NAIROBI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecom firm Huawei on Thursday accredited Kenya's Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)as an Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Academy Center.

Speaking at the ceremony, Stephen Mbugua, Vice Chancellor of CUEA welcomed the partnership and expressed his hopes that it would help enrich the training of computer science students.

"CUEA was chosen for this partnership due to its strengths in being located in a serene environment, excellent facilities and related resources," Mbugua said.

With the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the university is now certified and authorized by Huawei to deliver official technical and certification training to its students using the Huawei authorized training curriculum and tools.

Mbugua noted that the partnership with the Chinese firm will go a long way in building ICT talent in Kenya and Africa at large.

Su Shuqi, the manager in charge of training and certification at Huawei noted that the training would greatly help to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

In September 2018, the university achieved the status of a "Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy" (HAINA).

This means the university is certified and authorized by Huawei to deliver official technical and certification training to its students using the Huawei authorized training curriculum and tools.

Mbugua noted that at the moment, some of the lecturers in science department of the university are already trained by Huawei to offer the curricula.

According to CUEA some of its ICT lecturers are on their way to attaining the "Huawei Certified Academy Instructor" (HCAI) status.

This means an individual who has been certified by Huawei as an instructor remains in good standing, and is currently sponsored by a Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy.