ON the backdrop of a legal imbroglio involving STI Education System Holdings Inc., Chinese technology firm Huawei Technologies Philippines Inc. signed an agreement to train undergraduate students.
Huawei Spokesman Karrie Escueta-Buenafe said the partnership will cover knowledge sharing and cooperation in curriculum development, provision of Huawei equipment and devices for use in STI classrooms and laboratories and company certifications and accreditation, among others.
The deal also covers research and technology incubation, internship, job fair, other school-events organizing, faculty training and job posting, placement and employment.
The agreement end-goal is the establishment of an STI-Huawei innovation center for ICT systems, applications and products, according to Buenafe.
STI is currently involved in a legal tiff with the Benitez family on asset ownership.
However, Huawei declined to comment on the case. Instead, the company quoted CEO Gao Kexin as saying that the company works “with its partners to bring world-class ICT products and solutions to the educational sector.”
“This cooperation will also serve as a venue for us to share with the Philippine enterprise market how our products and services can benefit them and be an enabler of business growth,” Gao said.
STI’s deal with Huawei was followed by a deal with the Department of Education (DepEd) wherein the company will provide computers and other equipment for the agency’s alternative learning system project.
According to the DepEd, the agreement also involves the establishment by STI of a laboratory with Internet access contained within a motor bus.
Each mobile-computer laboratory has 24 computer units, the DepEd said in a statement. STI will also assign employees to teach public-school students about computer concepts, application software and information and communications technology.
This partnership shall benefit a minimum number of 100 public schools and a minimum number of 15,000 students for the duration of five school years, the DepEd said in a statement on Friday.
Huawei’s deal with STI came after the company unveiled its first smartwatch at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on March 2.
Rizal Raoul Reyes