Kenya has secured a historic victory on the global tech stage after a team of four university students, including one from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), clinched the Grand Prize at the Huawei ICT Competition 2025-2026 Global Finals held in Shenzhen, China.
The win, reported on Monday, marks Kenya’s biggest victory in the decade-long competition, which this year attracted over 220,000 participants from universities worldwide. The Kenyan quartet beat 131 elite teams from more than 40 countries to emerge overall winners in fields covering cloud computing, networking, artificial intelligence and computing.
The team comprised Catherine Atieno from JKUAT, Kevin Tuei from Tharaka University, Brian Ngugi Kamau from Mt. Kenya University and Salem Kim from Machakos University. Judges cited their technical expertise, innovation, teamwork and problem-solving capabilities.
The achievement comes weeks after JKUAT’s Team Vulcan won the Africa Mars Rover Challenge 2026, beating 39 teams with a rover innovation that uses dual battery packs and a custom wireless priority system to operate without external internet beyond 80 meters.
The team comprised Catherine Atieno from JKUAT, Kevin Tuei from Tharaka University, Brian Ngugi Kamau from Mt. Kenya University and Salem Kim from Machakos University. Judges cited their technical expertise, innovation, teamwork and problem-solving capabilities.
The achievement comes weeks after JKUAT’s Team Vulcan won the Africa Mars Rover Challenge 2026, beating 39 teams with a rover innovation that uses dual battery packs and a custom wireless priority system to operate without external internet beyond 80 meters.
JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Ngumi has previously said the university is aligning programs with national AI strategy and turning research into enterprises, noting that JKUAT secured one patent and four copyrights in the last six months alone.
Huawei said the competition provides a platform to strengthen ICT knowledge and practical innovation, positioning Kenya among leading countries in global ICT talent development.
