, as voted by the judges, will head to China for the final.