Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Techno Mind team, consisting of eight students from Uzbekistan, took the Silver Award in the global Tech4Good competition, presenting the Aquatibia project.

The project to create an integrated water filtration system using digital technologies for agriculture to reduce salt and heavy metals in water and soil was also voted "Audience Choice" in the People’s Choice Award voting. The final of the global competition took place on 11 January 2024. for ten teams from Uzbekistan, Algeria, Singapore, Italy, Chile, UAE, Colombia, Germany, Brazil and Namibia.

Eight students from Uzbekistan took the Silver Award in the global Tech4Good competition as part of the educational program Huawei Seeds for the Future 2023. A team from Uzbekistan took part in the competition along with nine teams from Algeria, Singapore, Italy, Chile, UAE, Colombia, Germany, Brazil and Namibia. 

The winners of the project were students from the Tashkent University of Information Technologies, Inha University in Tashkent, Amity University in Tashkent, Kimyo International University in Tashkent and the New Uzbekistan University. Students from Namibia, Germany and Brazil also won the competition.

The Aquatibia project, presented to the prestigious jury of the competition, is an integrated water filtration system with an innovative lignin-based filter to reduce salt and heavy metals in water and soil, working using digital solutions for agriculture. The development and implementation of this system is aimed at achieving zero waste and critical sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as zero hunger (SDG2) and clean water and sanitation (SDG6). The implementation of the project can have a positive impact on the environment, on agriculture, soil quality and improvement of living conditions in the regions, solving two main problems simultaneously: the reuse of biological waste and the filtration of irrigation water from salts and heavy metals.

“Supporting talented specialists in the field of ICT is important for the further development of the digital economy of Uzbekistan. At Huawei, we recognize that the digital skills gap affects the national economy and people’s lives, and we conduct several programs and initiatives to develop talent in the digital sphere, including Seeds for the Future, the Tech4Good competition and ICT Academy,” said the director of Huawei in Uzbekistan Chen Jiakai. – Seeds for the Future 2023 participants have come a long way in the Tech4Good competition, taking courses to improve their ICT skills, visiting several countries and taking part in international events with students from all over the world. We are grateful to all partners, in particular the Ministry of Digital Technologies, management and teaching staff of universities, for creating conditions for open cooperation and supporting students along this path. We are also grateful to all those who supported our team in the open voting for Audience Choice.”

The Tech4Good 2023 competition was held for participants from Uzbekistan in several stages. The first selection was made during the annual educational program Seeds for the Future, which was held in September 2023. at the regional level in Doha, Qatar, and was attended by fifteen students from Uzbekistan. The second stage in the form of an acceleration program was held in Dubai, UAE, where students from Uzbekistan became regional champions of Tech4Good. Based on the results of the regional stage, the “Techno Mind” team was invited to take part in the Seeds Tour and COP-28 events in Dubai, UAE, in December 2023, where they also presented their project at the “Talent & Green Summit”. As global winners, students will travel to China this year to participate in the Startup Sprint and improve their business skills.

“After winning the regional championship last September, my team and I began serious preparations for the global finals. We knew we had a big challenge to solve with our technology, especially with the growing challenges of protecting water resources. Our water filter is not just an idea, it is a commitment to a sustainable future. We fully understand the urgency of our mission and will strive to provide people with access to clean water. We thank Huawei for conducting educational projects of this kind and for organizing the competition. He taught us a lot and we met wonderful people who share our vision,” shared “Techno Mind” team leader Nodira Otabekova.

Tech4Good, a competition within the flagship educational program Seeds for the Future, was first held in 2021 with the goal of attracting students to solve social and environmental problems through digital technologies and with the opportunity to turn a start-up idea into a commercially viable project.

Seeds for the Future is the company’s flagship social corporate responsibility education program aimed at developing ICT talent. The project has been carried out since 2008 around the world; in Uzbekistan, Seeds for the Future will be held 10 times in 2024. During the existence of the project, 50 students from Uzbekistan were trained in China, 82 students took part in online and hybrid versions of the project due to the pandemic, and 15 students joined the largest project in 2023 in Qatar.